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I want to buy a Coke bottle. Now there are different prices of Coke for different amounts. So what will be a natural way to ask for a Coke of a particular price?

Can I get a Coke priced $1.50. [I don't know the actual price, so I'm sorry if this price is off, maybe way too off :D)

Is the use of "priced" natural? What will be a more natural way to express this?

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  • [What would be, not what will be]
    – Lambie
    Commented May 29, 2019 at 16:14

5 Answers 5

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  • You want to buy a Coke. [in a can or bottle (large or small)]

  • You want to buy a bottle of Coke. You want to buy a can of Coke.

  • But you cannot buy a Coke bottle. A Coke bottle is what remains after you drink it. In fact, the five-cent value of Coke bottles and cans can be redeemed at stores.

  • "I'd like to buy [ or get] two large 1.79 [one seventy nine] bottles of Coke, please".

  • "I'd like to buy [or get] two 6.99 [six ninety nine] six-packs of Coke, please."

  • I'd like two 1.79 bottles [of Coke].

get is used colloquially for buy.

When saying the price in AmE here, the word dollar is not used. The price is merely spoken as I pointed out above. Also, if only buying one, we would say:

  • I'd like the 1.79 bottle of Coke, not the 1.99 one.

When one knows it is Coke or Pepsi or whatever, one would not specify "of Coke or of Pepsi". It's understood.

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  • I think OP's main question is if we can specify the coke by price? I would say "can I get one from those two dollars ones". Not sure if that's idiomatic.
    – Cardinal
    Commented May 29, 2019 at 16:16
  • @Cardinal You might want to correct your typo, which is hilarious. I think I have given three idiomatic options. We don't use the word price here at all in AmE, which, I think, is clear in my answer.
    – Lambie
    Commented May 29, 2019 at 16:18
  • Yup, I saw you edited the question. I noticed myself :)))) I felt embarrassed.
    – Cardinal
    Commented May 29, 2019 at 16:18
  • @cardinal [nice birds, we have loads of them near my house, even in winter.] No worries. I love a good typo pun.
    – Lambie
    Commented May 29, 2019 at 16:23
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If one is going to use "priced" I would suggest "priced at", but far more natural would be

I want one of the dollar-fifty cokes, please.

One could also specify by size:

I'd like three of the 22-ounce cokes, please.

The price or size can be used as an adjective to modify "coke' or the name of any product.

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  • Why did you use the plural "cokes?" Commented May 29, 2019 at 16:01
  • Can't it be : I want a dollar-fifty Coke, please? Commented May 29, 2019 at 16:02
  • @It's I used the plural to fit "one of the" because i intended the next example to be 'three of the". " I want a dollar-fifty Coke, please?" is quite possible, as is "I want the two-fifty coke". In my US experience, "dollar" is spoken (in this form) only for prices between $1 & $2, and not always then. Commented May 29, 2019 at 16:25
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    @It'saboutEnglish: If you expect the person behind the counter to already be aware that there's Coke being sold for $1.50, then "a dollar-fifty Coke" is fine; but if the person behind the counter hasn't noticed that not all the Cokes are the same price, then "I want a dollar-fifty Coke" might sound like "I want a Coke, and I want you to only charge me $1.50 for it". This might make for some awkwardness. "I want one of the dollar-fifty Cokes", by contrast, presupposes that there are such Cokes, so will prevent this misunderstanding.
    – ruakh
    Commented May 30, 2019 at 0:27
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No, this isn't particularly natural.

If I was in a shop, I can imagine saying:

"Can I have a Coke please, the one-fifty one."

As a specific example its unlikely, but would work well with other items where the differences are less obvious. With a Coke I would be much more likely to mention size or flavour.

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  • And what about: Can I get a one-fifty dollar Coke please? Commented May 29, 2019 at 16:06
  • Yeah, that's pretty reasonable. I probably wouldn't say the currency though (and I wouldn't say 'dollar' under any circumstances of course!)
    – MikeB
    Commented May 29, 2019 at 16:09
  • I agree re the distinction in price.
    – Lambie
    Commented May 29, 2019 at 16:23
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To add to what others have said, there's likely some characteristic separating the Cokes at different prices.

So you could just use that characteristic when ordering.

Example: A shop sells a can of Coke for $0.75, a bottle of Coke at $1.50 and a 2 Liter of Coke for $3.00. It's certainly natural to say, "I'd like a bottle of Coke please.". The shop owner should perfectly understand what you're asking for. If he reaches for the 2 Liter, you can say "I mean the dollar fifty one, please".

And if you want to be super explicit, you'd just say "I'd like a bottle of Coke, the dollar fifty one, please".

Another common example is at a restaurant, you may see on the wine list something like:

Vern's Vineyard California Pinot Noir         8/15/50

Along the top of the list, you should see something like "Glass/Carafe/Bottle". So, the list means a glass of Pinot is $8, a carafe $15, etc. So you could order "A glass of Pinot Noir" and they'll know it's the $8. But, if you want to be clear, you could say "The $8 glass of Pinot, please".

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If I read your question right, you're asking how to haggle, basically? In that case, the most natural way to say what you want is "Can I get this coke for a dollar fifty?". Though it would generally be better to first ask what the asking price is (for example, "How much is this bottle of coke?"); at least where I live (in the US), haggling is very rare outside of farmers' markets and flea markets.

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