Informal

Try to come on time.	Sure. I’ll be there on the dot.
Can I borrow your bike?	I’m afraid not. I need it myself.
Will you bring me the book tomorrow?	I will if you call me up and remind me.
Please be seated.	Thank you.
Give me this newspaper, will you?	Here you are.

What would you say?

• You want to go to the cinema, but your mother thinks you can’t go because it is too late and you haven’t done your homework yet.

• You want to go to the cinema, but you don’t have time to buy the tickets. Ask your friend to do it.

• You are at the cinema. The girls next to you are talking and giggling. Ask them to be quiet.

• You are on a bus. Ask the bus conductor to announce the stop where you need to get off.

• You are in the library. You remember the title of the book but you don’t remember the author. Ask the librarian to help you.

• You are having a party. Ask your friend to come and help you with the cooking.

• You have been ill. Ask your teacher for permission to hand in your project later.

Complete the conversations with the following expressions:

A: Any chance of…, Could I…, Do you mind if…, Is it OK…, Do you think I could possibly…

B: I suppose not; I’m afraid not; No problem; No way; Of course.

1. ….. if I phone my mum to tell her I’m going to be late.

….. You know where it is, don’t you?

2. ….. stay the night? My car won’t start.

….. The bed’s already made up.

3. ….. take the afternoon off, Mr Thompson?

….., Phil. This is the busiest week of the year – we need you here.

4. I’m going camping with a couple of friends at the weekend, Dad. ….. borrowing your bike?

…..I’m using it myself.

5. ….. I have a few friends around tomorrow evening?

….., as long as you don’t make too much noise.

Make up short dialogues:

• A: You want to borrow a friend’s CD collection for your party. B: You aren’t happy about lending your CDs. They are worth a lot of money.

• A; You want to take a morning off work to go to the dentist. B: You think A can do it and work one evening late next week.

• You want to change TV channels to watch your favourite programme. B: You refuse to let A change channels. You are watching an exciting film.

• A: You want to use your friend’s computer. B: You don’t mind unless it takes a lot of time.

Shopping

I do my shopping once or twice a week. When I go shopping, I take my shopping bag with me.

At the baker’s the shop assistant sells white (wheat) and brown (rye) bread, rolls, buns and cookies.

At the grocer’s I buy some butter, oil, flour, cereals, tea, spices and sugar (lump and granulated). Everything is served ready-packed. Vegetable oils are sold ready-bottled.

At the greengrocer’sI buy fruit, nuts, jams, fruit-juice, tinned fruit, marmalade, dry fruits, grapes, tangerines, oranges, pineapples, apples, pears, plums, peaches and bananas.

At the greengrocer’s they also sell potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage and green peas.

Sometimes I go to the supermarket where I can buy a variety of products. The price is on a sticker or tag. Some products are cheap and others are expensive. I pay the money to the cashier and get the change.

I go to the department store when I want to buy a fashionable dress or a fashionable skirt. Today long dresses and skirts are in fashion.

I try on size 44, which is a bit small and tight. Then I try on size 46 that fits me well.

I choose a scarf to match my new dress. The salesgirl packs up the purchases and I take them home.