Essential English: Shopping Vocabulary and Passive Voice Grammar

Essential Shopping Vocabulary and Retail Terms

Key Shopping Actions and Transactions

• Get a discount: Receive a reduction in price.
• Return purchases: Take an item back to the store for a refund or exchange.
• Use a credit card: Pay for goods using borrowed funds (Credit Card Use).
• Buy second-hand items: Purchase used goods.
• Pay in installments: Pay for an item in scheduled partial payments (Pay in terms).
• Bargain over the price: Negotiate the cost of an item.
• Get a refund: Receive money back for a returned item.
• Find designer brands: Locate high-end or luxury labels.

Places, Items, and Concepts

• Car boot sale: A sale of used items, often from the trunk of a car.
• Greengrocer: A retailer specializing in fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Purchase: To buy something.
• Budget: A plan for managing income and expenditure.
• Chain store: One of a series of stores owned by one company.
• Customer: A person who buys goods or services (Consumer/Shopper).
• Shop assistant: A person who serves customers in a shop (Clerk/Assistant).
• Second-hand: Previously owned; used (Resale).
• Brand-new: Completely new.
• Imitations: Copies of original items.
• Discount: A deduction from the usual cost.
• Bargains: Items bought cheaply; good deals.
• Debt: Money owed to another party.
• Brand-name: A product sold under a specific, recognizable name.
• Rip-off: A fraud or scam; something grossly overpriced.
• Special Offer: A product or service sold at a reduced price for a short period.
• Afford: To have enough money to pay for something.

Common Shopping Phrasal Verbs

• Shop around: Compare prices in different stores.
• Check out: Pay for items; examine or inspect.
• Pay for: To give money in exchange for goods.
• Take it back: Return an item to the store.
• Pick up: Buy something casually; collect.
• Try on: Put on clothing to see if it fits.
• Take back: Return an item.
• Pick out: Choose or select.

Mastering the Passive Voice in English Grammar

The Passive Voice structure focuses on the action and the object receiving the action. The general structure is: Object + TO BE (conjugated) + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent).

Passive Voice Structures by Tense

• Present Simple: Object + am/is/are + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent). (Example: The item is sold.)
• Present Continuous: Object + am/is/are + being + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent). (Example: The items are being sold.)
• Past Simple: Object + was/were + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent). (Example: The item was sold.)
• Future Simple: Object + will + be + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent). (Example: The item will be sold.)
• Present Perfect Simple: Object + have/has + been + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent). (Example: The item has been sold.)
• Past Continuous: Object + was/were + being + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent). (Example: The items were being sold.)
• Past Perfect Simple: Object + had + been + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent). (Example: The report had been written.)

Passive Voice Structures with Modals and Semi-Modals

• Modals: Object + Modal + be + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent). (Example: The item can be sold.)
• Perfect Modals: Object + Modal + have + been + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent). (Example: The report must have been written.)
• Semi-Modal 'Have to': Object + have/has + to be + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent). (Example: The report has to be written.)
• 'Be going to': Object + am/is/are + going to + be + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent). (Example: The report is going to be written.)

General Passive Voice Forms

• Affirmative: Object + TO BE + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent).
• Negative: Object + TO BE + not + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent).
• Interrogative (Question): TO BE + Object + Past Participle (V3) + (by Agent)?

Common Modals Used in Passive Voice

can, be able to, cannot, could, may, might, would, must, have to, need to, needn't, don't have to, mustn't, should, ought to.