Week 5 · Session 1
At the counter
The phrases shops use, and what “all set” means.
~35 minAn easier week, and a more useful one
3 minutes
Week 4 was the hardest. This one is the most immediately useful.
Out in the world — a shop, a counter, a taxi, an airport — you have a huge advantage you do not have at a dinner table: you already know roughly what is going to be said. A cashier is going to talk about price, bags and payment. Nothing else.
Predicting the topic does most of the work. If you know the five things someone is likely to say, you only have to work out which of the five it was.
What people actually say at a counter
6 minutes
| You read | You hear |
|---|---|
| Are you all set? | Ya all set?Do you need anything else? |
| Is that everything for you today? | Zat everything f'r ya t'day? |
| Debit or credit? | Debi'-r-credit?how are you paying |
| Do you need a bag? | Ju need a bag? |
| You're all set. | Y'r all set.we are finished — you can go |
| Have a good one. | Have a good one.goodbye |
“All set” is the one to learn first. Americans use it constantly and it is almost never taught. It means finished / ready / nothing more needed, and it works as both a question and an answer.
Watch: a real shopping trip
14 minutes
An actual shop, an actual couple, an actual list. Watch for how much of it is not about the products at all. Note especially the moment she explains “You got rice?” — a statement turned into a question by pitch alone. That is Week 3 arriving in a real shop.
Softening, and vague language
5 minutes
Two habits from that video that will change how much you understand:
| You hear | It means |
|---|---|
| kind of nice / sort of tired | somewhat, a littlesoftens everything |
| pretty hungry | quite hungry, but not urgent |
| not a bad deal | a good dealpraise, said negatively |
| not really my thing | I don't like itpolite refusal |
| could be worse | it's acceptable |
Americans often say the negative version to be polite. “Not bad” is praise. “Not really my thing” is a no. Take these literally and you will read agreement where there was none.
Record your voice note
3 minutes
“Describe the last time you bought something in a shop where English was spoken. What did the person at the counter say to you?”
Save it as “Week 5 — Voice Note 1”.
Couldn't-Catch List
ongoing
This week your list should fill up from real life rather than from videos — shops, phones, announcements. Those entries are the most valuable ones in the whole course.