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S L C O R N E R
"Changing" money |
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Scene: You are in a store, and you want to use the public telephone
(or pay phone). You need coins to operate the phone, but you only have
a five dollar bill. You want to ask the store owner for help. What should
you say?
First, you need to know the meaning of the word, "change":
change =
an equal exchange of money of smaller denominations (or values) for a unit
of higher denomination
For example:
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four quarters are change for a dollar
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five one dollar bills are change for a five dollar bill
"Change" can also be used as a general term for coins.
For example:
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I don't have any change in my wallet.
So, how can you ask someone to give you change?
Here are some examples:
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Excuse me, do you have any change?
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Excuse me, can you make change for a five dollar bill?
There is also a verb form, "to change":
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Excuse me, can you change a five dollar bill?
If you buy a book that costs $7, and you pay with a $10 bill, you will
get $3 in change back. The shop clerk might say, "Here's your change,"
as she gives you the three dollars. In this case, there is a difference
in value between the cost of the book and the amount of money you gave
to the clerk when you paid. The change refers to the money that the clerk
must give back to you. |
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