A2 · Unit 4 · 40 words, 3 texts with translation
Compare prices and haggle
Shop at markets and stores: talk about prices and quality, compare things, haggle and exchange what you bought.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Comparisons: más… que, menos… que, tan… como, mejor, peor
At a market you compare things all the time: this one is cheaper, that one is better, and another one is just the same. English often changes the adjective itself (cheap → cheaper). Spanish almost never does that: the adjective stays the same, and a helper word goes in front of it, like English "more expensive".
| Meaning | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| more | más … que | Este bolso es más caro que ese. — This bag is more expensive than that one. |
| less | menos … que | La camisa es menos cara que la chaqueta. — The shirt is less expensive than the jacket. |
| the same | tan … como | Aquí la fruta es tan buena como en el mercado. — The fruit here is as good as at the market. |
The adjective agrees with its noun: la chaqueta es más cara, los tomates son más baratos.
Two words compare on their own, without más:
- mejor — better (from bueno and bien);
- peor — worse (from malo and mal).
Esta marca es mejor que aquella. — This brand is better than that one. La calidad es peor. — The quality is worse. In the plural they become mejores and peores; they don't change for gender.
More:
- "much" is mucho, "a little" is un poco: mucho más barato (much cheaper), un poco mejor (a little better);
- after que and como, Spanish uses yo and tú: Regateas mejor que yo. — You haggle better than I do.
- "not as … as" is no… tan… como: No es tan caro como parece. — It's not as expensive as it looks.
Common mistakes. Don't say ✗ más mejor or ✗ más peor: mejor already means "more good", just as English never says "more better". And before a number, use de instead of que: más de cien euros — more than a hundred euros.
Numbers from 100 to a million
You already know the numbers up to a hundred, plus cien (100) and mil (1,000) from A1, unit 2. Now for everything in between and beyond: you need these to understand the price of a jacket, a phone or an apartment.
| Number | Word | Number | Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | doscientos | 600 | seiscientos |
| 300 | trescientos | 700 | setecientos |
| 400 | cuatrocientos | 800 | ochocientos |
| 500 | quinientos | 900 | novecientos |
Three of them are irregular: quinientos, setecientos, novecientos (not ✗ cincocientos, ✗ sietecientos, ✗ nuevecientos).
How to build a number:
- Exactly one hundred is cien: cien euros. A hundred and something is ciento: ciento sesenta (160).
- The hundreds change for gender: doscientos euros, but doscientas personas.
- y (and) goes only between the tens and the ones: trescientos cuarenta y cinco (345), but doscientos cinco (205).
- mil never changes and has no un in front of it: mil euros (a thousand euros), dos mil, cinco mil quinientos (5,500).
- millón is a noun: un millón, dos millones. Before a noun you need de: un millón de euros (a million euros).
On Spanish price tags it's the other way around from English: a period separates the thousands and a comma separates the cents, 1.250,50 €. Out loud, the cents are joined with con: ocho con cincuenta — eight fifty (8,50 €).
Common mistakes. ✗ un mil euros (just mil euros) and ✗ cien veinte (it's ciento veinte).
Quedar bien and quedar mal: does it look good on you?
You already know gustar: the thing "pleases me", me gusta, me gustan — I like it, I like them (A1, unit 5). The verb quedar works the same way when you talk about clothes: the thing "sits" on you.
The thing is the subject of the sentence. The person goes before the verb: me, te, le, nos, os, les. So there are only two forms: queda (one thing) and quedan (several things).
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Esta chaqueta me queda bien. | This jacket looks good on me. |
| Los pantalones te quedan mal. | The pants don't look good on you. |
| ¿Cómo me queda? | How does it look on me? |
| A Lucía le queda mejor el vestido azul. | The blue dress looks better on Lucía. |
Instead of bien and mal, you can say exactly what's wrong. The adjective agrees with the thing:
- La camisa me queda apretada. — The shirt is tight on me.
- Los zapatos me quedan estrechos. — The shoes are too narrow for me.
- El jersey te queda ancho. — The sweater is loose on you. (Also: grande — too big, pequeño — too small, largo — too long, corto — too short.)
Don't mix them up. Me gusta is about liking a thing; me queda bien — it looks good on me — is about how it fits and suits you: Me gusta esta falda, pero me queda mal. — I like this skirt, but it doesn't look good on me. And quedar without clothes means "to meet up" (A1, unit 14): ¿Quedamos a las seis? (Shall we meet at six?)
Common mistake: starting the sentence with the person, as in English "I look good in this jacket": ✗ Yo quedo bien con la chaqueta. Start with the thing instead: La chaqueta me queda bien.
Words in this unit
el vendedor — seller, vendor, salesperson
El vendedor tiene unas naranjas muy buenas. — The seller has some very good oranges.
el/la cliente — customer, client
Hay muchos clientes en la tienda. — There are a lot of customers in the store.
la oferta — offer, deal, special offer
Hoy hay una oferta de tomates. — There's a deal on tomatoes today.
el descuento — discount
¿Hay descuento si compro dos? — Is there a discount if I buy two?
las rebajas — sales, seasonal sales
Las rebajas empiezan en enero. — The sales start in January.
fresco — fresh, cool
El pescado está muy fresco. — The fish is very fresh.
maduro — ripe, mature
Estos tomates están maduros. — These tomatoes are ripe.
la calidad — quality
La calidad de esta chaqueta es muy buena. — The quality of this jacket is very good.
la docena — dozen
Quiero una docena de huevos. — I want a dozen eggs.
cambiar — to change, to exchange
Quiero cambiar esta camisa por otra. — I want to exchange this shirt for another one.
devolver — to return, to give back
Quiero devolver estos zapatos. — I want to return these shoes.
regatear — to haggle, to bargain
En el mercadillo puedes regatear. — You can haggle at the street market.
ahorrar — to save (money, time)
Ahorro dinero para un viaje. — I'm saving money for a trip.
gastar — to spend
Gasto mucho dinero en ropa. — I spend a lot of money on clothes.
valer — to cost, to be worth
¿Cuánto vale este bolso? — How much is this bag?
peor — worse, worst
Este modelo es peor que el otro. — This model is worse than the other one.
igual — the same, equal
Estas dos camisas son iguales. — These two shirts are the same.
suficiente — enough, sufficient
Con veinte euros es suficiente. — Twenty euros is enough.
el bolso — bag, purse, handbag
Me gusta este bolso negro. — I like this black bag.
la zapatilla — sneaker, slipper
Necesito unas zapatillas nuevas. — I need some new sneakers.
el par — pair, couple
Necesito un par de calcetines. — I need a pair of socks.
el modelo — model, style
¿Tiene otro modelo? — Do you have another model? (formal)
la marca — brand, make
¿Qué marca de zapatillas prefieres? — What brand of sneakers do you prefer?
doscientos — two hundred
Este bolso cuesta doscientos euros. — This bag costs two hundred euros.
quinientos — five hundred
El móvil cuesta quinientos euros. — The cell phone costs five hundred euros.
el millón — million
Madrid tiene más de tres millones de personas. — Madrid has more than three million people.
cualquier — any, any at all
Puedes pagar con cualquier tarjeta. — You can pay with any card.
ambos — both
Ambos bolsos son bonitos. — Both bags are pretty.
el resto — rest, remainder
Pago la mitad y tú pagas el resto. — I pay half and you pay the rest.
el mercadillo — street market, flea market
Los domingos voy al mercadillo. — On Sundays I go to the street market.
la ganga — bargain
Este abrigo es una ganga. — This coat is a bargain.
el tique — receipt
¿Me da el tique, por favor? — Can you give me the receipt, please? (formal)
el probador — fitting room
¿Dónde está el probador? — Where's the fitting room?
apretado — tight
Esta camisa me queda apretada. — This shirt is tight on me.
ancho — wide, loose
Estos pantalones son muy anchos. — These pants are very loose.
estrecho — narrow, tight
Los zapatos son estrechos. — The shoes are narrow.
el cuero — leather
Mi bolso es de cuero. — My bag is made of leather.
el algodón — cotton
Esta camiseta es de algodón. — This T-shirt is made of cotton.
quedar bien — to look good on, to fit well
Esta chaqueta te queda bien. — This jacket looks good on you.
quedar mal — to not look good on, to fit badly
Esta camisa me queda mal. — This shirt doesn't look good on me.
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