- Here you are.
- Pay at the cash-desk, please.
- My size is 44.
- It will be ten pounds.
- I'd like to buy a present for my 17-year-old friend.
- I want a quarter of a pound of cheese.
- That's all for today.
- In the fitting room.
- It's not high. £15.
- Thank you for your advice.
- Black, please.
- Sorry, but it isn't fresh.
- I prefer to buy them at the market.
- Yes, I'd like to try it on.
- Certainly, we have.
Types of packaging
Many uncountable nouns can be made countable by means or partitives ():
a piece of cake / information / furniture; a glass / bottle of water; a jar of jam; a tin of beans; a pint of milk; a box of chocolates; a packet of biscuits / tea; a slice / loaf of bread; a pot of yoghurt; a pot / cup of tea; a kilo / pound of meat; a bottle of vinegar; a tube of toothpaste; a bar of chocolate / soap; a bit / piece of chalk; an ice cube; a lump of sugar; a sheet of paper; a bag of flour; a pair of trousers; a game of soccer; an item / a piece of news; a drop / can of oil; a can of cola; a carton of milk; a block of wood; a dozen of eggs; a bunch of grapes.
To feel well and confident at a British or American shop buying food you should be acquainted with units of weight measurement.
1 ton is 2000 pounds () or 970 kg
1 pound (IB.) is 16 ounce ()
2.2 pounds are equal to 1 kilogram
1 pound is about 450 grams
1 ounce is 28.350 grams
1 pint is 0.5679 litres
1 quart is 1.1359 litres
1 gallon is 4.5435 litres
Task 1. Match the following phrases of quantity with the nouns they go with. Bear in mind that some phrases of quantity can go with different products.
1) a jar of a) yoghurt
2) a kilo of b) milk
3) a bottle of c) cheese
4) a packet of d) tuna
5) a carton of e) jam / honey
6) a loaf of f) bread
7) a piece of g) ketchup / sunflower oil
8) a bar of h) butter / rice / spaghetti
9) a tin of j) juice
10) a pot of k) meat / fish
11) a can of l) chocolate / soap
12) a tube of m) bananas / grapes
13) a roll of n) flour
14) a bunch of o) margarine
15) a packet of p) potatoes
16) a box of q) toilet paper
17) a bag of r) cookies / biscuits
18) a back of s) toothpaste
19) a tub of t) matches
u) cornflakes
v) cigarettes
Task 2. Make the following uncountable nouns plural as in the example:
1) ice two ice cubes 12) news two ___________________________________
2) toast three ____________________________ 13) jam three ___________________________________
3) soap two _____________________________ 14) beef three ___________________________________
4) tea two ______________________________ 15) paper two ___________________________________
5) lamb three ___________________________ 16) hockey two _________________________________
6) bread three ___________________________ 17) chocolate three _______________________________
7) cola two _____________________________ 18) spectacles two _______________________________
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8) advice two ___________________________ 19) toothpaste three ______________________________
9) sugar two ____________________________ 20) information two _____________________________
10) yoghurt two _________________________ 21) spaghetti three _______________________________
11) wood three __________________________ 22) milk three __________________________________
Task 3. Complete the sentences using the suitable words.
Words: trolley; plastic bags; aisle; organic; checkout; baskets.
1) _________________________ are a big ecological problem 2) At the supermarket I hate carrying those wire ____________________, I prefer a _____________________. 3) Could you tell me where the sugar is? The fourth ____________________ on the left. 4) Excuse me, are these tomatoes _____________________? Yes, they are. 5) I think working on a __________________ is a boring job.
Task 4. Connect the sentences in order to make up a story.
____ I bought a big chocolate cake, a bottle of coca-cola, cookies, a kilo of candies, some sweets and some bananas.
____ She gave me a shopping list.
____ I didnt want to return home so I decided to buy all the necessary things.
____ Once my mother asked me to go shopping.
____ But to my surprise my mother didnt like what I had bought and I was punished.
____ I didnt know what to do.
____ On my way to the supermarket I lost my shopping list.
____ I had to buy sugar, milk, salt, a kilo of carrots and potatoes and some sausage.
____ On my way home I was proud of myself because I bought all we needed.
Task 5. Name 5 10 things that fall under the following terms: 1) Summer wear, 2) winter wear, 3) underwear, 4) footwear, 5) textiles, 6) hardware, 7) garments, 8) household appliances, 9) bric-a-brac, 10) pottery, 11) antique, 12) confectionery, 13) baking ingredients, 14) glassware, 15) sporting goods, 16) stationary, 17) knitwear, 18) linen.
