English for Beginners: Online Shopping
Dialogue
Alice: Hi Bob, guess what? My package finally arrived!
Bob: Oh, Alice! What did you buy this time? Another cat sweater?
Alice: No, not a cat sweater! It’s… a giant inflatable flamingo! I saw it on a flash sale.
Bob: A flamingo? For what? Do you even have a pool?
Alice: Well, no, but it looked so fun online! And it was such a good deal!
Bob: “Good deal” is your favorite phrase for impulse buys. I always check reviews before I click ‘Add to Cart’.
Alice: Reviews? I just click ‘Buy Now’ and hope for the best!
Bob: That’s why you have a giant flamingo, and I have practical things.
Alice: Hey! This flamingo could be practical… for… cheering me up on a rainy day!
Bob: Maybe you need a bigger apartment first. How are you going to inflate it?
Alice: It’s so big, it almost didn’t fit through my door! The delivery guy struggled a lot.
Bob: Sounds like a typical Alice online shopping adventure. Did he ask if you’d ordered a small car?
Alice: He just sighed heavily. It was quite a scene!
Bob: Next time, maybe text me before you buy anything silly, okay?
Alice: Good idea. Or maybe I’ll just buy a small inflatable rubber duck next time. Much easier to store!
Current Situation
Online shopping has changed how we buy things. Instead of going to a physical store, people can buy almost anything they need (or don’t need, like Alice’s flamingo!) from their computers or phones. It’s very convenient because you can shop at any time, day or night, and from any place. You can also find a wider variety of products and often compare prices easily to get a “good deal.” After you place an order, a delivery person brings your package right to your door. This makes shopping much faster and often more fun for many people, but it can also lead to impulse buys.
Key Phrases
- Guess what?: Used to introduce surprising or exciting news.
- Example: Guess what? I got a new job!
- Online shopping: The act of buying goods or services over the internet.
- Example: I do a lot of my grocery shopping online now, it saves time.
- Flash sale: A discount or promotion offered by an e-commerce store for a short period of time.
- Example: I bought new shoes during a flash sale, they were 50% off!
- Good deal: A transaction or purchase that is very favorable or beneficial, usually because of a low price.
- Example: This laptop was a really good deal, it was much cheaper than other stores.
- Add to Cart / Buy Now: Buttons on a website to put an item into your virtual shopping basket or to complete a purchase immediately.
- Example: I saw a cute shirt and immediately clicked ‘Add to Cart’.
- Check reviews: To read opinions and feedback from other customers about a product or service.
- Example: Always check reviews before buying electronics online.
- Delivery guy / Delivery person: A person whose job is to deliver goods to customers.
- Example: The delivery guy brought my pizza right on time.
Grammar Points
- Past Simple Tense (Regular and Irregular Verbs):
We use the Past Simple to talk about actions that started and finished at a specific time in the past.
- Regular verbs: Add
-edto the base form (e.g., arrive → arrived, struggle → struggled, sigh → sighed).- Example from dialogue: “My package finally arrived!”
- Example from dialogue: “The delivery guy struggled a lot.”
- Irregular verbs: These verbs have unique past simple forms that you need to memorize (e.g., buy → bought, see → saw, look → looked, fit → fit).
- Example from dialogue: “What did you buy this time?” (Here, ‘buy’ is in the base form because of ‘did’)
- Example from dialogue: “I saw it on a flash sale.”
- Example from dialogue: “It almost didn’t fit through my door!” (Here, ‘fit’ is base form after ‘didn’t’)
- Regular verbs: Add
- Present Simple Tense:
We use the Present Simple to talk about habits, routines, general truths, and facts.
- Example from dialogue (habit): “I always check reviews before I click ‘Add to Cart’.”
- Example from dialogue (habit): “I just click ‘Buy Now’ and hope for the best!”
- Example from dialogue (general truth): “That’s why you have a giant flamingo, and I have practical things.”
- Question Words (What, For What):
These words help us ask for specific information.
- What: Asks for information about things or actions.
- Example from dialogue: “What did you buy this time?”
- For what?: Asks for the purpose or reason for something.
- Example from dialogue: “A flamingo? For what?”
- What: Asks for information about things or actions.
- Using “again” and “this time”:
These adverbs help emphasize repeated actions or distinguish the current instance from previous ones.
- again: Means another time, or once more.
- Example from dialogue: “Online shopping again, huh?” (Implied Bob thinks Alice shops online too much).
- this time: Refers to the current instance of an action, especially when it’s a repeated one.
- Example from dialogue: “What did you buy this time?” (Suggests Alice often buys things).
- again: Means another time, or once more.
Practice Exercises
Exercise 1: Match the Key Phrase to its Meaning.
- Flash sale
- Good deal
- Add to Cart
- Check reviews
- Delivery person
a. To read opinions from other customers.
b. A special short-term discount.
c. Someone who brings packages to your home.
d. To put an item into your virtual shopping basket.
e. A low price for something.
Exercise 2: Complete the sentences using the Past Simple form of the verbs in parentheses.
- Alice’s package finally _________ (arrive) today.
- She _________ (buy) a giant inflatable flamingo.
- Alice _________ (see) it on a flash sale.
- The delivery guy _________ (struggle) with the big box.
- Bob _________ (think) it was a silly purchase.
Exercise 3: Answer the questions about the dialogue.
- What did Alice buy online?
- Why did Alice buy the flamingo?
- What does Bob usually do before buying something online?
- What problem did Alice have with the flamingo when it arrived?
- What does Bob suggest Alice do next time?
Answers to Practice Exercises
Exercise 1: Match the Key Phrase to its Meaning.
- Flash sale – b
- Good deal – e
- Add to Cart – d
- Check reviews – a
- Delivery person – c
Exercise 2: Complete the sentences using the Past Simple form of the verbs in parentheses.
- Alice’s package finally arrived (arrive) today.
- She bought (buy) a giant inflatable flamingo.
- Alice saw (see) it on a flash sale.
- The delivery guy struggled (struggle) with the big box.
- Bob thought (think) it was a silly purchase.
Exercise 3: Answer the questions about the dialogue.
- Alice bought a giant inflatable flamingo.
- She bought it because she saw it on a flash sale, it looked fun, and it was a good deal.
- Bob usually checks reviews before buying something online.
- The flamingo was so big it almost didn’t fit through her door, and the delivery guy struggled with it.
- Bob suggests Alice text him before she buys anything silly next time.
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