Shopping and Money Vocabulary in English
Do more with this exercise
Learn the words you need to buy things in English: money, prices, paying and sizes. Read each word and its example, then do the exercises. Remember: use how much with uncountable nouns (how much money) and how many with countable nouns (how many shops).
Money and prices
moneywhat you use to buy things
I don't have any money today.
pricehow much you pay for something
The price of this bag is 20 euros.
costhave a price
A cup of coffee costs two euros.
cheapwith a low price
These socks are very cheap.
expensivewith a high price
A new car is very expensive.
freeyou do not pay for it
The museum is free on Sundays.
Currencies
dollar
This book costs ten dollars.
euro
The coffee is two euros.
pound
My ticket costs five pounds.
cent
One dollar is one hundred cents.
Paying
paygive money for something
I pay the cashier ten euros.
cashmoney in coins and notes
I don't have any cash with me.
credit card
Can I pay by credit card?
coin
I have two coins in my pocket.
notea piece of paper money
She gives me a ten-euro note.
changethe money the shop gives back to you
Here is your change: three euros.
receipt
Please keep your receipt.
In the shop
shopa place where you buy things
There are a lot of shops in the city centre.
customera person who buys things in a shop
The customer pays the cashier.
buyget something and pay for it
I want to buy a new phone.
sellgive something and get money for it
They sell fruit and bread.
baga paper or plastic thing for your shopping
Can I have a bag, please?
sizehow big or small something is
What size are your shoes?
small
I'm a small, not a medium.
medium
This T-shirt is a medium.
large
Do you have this shirt in a large?
How much? How many?
how mucha question about price or about an uncountable thing
How much is this shirt?
how manya question about a countable thing
How many shops are there in your street?
a lot ofa big number or amount of
We have a lot of money in the bank.
not mucha small amount of an uncountable thing
There isn't much milk in the fridge.
not manya small number of countable things
There aren't many customers in the shop today.
Practice exercises
Match the Words
Match each word with its symbol.
Choose a word on the left, then its match on the right.
Choose the Correct Word
Choose the correct answer for each sentence.
7.How ___ money do you have?
8.How ___ apples are there in the bag?
9.A new car is ___. It costs a lot of money.
10.I pay 10 euros for a 7-euro book. The shop assistant gives me 3 euros ___.
11.Please keep your ___. It shows what you buy and how much you pay.
12.I have ___ money in my bag.
13.In a clothes shop: "What ___ are you?" "I'm a medium."
Fill in the Blank
Type the missing word.
Shopping and money in English
When you go shopping, you ask about the price with How much is it? or How much are they? The shop assistant answers with a price: It's ten euros. They're five pounds. You can also ask What's the price? or How much does it cost?
Use how much with uncountable nouns, such as money, milk and time. Use how many with countable nouns, such as shops, apples and people. In questions and negative sentences, use any: I don't have any money. There aren't any apples. In positive sentences, use some or a lot of: I have some money. We have a lot of apples.
To pay, you can use cash (coins and notes) or a credit card. The shop assistant gives you your change and a receipt. In clothes shops, you ask for a size: small, medium or large. Shoe sizes are numbers, and they are different in the UK and the USA.
British and American English use some different words. British people say shop and note, and American people say store and bill. The currency is also different: pounds in the UK, dollars in the USA and euros in many European countries.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between much and many?
Use many with countable nouns: how many shops, many people. Use much with uncountable nouns: how much money, how much time. In positive sentences, use a lot of for both: a lot of shops, a lot of money.
What is the difference between How much is it? and How much does it cost?
They have the same meaning. Both ask about the price. How much is it? is shorter and more common in a shop. For more than one thing, say How much are they?
Does change mean coins or the money you get back?
Change is the money the shop gives back to you after you pay. It can also mean coins: Do you have any change for the bus? In the sentence I need to change my shirt, change is a verb with a different meaning: to put on a different shirt.
Is it shop or store, and note or bill?
In British English, people say shop and note. In American English, they say store and bill. Both are correct. In the USA, people also say the check for the restaurant bill.
Is cheap always a good word?
Cheap means a low price, and it is often good: a cheap hotel. Sometimes it means low quality: a cheap watch. When you want a polite word, say not expensive or good value.
Answer key
1. receipt
Answer: 🧾
A receipt is a piece of paper that shows what you buy and how much you pay.
2. credit card
Answer: 💳
You can pay with a credit card instead of cash.
3. euro
Answer: €
The sign € is for the euro.
4. pound
Answer: £
The sign £ is for the British pound.
5. small
Answer: S
S is the short form of small. M is medium and L is large.
6. coin
Answer: 🪙
A coin is a small round piece of metal money.
7. How ___ money do you have?
Answer: much
Money is uncountable, so we use how much. Some is not used in this question.
8. How ___ apples are there in the bag?
Answer: many
Apples are countable (one apple, two apples), so we use how many.
9. A new car is ___. It costs a lot of money.
Answer: expensive
Something that costs a lot of money is expensive.
10. I pay 10 euros for a 7-euro book. The shop assistant gives me 3 euros ___.
Answer: change
The money the shop gives back to you is the change.
11. Please keep your ___. It shows what you buy and how much you pay.
Answer: receipt
A receipt is the piece of paper that shows what you buy and what you pay.
12. I have ___ money in my bag.
Answer: a lot of
Money is uncountable, so many is wrong. We don't use any in a positive sentence. We say a lot of money.
13. In a clothes shop: "What ___ are you?" "I'm a medium."
Answer: size
Small, medium and large are sizes. We ask: What size are you?
14. How ___ is this T-shirt?
Answer: much
To ask about a price, we say how much.
15. How ___ people are there in the shop?
Answer: many
People are countable, so we use how many.
16. Customers ___ things in a shop, and shop assistants sell them.
Answer: buy
Customers buy things, and shop assistants sell them.
17. I don't have any cash. I pay by ___.
Answer: card
When you don't have cash, you can pay by card or by credit card.
18. This bag costs 2 euros. It's very ___.
Answer: cheap
Something with a low price is cheap.
19. There aren't ___ apples in the shop.
Answer: any
In a negative sentence with a plural noun, any, many and a lot of are all correct: there aren't any apples, there aren't many apples, there aren't a lot of apples.
20. What's the ___ of this book? It's 12 pounds.
Answer: price
The price of something is how much you pay for it. The cost is also correct.