Shopping (clothes store)

Notes

You arrive at the clothing store. You wish to buy a t-shirt. You enter and start
looking around. The salesperson approaches you and asks if you need help:

Bom dia, posso ajudá-lo?

Good morning, may I help you?

As always, you reply with the same greeting, according to the time of day.

Bom dia! / Boa tarde! / Boa noite!

Eu queria uma t-shirt.

I would like a t-shirt.

T-shirt is a feminine noun, so you identify it here with the feminine indefinite
article uma. If you were looking for a belt, a masculine noun, you would need the
masculine indefinite article, um.

Either the salesperson shows you where the t-shirts are or you will be asked a
series of questions to determine size and color of the item you want. Let's go back
to our dialogue.

De que cor? / Qual é a cor?

Which color?

Remember that your answer, using an adjective, like a color, needs to agree in
gender and number with the noun it describes. In this case you want a yellow t-
shirt. Generally the feminine ending will be the letter -a, and the masculine the
ending -o. To transform a noun or an adjective to the plural form, the ending will
generally be -s. For example:

 t-shirts brancas white t-shirts

 cintos brancos white belts

Your answer to this question could then be:

Eu queria uma t-shirt amarela.

I would like a yellow t-shirt.

Or a simpler version:

Amarela.

Yellow.

The next question could be:

De que tamanho? / Qual é o tamanho?

Which size?

You either answer with the size number or you can just use the letters:

S for small

M for medium

L for large

Eu queria uma tshirt em tamanho S.

Eu queria uma t-shirt em tamanho M.

Eu queria uma t-shirt em tamanho L.

Eu queria uma t-shirt em tamanho XL.

One final question:

De que material? / Qual é o material?

Which material?

Simply answer with the nouns you learned in the previous episode. For example:

Algodão.

Cotton.

The salesperson brings you some options, and you really like one of them. You
would like to try it to see if you like it on you. You point to the one you want and
say:

Queria experimentar esta, por favor.

I would like to try this one, please.

Esta is a pronoun in place of the noun t-shirt. This noun is feminine, so this
pronoun will also be feminine. If you would like to try this belt here, being belt,
cinto, a masculine noun, you would say: este.

Eu queria experimentar este, por favor.

The salesperson will then respond with something like:

Claro!

Sure!

Pode experimentar ali!

You can try it over there (pointing at the fitting room).

If the fitting room would be here, instead of there, you would hear aqui.

Pode experimentar aqui!

You try it out. And this is how you can describe it:

Está grande.

It's big.

Está pequena.

It's small.

Está comprida.

It's long.

Está curta.

It's short.

This will work with all adjectives, and remember to transform the ending
according to the gender of the item you are referring to.

If you just want to say how it looks in general, the structure is a bit different:

Fica bem.

It looks good (it suits).

Fica mal.
It looks bad (it doesn't suit).

You can also express that you like it:

Gosto!

I like it!

Or if you don't like it:

Não gosto.

I don’t like it.

You tried the t-shirt and you really like it. You want to ask for the price.

Quanto custa?

How much does it cost?

Custa 15 euros e 50 cêntimos.

It costs 15 euros and 50 cents.

You decide you are going to take it.

Vou levar.

I am going to take it.

This structure [to go + the infinitive of the main verb] expresses an event that
will happen in the future. In this case it refers to a plan in the near future. This is
the structure you use informally to speak about the future. As I’ve told you, there
is also a future tense in Portuguese, but it is not used as much as that, therefore I
don’t think we need to waste our time on it, for now at least!

If you didn't like the t-shirt after you tried it, then just use the same sentence in
the negative:

Não vou levar.

I am not going to take it.

But you do like it and you are going to pay for it. You ask where you can pay.

Onde é a caixa?

Where is the register?

Most likely the salesperson will point at it saying:

ali: over there / aqui: over here

Great, just pay for your new t-shirt and you are free to go.

Now imagine you went home, washed it and it shrank so much your cat could
wear it.

You go back to the store with your t-shirt and your receipt and say:

Queria trocar esta t-shirt, por favor.

I would like to exchange this t-shirt, please.

Aqui está o recibo.

Here is the receipt.

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Exercícios:

1. Vamos traduzir?

Dialogue

Shop assistant: Good morning, can I help you?

Client: Good morning. Yes, I would like a coat, please.

Shop assistant: A coat? Very well. Which size?

Client: The coat is for me, so, size 38.

Shop assistant: And which color?

Client: The color? I don’t mind. Maybe brown or black. A dark color.

Shop assistant: Look, we have this brown coat in leather, size 38.

Client: A leather coat? It’s very nice, but... how much does it cost?

Shop assistant: This coat costs 150 euros.

Client: It’s very expensive. And what about a cardigan?

Shop assistant: Let me see... We have several. We have this yellow cardigan and this white
cardigan.

Client: Yellow and white? I wanted a dark coat, not a light coat.

Shop assistant: Well, we have this brown cardigan, but it’s very big. It’s size 42.

Client: I don’t like it very much, it’s too long.

Shop assistant: Don’t you want to try it anyway?

Client: No, it’s not worth it. And a cotton coat, do you have any?

Shop assistant: Yes, this dark blue one and this light blue one.

Client: This light blue is nice. I would like to try this one, please.

Shop assistant: Sure! The fitting room is there.

...

Shop assistant: So, how does it look?

Client: It doesn’t look good. It’s too big and too long!

Shop assistant: Sorry, that is size 42! Here is size 38.

Client: Yes, this looks very good. It’s the right size. Which material is it?

Shop assistant: It’s silk.

Client: Silk? I don’t want a silk coat!

Shop assistant: But you like it so much!

Client: Yes, that’s true.

Shop assistant: And it’s on sale... it only costs 50 euros.

Client: 50 euros? But I am never going to wear this coat.

Shop assistant: But it’s very elegant, and it’s the style this year!

Client: Are you sure?

Shop assistant: Of course!

Client: Well, then I am going to take it.

Client: Well, then I am going to take it.

Shop assistant: Good choice!

2. Escreve 1 diálogo entre o cliente e o empregado de uma loja de roupa.