Everyday English · Read, listen and speak
Using a Dry-Cleaning Service
Point out a stain, check a cleaning estimate and confirm collection arrangements.
Your speaking goal
Explain what needs cleaning and confirm the proposed price, collection time and receipt.
Before you start: Imagine a jacket with a small stain. Choose a fictional collection day and ask about the stain without assuming it can be removed.
Your six-step practice plan
- Understand: Read the goal and check the useful phrases.
- Listen or read: Follow both roles. Audio is optional.
- Repeat: Say one short line at a time, then join the words smoothly.
- Change details: Replace two details with imaginary ones.
- Role-play: Read the other person’s question, cover your reply and answer aloud. Then swap roles.
- Review: Use the “I can” checks below. Repeat any part that still needs help.
Work at your own pace. A clear message matters more than copying a particular accent.
Listen, read and notice
Roles: Customer and Staff member
Browser-generated English voice; availability and sound vary by device. Use the written dialogue if audio is unavailable.
Customer: Hello. Could you clean this jacket, please?
Staff: Certainly. Is there anything you’d like us to look at?
Customer: There’s a small stain on the left sleeve.
Staff: Thank you for pointing it out. We’ll check the care label and examine the stain before cleaning.
Customer: Can you tell me whether the stain will come out?
Staff: We can’t guarantee that, but we’ll check what treatment is suitable.
Customer: How much will the cleaning cost?
Staff: For this jacket, the estimate is twelve pounds. We’ll contact you before doing anything that would cost more.
Customer: When can I collect it?
Staff: Friday after four p.m. Here’s your collection receipt.
Customer: Friday after four in the afternoon. Should I bring this receipt?
Staff: Yes, please.
Useful phrases and what they do
- There’s a stain on ___. — Identify a mark and where it is.
- Will the stain come out? — Ask whether cleaning can remove the mark.
- What is the estimate? — Ask the expected cost before the final amount is known.
- When can I collect it? — Ask when the item will be ready to pick up.
Say it clearly
Group the location: ‘a small stain / on the LEFT sleeve’. Make ‘twelve pounds’ and ‘Friday after four’ clear. Repeat important numbers if you are unsure you heard them correctly.
Build your own replies
Could you clean ___? There’s a stain on ___. → We’ll examine it and check the care label.
Ask and check
Is twelve pounds the final price or an estimate? → It’s an estimate; we’ll contact you before any extra cost.
Common mistakes and alternatives
‘Collect it’ and ‘pick it up’ are both natural. Say ‘a stain on the sleeve’, rather than ‘a stain in the sleeve’ when describing a mark on its surface. These fictional service arrangements are language practice, not garment-care instructions.
Check what you understood
Answer aloud before revealing each explanation. Natural replies with the same meaning also count.
Question 1
Where is the stain?
Show answer 1 and explanation
On the jacket’s left sleeve. A specific location helps the staff member identify the mark.
Question 2
Does the staff member promise to remove the stain?
Show answer 2 and explanation
No. The staff member says removal cannot be guaranteed and the suitable treatment needs checking.
Question 3
Give another natural way to ask ‘When can I collect it?’
Show answer 3 and explanation
‘When can I pick it up?’ has the same meaning here. ‘When will it be ready?’ is also a useful question.
Your turn: make it a real exchange
Practise alone: read the other person’s line, cover your reply and answer aloud. Then swap roles. No partner is needed.
Role A
Point out an imaginary stain and ask about the estimate, likely result and collection time.
Role B
Explain what needs checking, give a fictional estimate and state a collection arrangement clearly.
Make it easier: Keep the model visible and change one detail at a time.
Add a challenge: You need the jacket earlier. Ask whether earlier collection is possible and whether it would cost extra.
Ready to move on?
Try again with less reading. Use these checks and repeat any part that needs more practice.
- I can describe a mark and its location.
- I can check an estimate without assuming a guaranteed result.
- I can confirm the collection time and receipt.