Hang the lights, start baking cookies, decorate the tree, and pull out your wallet: the Christmas season is here! For many, this means that we will spend a lot of time shopping for Christmas presents. To help you with shopping in English, here are some useful phrasal verbs related to shopping. Make sure to also check out our Guide to Shopping in SD article in order to find the best places to buy gifts, and our article on Collocations with Give for more English shopping practice!
Phrasal Verbs for Shopping
Pick up: buy
- I picked up some presents at the mall.
- Can you pick up some more sugar while you’re out? I need it for the cookies.
Pick out: choose
- I picked out three shirts for your dad. Please tell me which one you think he will like the most.
Take back: return
- I have to take back this shirt I bought for my Mom. I think she has a similar one already.
Come up with: think of
- Can you come up with some gift ideas for my boss? He is so difficult to buy for!
Stress out: to be very stressed
- I am so stressed out after all this shopping!
Practice with Phrasal Verbs
Can you complete the paragraph below using the phrasal verbs listed above?
I had such a busy day. I spent five hours at the mall __________ presents for everyone in my family AND looking for gifts for my boyfriend’s family. I couldn’t ________ ________ ________ an idea for my boyfriend’s father, so I just ____________ a simple blue tie. When I got home, my boyfriend said he didn’t like the tie, so now I have to ________ it ________. I am so ________ ________!
Answers
I had such a busy day. I spent five hours at the mall picking out/up presents for everyone in my family AND looking for gifts for my boyfriend’s family. I couldn’t come up with an idea for my boyfriend’s father, so I just picked out/up a simple blue tie. When I got home, my boyfriend said he didn’t like the tie, so now I have to take it back. I am so stress out!
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