11.3 Food, Shopping, Money and Health
Quick Answer: Master meal collocations, restaurant phrases, shop and price language, paying, and basic health chunks (I’ve got a headache, make an appointment). These topics create dense Listening number items and natural Speaking answers, and they supply many Reading Part 4 verb–noun partnerships.
Food, shops, money, and health are “street English.” If you can order lunch, understand a price, and say you feel ill, you unlock a huge part of A2 Key life topics.
Exam Map
| Area | Exam use |
|---|
| Food likes/dislikes | Speaking Part 1; Writing invites |
| Restaurant dialogues | Listening Part 1–3; functional reading |
| Prices and offers | Listening numbers; short notices |
| Shopping problems | too small, exchange, receipt |
| Health | short conversations; messages to cancel plans |
| Part 4 | have lunch, pay the bill, take medicine |
Meals and Food Language
Meal collocations
| Chunk | Note |
|---|
| have breakfast / lunch / dinner / supper | standard meal verbs |
| have a snack | small eat between meals |
| make breakfast / make a sandwich | prepare food |
| cook dinner | heat/prepare a meal |
| eat out | eat at a restaurant |
| have a picnic | eat outdoors |
| skip breakfast | not eat that meal |
Food groups (useful labels, not endless lists)
| Group | Example items |
|---|
| fruit | apple, banana, orange, grapes |
| vegetables | salad, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes |
| meat / fish | chicken, beef, fish |
| dairy | milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter |
| drinks | water, juice, tea, coffee, fizzy drinks |
| carbs | bread, rice, pasta, cereal |
| sweet food | cake, ice cream, chocolate |
Preference and diet phrases
| Chunk | Example |
|---|
| I’m vegetarian / vegan | diet identity (recognition + simple production) |
| I’m allergic to… | nuts, milk (important safety phrase) |
| It tastes delicious / awful | opinion |
| spicy, sweet, salty, fresh | simple adjectives |
| healthy / unhealthy food | evaluation |
| homemade | cooked at home |
| takeaway / takeout | food to take home |
Speaking model: I usually have cereal for breakfast. For lunch I have a sandwich at work. I love pasta, but I don’t eat much meat. I’m trying to eat more vegetables.
Restaurant and Café Language
Booking and arriving
| Chunk | Use |
|---|
| book / make a reservation / book a table | reserve |
| a table for two | number of people |
| menu / set menu | what you can order |
| waiter / waitress / server | staff |
| order | ask for food |
| starter / main course / dessert | meal parts (British materials) |
| bill / check | payment request |
| tip | extra money for service (cultural note) |
| take away | food not eaten in |
Polite order frames
| Frame | Example |
|---|
| Could I have…, please? | Could I have the chicken, please? |
| I’d like… | I’d like a green salad. |
| What do you recommend? | asking for help |
| Is it possible to…? | change a dish |
| I’m sorry, we haven’t got… | staff response |
| Enjoy your meal | staff phrase |
Problem language (Listening gold)
| Chunk | Meaning |
|---|
| It’s cold / burnt / undercooked | food quality problem |
| I ordered…, not… | wrong dish |
| Could we have some water? | request |
| We’re in a hurry | time pressure |
Original Listening-style exchange:
A: Could I have the fish, please?
B: I’m sorry, we haven’t got any fish today. The chicken is very good.
A: OK, I’d like the chicken. And a bottle of water.
Detail question: What does the customer choose in the end?
Shopping: Places, Actions, Problems
Shop types (high frequency)
| Shop | What you buy |
|---|
| supermarket | general food and household |
| bakery | bread, cakes |
| butcher’s | meat |
| greengrocer’s | fruit and vegetables |
| chemist’s / pharmacy | medicine |
| newsagent’s | papers, snacks |
| clothes shop | clothes |
| shoe shop | shoes |
| bookshop | books |
| department store | many sections |
| shopping centre / mall | many shops together |
| market | stalls, often cheaper |
Shopping action chunks
| Chunk | Meaning |
|---|
| go shopping | activity |
| do the shopping | buy the needed food/household list |
| look for a… | try to find |
| try on a jacket / shoes | test clothes/shoes on body |
| fit / don’t fit | size is right/wrong |
| be too big / too small / too expensive | problems |
| take (it) in / take (it) back | return (as taught in materials) |
| exchange | swap for another size/item |
| get a refund | money back |
| keep the receipt | proof of purchase |
| be on sale / in the sale | reduced price |
| queue / wait in a queue | line up |
| open / closed; opening hours | times |
Clothes shopping mini-dialogue chunks
- Excuse me, have you got this in a medium / in blue?
- Can I try it on?
- Where are the changing rooms?
- It fits perfectly. / It’s a bit tight.
- I’ll take it. / No, thanks, I’ll leave it.
Part 4 partners: try on, take back, pay for, look for, sold out.
Money, Prices, and Paying
Numbers + money = classic Listening detail.
Price language
| Chunk | Example |
|---|
| cost / costs | It costs £12. |
| How much is it / are they? | price question |
| expensive / cheap / reasonable | value adjectives |
| free | £0 |
| discount / offer / special price | reduction |
| half price | 50% off |
| pound, euro, dollar, cent, pence | currencies (as relevant) |
| change | money returned after cash payment |
Paying
| Chunk | Note |
|---|
| pay by card / pay cash / pay by contactless | method |
| PIN / enter your PIN | card security (recognition) |
| credit card / debit card | card types (light) |
| ATM / cash machine | get cash |
| borrow / lend | direction care: lend me £5 / borrow £5 from you |
| save money / spend money / waste money | money verbs |
| afford | have enough money |
| bill (restaurant or utilities) | amount to pay |
Number listening tips:
- Watch teens vs tens (thirty / thirteen).
- Note currency words and decimals in prices.
- Listen for but after a first price (It was £40, but I got it for £25 in the sale).
Borrow vs lend (mini-trap table)
| Correct | Meaning |
|---|
| Can you lend me £10? | You give me money temporarily |
| Can I borrow £10? | I take money temporarily |
| She lent him her charger. | She gave it temporarily |
| He borrowed her charger. | He received it temporarily |
Health: Body, Illness, Appointments
A2 health English is practical, not medical school.
Body basics (for symptoms)
| Area | Words |
|---|
| head | head, face, ear, eye, nose, mouth, tooth/teeth, throat |
| body | back, stomach, chest, shoulder, arm, hand, leg, foot/feet |
| general | temperature, cough, cold, flu, pain |
Symptom and illness chunks
| Chunk | Use |
|---|
| I’ve got a headache / a cold / a cough / a temperature | common symptoms |
| My arm hurts / I’ve got a pain in my… | pain |
| I feel sick / ill / tired / better | general state |
| catch a cold | become ill with a cold |
| see a doctor / go to the doctor | seek help |
| go to hospital / to the dentist | places |
| take medicine / take tablets | treatment |
| stay in bed | rest |
| get well soon | wish |
Appointments
| Chunk | Example |
|---|
| make an appointment | book a time |
| cancel an appointment | stop the booking |
| be free on Tuesday | availability |
| surgery / clinic | doctor’s workplace (British surgery for GP practice) |
| waiting room | where you wait |
| prescription | paper/order for medicine |
| pharmacy / chemist’s | get medicine |
Writing Part 6 link: cancel a meeting because you are ill: I’m writing to say I can’t come tomorrow. I’ve got a bad cold and a temperature. Can we meet next week instead?
Health collocations for Part 4
| Gap-friendly chunk | Wrong rivals to reject |
|---|
| make an appointment | do an appointment |
| take medicine | drink medicine as default |
| catch a cold | take a cold |
| feel better | become better sometimes OK, feel is core |
Integrated Original Mini-Text (Food + Money + Health)
On Saturday morning Lena did the shopping at the supermarket. The chicken was on offer—half price—so she paid £4.50 by card and kept the receipt. At lunch she ate out with her brother. They ordered pasta and a salad. In the afternoon Lena felt ill; she had a headache and a temperature. She made an appointment to see the doctor on Monday and decided to stay in bed with tea and water.
Possible tested details: price; payment method; meal; symptoms; appointment day.
Part 4 verbs: did the shopping, paid by card, ordered, had a headache, made an appointment, stay in bed.
High-Value Chunk Tables (Memorise as Sets)
Table A — Food service
| Chunk | Partner words |
|---|
| order | a meal, a drink, dessert |
| pay | the bill, by card, in cash |
| book | a table, a restaurant |
| recommend | a dish |
| taste | delicious, strange, sweet |
Table B — Shopping + money
| Chunk | Partner words |
|---|
| try on | clothes, shoes |
| look for | a present, a size |
| take back | a jacket that doesn’t fit |
| spend | money, £20 on… |
| save | money, time |
| cost | £10, a lot |
Table C — Health
| Chunk | Partner words |
|---|
| have/got | a cold, a fever/temperature, a pain |
| take | medicine, a break, your temperature (as taught) |
| make | an appointment |
| feel | ill, better, sick |
| go | to the doctor, to hospital |
Practice Tasks
- Menu roleplay (3 minutes): partner is waiter; order starter + main + drink; ask for the bill.
- Receipt story: invent three items with prices; say the total; pay by card.
- Ill email: 40–50 words cancelling Saturday cinema (ties Writing Part 6).
- Gap drill: remove six verbs from the Lena text and recover them under a timer.
- Number ear: listen to any store advert; write every price you hear.
Common Errors
| Error | Better |
|---|
| I am hungry for two hours (unclear) | I’ve been hungry for two hours is B1+; at A2 say I’m very hungry / I haven’t eaten since… carefully taught forms |
| The shoes don’t serve me | The shoes don’t fit (me). |
| How many costs this? | How much does this cost? |
| I have cold | I have a cold. / I’ve got a cold. |
| Make shopping | Do the shopping / go shopping |
| Account for restaurant bill | bill (in many A2 British materials) |
Checklist
With food, money, and health in place, you can handle most “daily problem” exam situations. The last vocabulary cluster adds places in town, public services, weather, and simple technology/media—the setting where many of these actions happen.