Ordering and shopping in English: I'd like a coffee, please

In a cafe or a shop, a few short sentences do most of the work: I'd like..., Can I have...?, please, How much is it? and Thank you.

I'd like: the polite way to ask

I'd like is the short form of I would like. It means "I want", but it is polite.

How polite is it? Look at this line, from rude to polite:

I want is not wrong English. With friends it is fine: I want a coffee. Do you want one? But to a waiter, it can sound rude. I'd like is always safe.

Do not mix up I'd like and I like:

Can I have...? and please

Can I have...? is the second polite way to order. It is a question, so write a ? at the end.

• Can I have a tea, please? (I would like a tea.)
• Can I have a glass of water, please? (I would like some water.)

Please usually goes at the end. People in the UK say please and thank you a lot, and a sentence with no please can sound cold.

Short answers are fine too. The waiter says Tea or coffee? You say Coffee, please.

At the cafe

Here is what the waiter says, and what you say back.

12345

1. 1I'd like a coffee, please.
2. 2Can I have a coffee, please?
3. 3What can I get you?
4. 4the menu
5. 5two coffees

Two people order. The waiter asks what they want. The menu shows the food and drink; the cups on the table are two coffees.

Eat in means you eat at a table in the cafe. Take away means you take it with you. In American English, the waiter says For here or to go? Both are right.

At the end, say Thank you or Thanks.

Food and drink words

Use a or an for one thing you can count. Use some for things you cannot count, like bread and milk.

123456

1. 1some bread
2. 2some cheese
3. 3some water
4. 4some juice
5. 5a bowl of fruit
6. 6a cake

A table of food. You cannot count bread, cheese, water or juice, so say some. You can count a bowl of fruit and a cake.

In a cafe, a coffee means "a cup of coffee", and a tea means "a cup of tea". That is why you can say two coffees, please.

How much is it? Prices in pounds and pence

Ask with is for one thing and are for two or more.

The answer often starts with It's, They're or That's: That's four pounds.

Money in the UK is pounds (£) and pence (p). One pound is 100 pence.

Over one pound, you usually do not say pence: £2.50 is two pounds fifty. One pound has no s: one pound, but two pounds.

Where to buy it: the supermarket, the chemist, the market

The chemist and the chemist's are both right in British English. In American English, it is the pharmacy or the drugstore.

• I'm going to the supermarket. Do we need milk?
• Ana is at the chemist. She has a cold.

A shop conversation, start to finish

Ben is at the market. Read it out loud.

Ben gives five pounds. The food costs four pounds fifty, so his change is fifty pence.

Common mistakes

What to do next

1. Order your next coffee in English: I'd like a coffee, please.
2. Ask the price of three things around you: How much is it?
3. Do the drills below.