Do the Preparation task first. Then watch the video. Next go to Task and do the activity. If you need help, you can read the transcript at any time.
Preparation
Before you watch
Think about the following questions:
- Do you ever shop in markets in your country?
- Think about markets in Britain. Do you think they will be the same as markets in your country, or different?
Watch Stephen and Ashlie go shopping in Camden Market in London.
Transcript
Stephen: Here we are in Camden Lock Market. It’s a great place to go shopping and we need to buy a birthday present for our Mum. What do you think we should get her, Ash?
Ashlie: Well our Mum loves nice clothes and costume jewellery. So - I’m sure we’ll find something here.
Stephen: It's huge here, Ash. I’ll tell you what, let’s split up, see what we can find and I’ll meet you back here in one hour.
Ashlie: OK, I’ll see you back here in an hour, then.
Stephen: Oh, Ash – can you lend me 50 quid?
Ashlie: 50 quid, eh?
Stephen: Don’t worry, you’ll get it back!
Ashlie: That should do it.
Stephen: Thank you.
Ashlie: OK, I’ll see you back here later.
Stephen: See you!
.....
Stephen: Wow, look at these! I’ve never seen one of these before. How much are these?
Shopkeeper: Five pound each.
.....
Ashlie: Excuse me. Do you have this in another colour?
.....
Stephen: Hiya – how’s it going?
Shopkeeper: Hi, very well. How are you?
Stephen: Good, thanks.
Stephen: I like these, how much are they?
Shopkeeper: Er, the leaf lights – they are £21.95.
Stephen: Hmm, I’m not sure she’ll like them. Can you help me? I’m looking for a birthday present for my mum. Any ideas?
Shopkeeper: What type of thing does she like?
Stephen: Well, she’s quite stylish – modern, I suppose.
Shopkeeper: Well, the yin yang’s really modern. What do you think of that?
Stephen: Hmm. What about that one over there?
Shopkeeper: Ah, the ball lights – lovely – it’s fifty pounds.
Stephen: Oh.
Shopkeeper: How about... forty, seeing as it’s your mother’s birthday?
Stephen: Twenty?
Shopkeeper: Twenty? That’s really cheap. How about I meet you halfway – twenty-five?
Stephen: Great, thanks mate. My Mum’s going to love this.
Shopkeeper: You’re welcome.
.....
Ashlie: Aah - I'm running out of time…
.....
Ashlie: Excuse me, how much is this?
Shopkeeper: Er, that’s fifty pounds.
.....
Stephen: So? How did you get on?
Ashlie: Pretty good, I guess. I bought this fantastic candle holder. It was a little bit expensive, but I think Mum will love it. In fact I almost bought one for myself!
Stephen: Yeah… great – and look what I found!
Ashlie: Well, that is just crazy – how did we end up buying the same candle holder in this huge market??!
Stephen: I’ll tell you what we’ll do. You take this one. You said you almost bought one for yourself - and you lent me fifty pounds, right?
Ashlie: Right.
Stephen: So you take this one, I’ll get lunch and we’ll call it quits! Come on – it’s time to get something to eat. Lunch is on me, remember. Come on!
Hello Joel-0505
One of the meanings of 'get on' (see the second one) is 'to deal with a job or situation' and so Stephen is asking Ashlie how her shopping went, as you guessed.
Yes, you've understood the idea of 'meeting halfway'. The idea is that, in bargaining, the buyer lowers the price and the seller raises it. It's quite informal.
Thanks for telling us you find LearnEnglish useful! It's always good to hear that people appreciate our work.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello fidaasiddig
In this and many contexts, 'that should do it' means 'that should do the job' -- in other words, 'that should be enough money for you' in this particular context.
It's great that you are focusing on colloquial expressions. They are very common and it's important to learn them!
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Marwa.Mohamed,
These are two different verb forms: the past simple (had) and the present perfect (has had). It's not possibe to provide long explanations of each form in the comments sections but we have a number of pages in our grammar sections which deal with these forms:
present perfect
past simple
You might also find these pages helpful:
talking about the present
talking about the past
If you have any specific questions about the material on those pages we'll be happy to answer, of course.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello josemaenglish,
Are you still unable to see the video? I've just checked and was able to watch it with no problem. If you're still unable to see it, I'd suggest trying a different browser or device. If that still doesn't work, please let us know what browser version you're using and we'll do our best to help you.
Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello xr,
That would make sense and it could certainly be true. To be honest, though, I can't really tell if she was really considering buying one for herself or if she was saying this to emphasise how much she likes it and how much she thinks their mother will like it.
I'm sorry not to be able to give you a more definitive answer. If only we could ask her!
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello ames5,
We say 'that should do it' when we have finished something. It means 'that is enough' or 'I don't need to do any more'.
You can easily check the meanings of phrases like this in an online dictionary. Just type 'that should do it meaning' into a search engine.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi ames5,
In this context 'we'll call it quits' means 'we do not owe each other anything'.
For example, let's say I buy dinner for you. The next day, you might offer to pay for us both to go to the theatre and say 'we'll call it quits'.
We can use this for other things than money, such as when people help each other in some way.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello masud,
There seems to have been some kind of technical error with our server today, as other users have also reported problems with our videos. If you're not able to see it now, please do let us know and I'll investigate it further, though please let me know what browser and browser version you're using.
I'm afraid our videos are not available for download for legal reasons.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Deng hong,
I'm sorry you're having trouble playing the video. I'm afraid these videos are not available for download for legal reasons, but have you tried viewing it on our Chinese site? I think it should play for you there. Please let me know if that doesn't work for you.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Nguyễn Văn An,
That section has never been part of the content on LearnEnglish. Sorry!
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Hamedtry,
1. In this context 'I'll meet you halfway' is a way of making an offer in negotiation. If one person offers $20 and the second offers $30 then the next step might be to say 'I'll meet you halfway' and offer $25.
2. 'I'm running out of time' means that you do not have much time left.
3. We say 'we'll call it quits' when we want to say that neither side owes the other anything. For example, in this dialogue Ashlie lent Stephen £50 and then Stephen gave her back a candleholder worth £50, so Stephen says they can 'call it quits'.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Hamedtry,
'You'll get it back' here is a promise to return the money that is borrowed. It means that same as 'I'll give it back to you'.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello galal agad,
It means that I will pay for lunch. Stephen is telling Ashlie that he will pay for her lunch.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello galal agad,
It means that I will pay for lunch. Stephen is telling Ashlie that he will pay for her lunch.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Giangdauten,
'Let's split up' means 'let's not stay together'. Stephen says this because the place is very big and he thinks it will be more efficient to separate rather than staying in one group.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team