I'll have it/I'll leave it

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worcester

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Sep 15, 2013
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Hi everyone,
Need some help here:

Situations:
1. A customer tries some shoes on in a shop and says to the shop assistant "Thank you I'll have them."
2. Another one does the same and says "Thank you I'll leave them."

I understand that "I'll have them" means that he'll buy them, but what about "I'll leave them"? Does it mean that he doesn't want them?

Thank you.
 

bhaisahab

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Apr 12, 2008
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Hi everyone,
Need some help here:

Situations:
1. A customer tries some shoes on in a shop and says to the shop assistant "Thank you I'll have them."
2. Another one does the same and says "Thank you I'll leave them."

I understand that "I'll have them" means that he'll buy them, but what about "I'll leave them"? Does it mean that he doesn't want them?

Thank you.

That's what it would seem to mean.
 

MikeNewYork

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Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
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American English
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Hi everyone,
Need some help here:

Situations:
1. A customer tries some shoes on in a shop and says to the shop assistant "Thank you I'll have them."
2. Another one does the same and says "Thank you I'll leave them."

I understand that "I'll have them" means that he'll buy them, but what about "I'll leave them"? Does it mean that he doesn't want them?

Thank you.

Both would sound odd in AmE. For the first, it would be common to say "I'll take them" or "I'll buy them". For the second, there are many statements that could be used: No, thank you", "No these aren't what I was looking for", etc.
 

emsr2d2

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Jul 28, 2009
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UK
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It's fine in BrE.

How much is this coat?
It's £379.
OK. I'll leave it then, thanks.

I suppose you could say that it means "I will leave it here instead of buying it and taking it away"! I'm not saying that that is the definition - in fact, I couldn't find a dictionary which even lists this usage of the word but nonetheless, it is still used this way in the UK.
 
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