Lesson Five  English for Retail and Customer Service A1+

 

• What’s the date today?   It’s Tuesday, 8^th “of” September
• What was the date yesterday?   It was Monday, 7^th September
• What was the date the day before yesterday?    It was Sunday, “the” 6^th September
• What’s the date tomorrow?   Wednesday , 9^th September

 

What we did in the lesson:

• Calendar – days and dates review
• hosting a visitor in Sweden
• suit or fit review, other “false friends”
• measurements, volume, weight

 

 

marsh = träsk, kärr

March  = the month

“

 

a receipt       recipe       She’s a pharmacist.  She’s making up prescriptions.

a pharmacy

He’s a shoplifter.

What’s he doing? He’s stealing a packet of painkillers.

He’s shoplifting.

 

 

 

suit or fit?

suit = suitable, convenient

1. This jacket doesn’t fit It’s too small around the shoulders.
2. That colour really suits You look great in it.
3. These trousers don’t fit me anymore. I’ve put on some weight. weight = wait  (Same pronunciation)
4. I don’t think short hair would suit She looks better with long hair.
5. The shoes are lovely, but they don’t fit They’re really tight around the toes.
6. I tried on five pairs of jeans, but none of them fitted They were either too long, or too baggy.   fit – fitted,   suit –  suited
7. Would Friday afternoon suit you, or would Monday be better?
8. The meeting time doesn’t suit Could we make it later?
9. She looks fantastic in that dress — it really suits
10. These shoes fit perfectly, but they don’t really suit I prefer something with a lower heel.
11. This pair of shoes fits properly (focus on the plural)     this pair of shoes fit

 

 

it, he, she, something, someone, a name  =  s in the present

it works

he/she/Jane thinks

my manager says

a dress suits

 

Öppet köp.    What is the store’s return policy?

Jag har öppet köp i 30 dagar. =  I have 30 days to return/exchange the item.

Vi erbjuder 30 dagars öppet köp. =  We offer a 30-day return policy.

 

 

My daughter is trying to decide which college to apply to.     “colledge”

My salary isn’t the best, but I work with some really nice colleagues.     (US = co-workers)

owl

 

Speaking task

You are hosting a visitor (either privately or at work) from outside Sweden who wants to go shopping for clothes, Swedish food and drink and souvenirs.

Recommend places where your visitor should go shopping and explain what they should buy and why.

1. Where would you take the visitor to buy Swedish clothes?
2. Which Swedish clothing brands or styles would you recommend?
3. Where could they buy authentic Swedish food?
4. Which Swedish foods and drinks would make good gifts?
5. What souvenirs would you recommend?
6. Would you recommend traditional souvenirs or modern Swedish design?
7. Which items would be easiest to take home in a suitcase or just hand luggage?
8. If the visitor only had 500 SEK, what would you recommend they buy?
9. If they wanted to buy a special gift for a friend or family member, what would you choose?
10. What would your ideal one-day Stockholm/Gothenburg shopping itinerary look like?

 

 

I recommend that you buy….

I think you should buy some Swedish crispbread.

It would be better to buy Swedish crispbread than lingonberry juice/jam because then you can take it home in your hand luggage

 

• dalahäst =  a Dala horse
• It’s a traditional symbol of Sweden
• They’re hand-made and hand-painted
• local colours and materials
• meatballs
• cinnamon buns
• salt butter
• surströmming  – fermented herring
• it absolutely stinks
• a cheese slicer
• different types of pickled herring
• a tube of Swedish caviar    (tchooob)
• a tub of butter  (tubb)
• a bath tub
• gingerbread biscuits (BrE)  /   cookies  (US)
• ginger – ingefära
• cloudberry jam  (orange berries)
• jam = sylt
• Strawberry jam  (BrE)   /   jelly   (USA)
• rhubarb pie   (roo-baab)

 

an eel  “eeyull”   “a  neeyull”

a spettekaka – Swedish spit cake from Scania,   a Scania pyramid cake,  made from egg, salt and some  flour    (mjöl)

vetemjöl = wheat flour

almond flour  “aahmund”    = mandelmjöl

rice flour

What kind of flour is it made from?

smörgåstårta  =  sandwich cake

salmon and shrimps (US) /prawns (BrE) = räkor

It’s very sickly so I can’t eat much of it   (= too sweet, too much sugar and maybe also fat combined)

meringue  “merrang”

 

H ‘n’ M    aitch ene m    u

salt ‘n’ peppar

black ‘n’ white

bread ‘n butter

rock ‘n’ roll

needlen thread

pros ‘n’ cons   ( =  plus/minus,  good points and the bad points)

knife ‘n’ fork

cup ‘n’ saucer

 

tallrik = plate

 

fabrik =  a factory    ”FACKtree”

Marabou – a company

They make the chocolate at the factory

I got my car repaired at the workshop  (= verkstad)

fabric =  cotton,  linen,  polyester,

material =  fabric,  wood, metal, plastic

We went to some teaching workshops.  (= hands on seminar)

 

traditional beef stew from Skåne  (Scania)

fläder ?  elderflower juice,  cordial  (saft)

 

magnet  –  MAGG-nitt

hard “k”  sound –  architect  architecture  mechanic mechanical   archipelago   aah-ki-PELL-ago  choir  “kwire”  She sings in the church choir.

Karlsson på taket  –  Karlsson on the Roof

Pippi Långstrump   –  Pippi Longstocking

story  – fiction  or an anecdote

Let me tell you a funny story that happened to me the other day.

history –  The Vikings,  The English civil War, The French Revolution

historical monument

Blackadder  –  1980s  Edmund Blackadder

 

ground coffee or coffee beans

 

We have still water in a 500 ml blue plastic bottle and cost/costs

millilitres (BrE) – millileters  (US)

litres   –  liters

centre  –  center

metres  –  meters

centilitres – centilters

 

BrE  and  US spelling

• litre/liter
• realise/realize
• criticise/criticize
• minimise/minimize
• fantasise/fantasize
• humour/humor    a dry sense of humour/humor
• honour/honor
• neighbour /neighbor

 

 

 

Correct the grammar problems

1. Have you got any Colombian coffee?       any for questions and negatives
2. We haven’t got any 1-litre bottles.
3. The 1.5 L bottle is more big. bigger, longer, shorter,larger    more expensive, more modern
4. The 250 g coffee is cheaper than the 500 g coffee.
5. This pasta comes in a cardboard box, not plastic.
6. We no have got any orange juice. We don’t have any….
7. The glass bottle is more heavy than the plastic bottle. more heavy – heavier,  funnier, prettier, crazier, uglier, funnier
8. I recommend this bigger one because it is better.
9. Have you got any washing-up liquid?

 

 

1 syllable

fast  – faster

slow –  slower

 

2+ syllables

modern  –  more modern, more traditional

 

y – ier

heavier,  funnier, prettier, crazier, uglier, funnier

 

Measurements

1. Water, juice, milk, etc. are all liquidsand are measured in
2. Pasta, rice and flour are all solidsand are usually measured in grams or kilograms
3. Sugar and salt are usually measured in gramsor kilograms depending on the amount.
4. Petrol and other fuels are liquidsand are measured in
5. Very small amounts of liquid, such as medicine, are measured in millilitres
6. Height is usually measured in centimetresor metres while distance is often measured in
7. The weight of a person is normally measured in kilograms while very heavy objects may be measured in tonnes (“tunns”)
8. The temperature of food, water or the air is measured in
9. A recipe might tell you to add 250 millilitresof milk and 100 grams of flour.
10. When buying fabric, we usually measure its length in metres while its width may be given in
11. Eggs are usually sold by the dozen which means twelve eggs. (“duzzun”)
12. In most European countries, temperatures are given in degrees C In the USA, they are usually given in degrees Fahrenheit.
13. In Britain, road distances are often given in miles, while in most other countries they are given in kilometres

 

what is a Swedish mile?    10 km

 

20°C ≈ 70°F

Twenty degrees Celsius is the same as seventy degrees Fahrenheit

the metric system

the imperial system,  imperial measurements (inches, ounces)

 

 

• Which measurements do you use most often in everyday life?
• Do you usually think in kilometres or miles when you talk about distance?
• How far is your home from your workplace/school? How many kilometres or miles is it?
• Which is easier for you to understand: e? Why?
• How much do you think 1 kg feels like? What everyday object weighs about 1 kg?
• Do you ever use ounces (oz)? What do you buy or measure in ounces?
• Do you know your height in centimetres and feet/inches?     1.65 metres tall, 5 foot 6
• What is a comfortable temperature for you? Can you give it in Celsius and Fahrenheit?
• If someone told you it was 90°F, would you immediately know how hot that was?
• Which system is easier: Celsius or Fahrenheit? Why?
• Have you ever been confused by a measurement when travelling to another country?
• Do you think the world should use one system of measurements? Why/why not?

 

 

1 mile = 1.6km

1 Swedish mile = 10km

1kg = 2.2 lb     pounds

28g = 1oz     ounces

454g = 1 lb

 

till exempel =  for example

kilo

havregryn ?      oats

havregrynsgröt = porridge