De compras — Shopping Phrases
🛍️ De compras — Shopping Phrases
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Cuánto cuesta? / ¿Cuánto cuestan? | How much does it cost? / How much do they cost? |
| ¿Lo/La tiene en otro color? | Do you have it in another colour? |
| Me lo/la llevo. | I'll take it. (m/f) |
| ¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta? | Can I pay by card? |
| Es demasiado caro/cara. | It's too expensive. (m/f) |
| Aquí tiene el cambio. | Here is your change. |
⭐ Lo vs. La — pronoun note
lo (m) / la (f) replaces the item being discussed. Me lo llevo — masculine item (e.g. el jersey). Me la llevo — feminine item (e.g. la camisa). The pronoun must match the gender of the noun it replaces.
In transactional Spanish, lo and la are direct object pronouns that replace the item you're talking about. English just says it — Spanish must choose based on the gender of the noun.
Earn the mark scheme marks
💡 Common Shopping Errors — AQA Speaking Paper 3
❌ Error 1: Me lo llevo — when buying la falda (feminine item)
✅ Correct: Me la llevo
Why it costs marks: la falda is feminine, so the direct object pronoun must be la, not lo. The pronoun agreement error signals to the examiner that the student doesn't control pronoun–noun gender matching, which is an AO3 (accuracy) criterion.
❌ Error 2: ¿Cuánto cuestan este zapato?
✅ Correct: ¿Cuánto cuesta este zapato?
Why it costs marks: Singular item → singular verb cuesta. Cuestan is for plural nouns: ¿Cuánto cuestan estos zapatos? The distinction is tested directly in AQA listening and reading papers.