If You Don’t Always Understand..

You can relax.

Because it happens to native speakers too.

Yesterday, I told you how I didn’t understand an American waitress.

I thought she asked, “Do you want to pay for your coffee?”

Which would be a strange question for a waitress to ask, right?

But it turns out she didn’t say that at all.

She said…

TIPPING IN THE U.S.

Thank you for your guesses!

Many of you thought the waitress was asking for a tip.

That’s a good guess.

Except that would be considered rude in the U.S.

Instead, if you pay by card, you have the option to leave a tip when you tap your card.

And if you pay cash, you just leave it on the table.

The waiter or waitress never asks for the tip.

If they do, you should give them a dirty look and give a small tip.

AND THE ANSWER IS…

“Would you like a paper copy?”

That’s what the waitress asked me.

I had just tapped my card and selected the amount I wanted to tip. She wanted to know if she should print out the receipt for me.

It sounds like “Do you want to pay for your coffee,” right?

NEXT QUESTION

How much should you tip in the U.S.?

How much do you tip in your country?

Have you been to the U.S.? What did you think about our tipping culture?

Answer in the comments.

And tomorrow, let’s talk about tipping and tipping vocabulary!

Cheers,
Mr. Vig

P.S.

The Atomic Word of the Day is “tap.”

What does it mean?

What else can you tap?

And what else can you do with your card if tapping it doesn’t work?

Atomic Homework members can go here to listen to today’s lesson.

Not yet a member?

Go here to learn more and join.