Diary - A few year ago, I was in a grocery store abroad

[Maybo]

This is an entry from my diary. Please check it and correct any mistakes.

A few year ago, I bought some apples in a grocery store abroad. Some embarrassing things happened at that time. When I went to the cashier, she asked me to wait so I waited. After a moment, she kept asking me to wait but I'd already been waiting. What did she want me to do?! Then, she gave up, took the apples to the fruit section and weighted them. I finally understood she had been asking me to "weight"! I think I misheard her, and the whole sentence should be "you need to weight the apples".

 

[teechar]

Use the verb "weigh"; "weight" is a noun. Fix your text and repost it below. Do not edit the OP. Also, the past tense of "understand" is "understood".

 

[Maybo]

Sorry, I just edited it but this is my revised version:

A few year ago, I bought some apples in a grocery store abroad. Some embarrassing things happened at that time. When I went to the cashier, she asked me to wait so I waited. After a moment, she kept asking me to wait but I'd already been waiting. What did she want me to do?! Then, she gave up, took the apples to the fruit section and weighed them. I finally understood she had been asking me to "weigh"! I think I misheard her, and the whole sentence should be "you need to weigh the apples".

 

[tedmc]

This is an entry from my diary. Please check it and correct any mistakes.

A few year ago, I bought (went to buy) some apples in a grocery store abroad. Some embarrassing things happened at that time. When I went to the cashier, she asked (told) me to wait, so I waited. After a moment while, she kept asking me to wait but I'd already been waiting. What did she want?! Then, she gave up, taking the apples to fruit section and weighted them. I finally understand understood that she had been asking me to "weight" the fruits! I think I misheard her. and the whole sentence should She meant, "you need to weight the apples".

You got the verb "weigh" and the noun "weight" mixed up.

 

[emsr2d2]

I am certain you can spot the error in "A few year ago".

 

[Maybo]

A few years ago, I bought some apples in a grocery store abroad. Some embarrassing things happened at that time. When I went to the cashier, she asked me to wait so I waited. After a moment, she kept asking me to wait but I'd already been waiting. What did she want me to do?! Then, she gave up, took the apples to the fruit section and weighed them. I finally understood she had been asking me to "weigh"! I think I misheard her, and the whole sentence should be "you need to weigh the apples".

 

[teechar]

A few years ago, I bought some apples in a grocery store abroad.

That is not wrong, but your focus should be on the fact that you were abroad, not on the buying of apples, so we need to change that sentence slightly:
A few years ago, I was in a grocery shop/store abroad, buying apples.

Some embarrassing things happened at that time.

You can even add the bit of information to the first sentence.
A few years ago, I was in a grocery shop/store abroad, buying apples, and a funny thing happened.

When I went to the cashier, she asked me to wait so I waited. After a moment, she kept asking me to wait but I'd already been waiting. What did she want me to do?! Then, she gave up, took the apples to the fruit section and weighed them. I finally understood she had been asking me to "weigh" the fruit!

Note that "weigh" is a transitive verb.

I think realized that I had misheard her. She was, in fact, saying "weigh it", not "wait". , and the whole sentence should be "you need to weigh the apples".

Since you mentioned "apples" (not "apples"), you can add:
"Of course, she should have said 'weigh them', and that would have avoided the misunderstanding". [ "them" is stressed]

 

[Amigos4]

Personally, I am not fond of using “abroad” when I can be more specific in naming the countries I visited. To me, saying “A few years ago, I bought some apples in a grocery store in France (Spain, Wales, etc.)“ is much more interesting than using “abroad”.

 

[Maybo]

Personally, I am not fond of using “abroad” when I can be more specific in naming the countries I visited. To me, saying “A few years ago, I bought some apples in a grocery store in France (Spain, Wales, etc.)“ is much more interesting than using “abroad”.

I don't remember which city or country.

 

[Amigos4]

I don't remember which city or country.

When I was in Europe, Asia, Africa…

In the US, fruits and vegetables are usually weighed by the cashier during checkout.

 

[Maybo]

When I was in Europe, Asia, Africa…

In the US, fruits and vegetables are usually weighed by the cashier during checkout.

Right! It was in Europe.

 

[emsr2d2]

In the US, fruits and vegetables are usually weighed by the cashier during checkout.

Whilst that is certainly still an option in the UK, most of the major supermarkets encourage shoppers to weigh and price up their own fruit and veg (using scales located in the fruit and veg section) to save time at the checkout. It makes the queues shorter because the cashier simply scans the barcode on each label the shopper has printed out from the electronic scales.

 

[Tarheel]

@Maybo I had no idea you did so much traveling -- so much that you don't remember what country you were in when that happened. However, the clerk apparently spoke English; therefore I would guess you were visiting the UK.

Did you see Big Ben?

 

[Amigos4]

However, the clerk apparently spoke English; therefore I would guess you were visiting the UK.

Perhaps Maybo was visiting Ireland!

Maybo, I am curious. At what point in shopping for apples in a grocery store in Hong Kong are apples weighed? Are they weighed in the produce department or at the cashier when you checkout?

 

[Maybo]

@Maybo I had no idea you did so much traveling -- so much that you don't remember what country you were in when that happened. However, the clerk apparently spoke English; therefore I would guess you were visiting the UK.

Did you see Big Ben?

I only remember a few years ago, in December, I visited London, Copenhagen, Zurich and Berlin but I don’t remember which city I were in when that happened.

I saw Big Ben but it was being renovated at that time.

 

[Maybo]

Perhaps Maybo was visiting Ireland!

Maybo, I am curious. At what point in shopping for apples in a grocery store in Hong Kong are apples weighed? Are they weighed in the produce department or at the cashier when you checkout?

It depends. Some shops require customers to weigh the fruit on their own, while others require cashiers to do that. In recent years, most shops were the former ones.

 

[emsr2d2]

I only remember that, a few years ago, in December, I visited London, Copenhagen, Zurich and Berlin but I don’t remember which city I were was in when that happened.