Shops ending in -ería
Spanish names many small shops after what they sell, with the ending -ería. They are all feminine.
| they sell | the shop |
|---|---|
| el pan | la panadería (the bakery) |
| la carne | la carnicería (the butcher's) |
| la fruta | la frutería (the greengrocer's) |
| I buy the bread at the bakery. | Compro el pan en la panadería. |
| The butcher's is closed on Sundays. | La carnicería está cerrada los domingos. |
| At the greengrocer's the oranges are cheap. | En la frutería las naranjas son baratas. |
At the counter
The person who serves you is el dependiente — a woman is la dependienta. You ask with ¿Me pone…? when they serve or weigh it for you and ¿Me da…? for almost anything, the assistant asks ¿Algo más? (anything else?), and you finish with Nada más and ¿Cuánto es?
| The shop assistant helps me. | El dependiente me ayuda. |
| Can you give me a bag, please? | ¿Me da una bolsa, por favor? |
| Anything else? Nothing else. How much is everything? | ¿Algo más? Nada más. ¿Cuánto vale todo? |
¿Cuánto vale?
Valer means to be worth, and in a shop it is the everyday way to ask a price: ¿cuánto vale? means the same as ¿cuánto cuesta? Only the yo form is irregular (valgo); the rest is regular: vale, valen.
| How much is this bread? | ¿Cuánto vale este pan? |
| The apples cost two euros a kilo. | Las manzanas valen dos euros el kilo. |
Me lo llevo
When you decide to buy something, say me lo llevo — I'll take it. Llevarse is llevar with a reflexive pronoun, and the object pronoun sits in between: me lo llevo, me la llevo, ¿se lo lleva?
| I'll take it. | Me lo llevo. |
| Are you taking it, madam? | ¿Se lo lleva, señora? |
Paying and carrying
At the till la bolsa often costs a few cents — it is not always gratis (free). Cash comes from el cajero automático, and in January and July the shops have las rebajas, the sales. La compra is what you buy: one purchase, or the whole week's food shopping.
| Is it free? No, it costs one euro. | ¿Es gratis? No, vale un euro. |
| In January there are sales. | En enero hay rebajas. |
| Is there a cash machine around here? | ¿Hay un cajero automático por aquí? |
| I carry the shopping home. | Llevo la compra a casa. |
