English for Grocery Shopping: Essential Words, Signs & Phrases
📝 Summary of the article: This article from SQA Education provides a complete guide to using English confidently in the supermarket. It begins with essential vocabulary categories such as Produce, Dairy, Bakery, Frozen Food, Deli, Pantry, Household, which help learners recognize different sections in the store. It also explains useful phrases for shopping, like asking about items: “Have you got any green tea?” or “Where do you keep the cereal?”. For requesting help, examples include: “Would you mind showing me where to find [item]?” or “I can’t seem to locate [item].” The article highlights how to ask for quantities, such as “I’d like a kilo of apples” or “Can I get half a dozen eggs?”. In addition, it introduces common signs and labels inside the supermarket: “Express Checkout,” “Buy One Get One Free,” “Clearance,” “Organic,” “Gluten-Free,” and “Sale.” These are important to understand both offers and store rules. The article also provides a sample dialogue to show how these phrases are used in real life. For example: - Customer: “Sorry, where do I get the eggs?” - Staff: “They’re over in the dairy section, right next to the milk.” - Customer: “Thank you!” — Staff: “You’re welcome.” At the checkout counter, another dialogue shows natural interaction: - Cashier: “Did you find everything today?” - Customer: “Yes, thank you.” - Cashier: “Is it by cash, credit, or debit card?” - Customer: “Debit card.” - Cashier: “Great. Here’s your receipt. Have a nice day!” Overall, the article is very practical because it combines vocabulary, phrases, signs, and real-life dialogues to prepare learners for everyday English situations in the supermarket. 💬 Discussion Question: When you go shopping in a supermarket, which English phrase from the article do you think is the most useful for you, and why?