11.3 Food, Shopping, Money and Health
Key Takeaways
Meal language (have breakfast/lunch/dinner), restaurant phrases, and food groups support Speaking, Writing invitations, and Listening orders or prices.
Shopping chunks—try on, fit, size, receipt, exchange—plus shop types help Reading notices and Listening store dialogues.
Money language (cost, pay by card/cash, change, discount, expensive/cheap) is a top Listening detail target with numbers.
Basic body and illness vocabulary (headache, temperature, make an appointment) appears in practical texts and short conversations.
Collocations such as make a reservation, take medicine, and do the shopping are frequent Part 4-style partners.
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
- I can describe my meals on a normal day
- I can order food politely and ask for the bill
- I know try on / fit / receipt / exchange
- I can ask and say prices; pay by card or cash
- I can explain simple symptoms and make/cancel an appointment
- I have personal answers: favourite food, last shopping trip, last time I was ill
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.
Which sentence is the most natural for buying food for the week?
I need to make the shopping this afternoon.
I need to do the shopping this afternoon.
I need to build the shopping this afternoon.
I need to invent the shopping this afternoon.
In a clothes shop, which question best checks size before you buy?
How much does the shop weigh?
Can I borrow the shop’s train platform?
Is the receipt allergic to cheese?
Can I try this on? Have you got it in a medium?
Which collocation correctly completes: “I need to _____ an appointment to see the doctor”?
make
do
play
ride
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.