City Services & Shops — A2 Essential Words

grocery /ˈɡrəʊsəri/ noun / adjective A2 Places

Meaning: Food and household goods sold in a store; a store selling food and home supplies (also 'grocery store').

Example: I buy groceries at the store near my house.

Another example: The grocery store closes at ten.

Collocations: grocery store · grocery shopping · groceries (the goods)

Synonyms: supermarket (bigger), market

Word family: groceries (n pl) · grocer (n — old word)

⚠ Common mistake: The goods are 'groceries'; the place is the 'grocery store' or supermarket (supermarkets are the big ones).

🗣 In spoken American English: Weekly grocery runs are the rhythm of American suburbs.

Register: Neutral — city essential.

salon /səˈlɒn/ noun A2 Places

Meaning: A shop where people get beauty treatments — haircuts, nails, and skin care; in older formal use, an elegant room for guests.

Example: She got her hair cut at the salon.

Another example: The nail salon is next to the café.

Collocations: hair salon · nail salon · at the salon

Synonyms: barbershop (men's hair), spa (bigger, wellness)

Word family: salons (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: Hair salon vs barbershop: barbers cut short hair and shave; salons do everything beauty. Say suh-LON.

🗣 In spoken American English: Saturday mornings are their championship hour.

Register: Neutral — city essential.

laundry /ˈlɔːndri/ noun A2 Places

Meaning: Clothes, sheets, and towels that need washing or have been washed; the room or shop where washing is done.

Example: I did the laundry on Sunday.

Another example: The hotel offers laundry service.

Collocations: do the laundry · laundry room · laundry service

Synonyms: washing, clothes wash

Word family: laundry (uncountable) · laundromat (n — coin shop)

⚠ Common mistake: A LAUNDROMAT is the public shop with rows of coin machines. 'Dirty laundry' in public means private scandals aired out.

🗣 In spoken American English: College life is measured in quarters for its machines.

Register: Neutral — city and home essential.

bookstore /ˈbʊkstɔːr/ noun A2 Places

Meaning: A shop that sells books.

Example: The bookstore has a small café inside.

Another example: He works at a bookstore downtown.

Collocations: a bookstore · bookstore café · the local bookstore

Synonyms: bookshop (UK synonym)

Antonyms: library (lends free)

Word family: bookstores (n pl) · bookseller (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Bookstore SELLS; library LENDS — the distinction beginners mix. Many US bookstores added cafés and became evening hangouts.

🗣 In spoken American English: The smell is half the product — readers swear by it.

Register: Neutral — city essential.

post office /ˈpəʊst ˌɒfɪs/ noun A2 Places

Meaning: A building or office where you send letters and packages and buy stamps.

Example: I mailed the package at the post office.

Another example: The post office opens at nine.

Collocations: the post office · post office line · post office hours

Synonyms: mail office, postal service

Word family: post offices (n pl) · postal (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: Two-word headword: the whole phrase is the place's name. USPS runs it; small towns revolve around it.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its lines taught America patience every December.

Register: Neutral — city essential.

cafe /kæˈfeɪ/ noun A2 Places

Meaning: A small restaurant where you can buy coffee, tea, light meals, and cakes, and sit for a while.

Example: We had coffee at a café near the park.

Another example: The café has free Wi-Fi.

Collocations: a café · café table · coffee at a café

Synonyms: coffee shop, coffeehouse, diner (bigger meals)

Word family: cafes (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: Written with or without the accent: café / cafe. US 'coffee shop' is the same creature with an American name tag.

🗣 In spoken American English: Writers rent its tables at one coffee per chapter.

Register: Neutral — city essential.

stadium /ˈsteɪdiəm/ noun A2 Places

Meaning: A large sports ground with rows of seats around a field, where games and concerts are held in front of big crowds.

Example: The stadium holds 60,000 fans.

Another example: We watched the final at the stadium.

Collocations: a football stadium · the stadium · stadium seats

Synonyms: arena (indoor), ballpark (baseball), field

Word family: stadiums (n pl) · stadia (n pl — formal)

⚠ Common mistake: Baseball's home is a BALLPARK; football and soccer live in stadiums; indoor sports choose ARENAS. Cities fight to build them.

🗣 In spoken American English: The Super Bowl turns one into America's living room each February.

Register: Neutral — city essential.

bus stop /ˈbʌs stɒp/ noun A2 Places

Meaning: A place on a street, usually marked with a sign, where buses stop for passengers to get on and off.

Example: Wait for the bus at the bus stop.

Another example: The bus stop is across the street.

Collocations: at the bus stop · the next bus stop · bus stop sign

Synonyms: stop, stand

Word family: bus stops (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: Two-word place like post office: the whole phrase is the name. Small towns may have just a sign and a bench.

🗣 In spoken American English: School mornings gather whole neighborhoods at them.

Register: Neutral — city essential.

plaza /ˈplɑːzə/ noun A2 Places

Meaning: An open public square in a town or city, often with shops and cafés around it; in the US also a small shopping center.

Example: People sat by the fountain in the plaza.

Another example: The shopping plaza has a pharmacy and a bakery.

Collocations: in the plaza · a shopping plaza · plaza fountain

Synonyms: square, center, mall (indoor, bigger)

Word family: plazas (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: From Spanish — America's Southwest is full of them. Both senses meet the public outdoors.

🗣 In spoken American English: Farmers markets colonize them on Saturdays.

Register: Neutral — city essential.

courthouse /ˈkɔːrthaʊs/ noun A2 Places

Meaning: A building where courts of law meet and legal cases are judged; often also containing local government offices.

Example: The old courthouse stands in the town square.

Another example: They married at the courthouse.

Collocations: the courthouse · courthouse square · at the courthouse

Synonyms: court building, hall of justice

Word family: courthouses (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: Small-town America's most serious building — and its cheapest wedding venue: couples marry there daily.

🗣 In spoken American English: Its steps star in every legal drama's poster.

Register: Neutral — city basics.