Learn shop/money nouns with their article
Learn each shop noun with its article — gender is not always guessable: la tienda, el mercado, la panadería, el centro comercial, la caja (till). Money: pagar en efectivo (cash), pagar con tarjeta (card), ¿Cuánto cuesta? (how much?). Post/bank: un sello (stamp), sacar dinero (withdraw money), el cajero automático (cash machine). Full vocabulary table in the note.
Clothes, sizes and fixed complaint formulas
Clothes take the article too: la camisa, el vestido, los pantalones, los zapatos. Size: la talla (clothes) vs el número (shoes). Fit: probarse algo (try on), me queda bien/mal (it suits me). Complaint set-phrases: Quisiera devolver esto, Está roto/rota (broken), Está manchado/manchada (stained), Me gustaría un reembolso. Learn quisiera/me gustaría whole — do not conjugate them.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
la talla (clothes) vs el número (shoes)
Both translate as English "size", but Spanish keeps them separate: la talla for clothes (¿Tiene una talla más grande?) and el número for shoes (Calzo el número 39). Using talla for shoes is understood colloquially, but the exam-preferred answer keeps número for footwear, so mixing them sounds unnatural.
quiero is too blunt for a complaint
In a complaint or request, quiero devolver esto sounds too direct. The exam-expected polite forms are the fixed conditionals quisiera and me gustaría: Quisiera devolver esto, Me gustaría un reembolso, ¿Podría cambiarlo?. Learn them as set-phrases — do not rebuild them from querer/gustar.
quedar/gustar conjugated for the person
A common false belief is that me gusta/me queda conjugate for "I" — English "I like" and "it fits me" feel like statements about the person. In Spanish the item liked or fitting is the subject; the person is only an indirect-object pronoun: Estos zapatos me quedan bien (plural zapatos → quedan), not Yo quedo bien estos zapatos. The item controls the verb.
Colour/clothing adjective left unagreed
Colour and descriptive adjectives agree in gender and number with the clothing noun — easy to forget, as English adjectives never change: una camisa roja (not rojo), unos zapatos negros (not negro), un vestido bonito vs una falda bonita. Agree with the noun's Spanish gender, not the English word's "feel".
Adjective–noun agreement is a top Writing error every sitting (w23 P41 Q2 Task 3; s23 P41 Task 1).
sacar vs tomar vs llevar all mean "take"
These overlap with English "take" but are not interchangeable: sacar dinero = withdraw money (Voy a sacar dinero del cajero); tomar = take/have a drink or transport — never money or clothes; llevar = wear or carry (Llevo una chaqueta azul). Tomar dinero or tomar una camisa is wrong.
sacar/tomar/llevar confusion is on the Writing common-errors list every sitting.
Malforming gustar/quedar (me gusto)
Gustar and quedar (fit/suit) work backwards: the item is the subject, the person an indirect-object pronoun. Right: Me gusta este vestido (singular → gusta); Me gustan estos zapatos (plural → gustan); Esta chaqueta me queda bien. Wrong: Yo gusto..., Me gusto... — conjugating for the person. The me must stay.
gustar/quedar malformations (me gusto, mi gusta, se gustan) are on the Writing common-errors list every sitting.
Name the item: article + agreeing adjective
Open a shopping answer by naming the item precisely: its article plus an agreeing colour/size adjective — una camisa azul, unos zapatos negros. This article-plus-agreement is the easiest accuracy mark in a transactional task.
State the price with number AND currency
When you ask or give a price, say the number and currency together: Cuesta treinta y cinco euros, not a bare treinta y cinco. Numbers and currency are a named weak point in Speaking role-plays, so rehearse prices aloud as whole phrases.
Complaint: formula + fault + outcome
Structure a complaint in three moves: the polite formula (Quisiera devolver esto...), the specific fault (...porque está roto/manchado), then the outcome (un reembolso, otra talla). Do not just say no me gusta — too vague to count as a reason.
Match the question word in a role-play
In the Speaking role-play, answer the category the question word asks for: ¿Cuánto? → price, ¿Dónde? → place, ¿Cuándo? → time, ¿Qué talla? → size. Question words trip candidates every sitting into the wrong category, so listen for the exact word first.
This topic covers shops and shopping vocabulary, clothes and sizes, money and prices, the post office and bank, and making a complaint / returning an item.
Shops:
| Spanish | English | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| la tienda | shop | el centro comercial | shopping centre |
| la panadería | bakery | la farmacia | chemist's |
| el mercado | market | el supermercado | supermarket |
| la caja | till/checkout | el recibo | receipt |
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