Clothes and shopping (Spotlight 2, Unit 5)

Which clothes and accessories should you know?

View full-size image

Trousers, jeans, shorts and pyjamas are plural words, even for one item: These jeans are new. To count them, say a pair of: a pair of jeans, two pairs of trousers. Shoes, trainers, boots, socks and gloves come in pairs too. British and American English sometimes use different words: trousers and pants, trainers and sneakers.

The djellaba and the kaftan are traditional Moroccan clothes that many people wear for Eid, weddings and other celebrations, and babouches are traditional leather slippers. They follow the same grammar as other clothes words: He is wearing a white djellaba. These babouches are comfortable.

How do you describe what someone is wearing?

Use the present continuous for clothes you have on now: Today Omar is wearing his sports jacket. Use the present simple for a habit: On Fridays he usually wears a djellaba. Have on means the same as be wearing, but it stays in the simple form: She has on a scarf. Do not say She is having on a scarf.

The present continuous can also describe a plan for a near future time: I’m wearing my new jacket to the party tonight. A time word such as tonight or on Saturday shows that it is a plan, not an action happening now.

Which adjectives describe clothes?

Casual clothes are for everyday life and free time; formal clothes are for special or official occasions. Tight clothes are too small around the body, and loose or baggy clothes are wide. A striped shirt has lines, a floral scarf has flowers and a plain jacket has one colour with no pattern.

In which order do adjectives go?

View full-size image

When you use two or more adjectives before a noun, they usually follow this order: opinion, size, colour, pattern, material, then the noun. Say a nice long blue scarf and a comfortable grey cotton sweatshirt. After be, adjectives come after the noun and are joined with and: The scarf is long and blue.

Which shops sell clothes and accessories?

A salesperson helps customers in a shop. Something on sale costs less than its usual price. In a souq, you can often ask for a lower price politely: Can you give me a better price, please? Shop and store mean the same thing; store is more common in American English.

What do you say in a clothes shop?

Use it for one item and them for a plural item: Can I try it on? Can I try them on? With trousers, jeans and shoes, say these or those: How much are these jeans? Too + adjective means more than you want: It’s too big. It’s too expensive.

How do you compare two items?

View full-size image

Add -er to a short adjective and use than before the second item. Double the final consonant after a short vowel, big → bigger, and change y to i, pretty → prettier. Use more before a long adjective: more comfortable, more expensive. Good and bad are irregular: better, worse. One and ones replace a noun you have already said: the brown coat and the black one.

Reading: Hamza chooses a winter jacket

It is very cold in Ifrane in winter, so Hamza needs a new jacket. On Saturday he goes to a sporting goods store with his father. He usually wears a light grey sweatshirt, but today he is wearing his old blue coat because it is snowing. The salesperson shows him two jackets. The green jacket is 400 dirhams and it is very warm. The black jacket is cheaper, only 300 dirhams, but it is thinner. Hamza tries them on. The green one fits better, so he chooses it. His father pays by card.

Writing: describe an outfit for a special day

For Eid, I’m going to wear a long white djellaba and yellow babouches. My djellaba is made of cotton and it is very comfortable. I usually wear jeans and trainers, but on Eid I prefer traditional clothes. My little brother has on a small grey djellaba today. He looks smart! I think traditional clothes are more beautiful than everyday clothes.

The model uses be going to for a plan, a present simple sentence for a habit, has on for now, adjectives in the right order and a comparative. Write 50 to 70 words about clothes for a special day, a school trip or sports day, and use the same five language points.

Global citizens: what is upcycling?

Upcycling means making something new and useful from old things. An old T-shirt can become a shopping bag, and old jeans can become a pencil case. You can also repair clothes, give clothes that are too small to someone who needs them, or swap clothes with your cousins. Upcycling reduces waste and helps protect the environment. With a partner, choose one old item and explain how you can upcycle it.