Hi all!

 

First of all happy new year to all members of this community! Once again I badly need your help. Today in class we have spoken about the benefits and downsides of online shopping and going to a shop. One student uttered the following sentence: "I prefer buying online to going to a physical shop because..."  In my view physical shop is not correct, but I wonder how could this idea be expressed. The other expression for which I didn �t have an answer - and I �ve looked up some online dictionaries- is as follows: my students was writing a concert review and wanted to convey that thanks to the music style which was being played and the good lyrics of the songs and the vibe of the concert he was in his own world. He took no notice of any problems - the venue being packed, his girlfriend moaning about her hurting feet,...- In Spanish there is a colloquial expression to describe the person who takes no notice to anything and always does his own things. Is there an equivalent in English? Thanks.

You know, this is such a new evolution in English that I �m not sure proper vocabulary has evolved fast enough to accurately describe it. 

 

As a native speaker, I �d probably say " I prefer buying online to going out to shop...." or "I prefer a online shop to a brick-and-mortar shop" ------

 

The the first example, I use two activities BUYING ONLINE and GOING OUT TO SHOP.  So, in both halves of the sentence, the grammar is the same.

 

In the second example, I use two nouns -- ONLINE SHOP and BRICK-AND-MORTAR shop.  Again, for the same reason.

 

(Brick-and-mortar is another way to refer to a business that is in a building)  

Concerning your Spanish question --- is the Spanish term a noun or adjective?  

Physical shop sounds ok to me.

Another way would  be an actual shop. 

 

We use he �s in a world of his own. He was transported by the music.

He was oblivious to his surroundings.

 

Physical shop is fine.

 

Other options:

 

store front

brick-and-mortar (this seems to be the most popular imo) - People compare online stores to brick and mortar stores.  This is the one I would teach in comparing between online and the latter. 

Here�s some more information as well 

I would say physical shop, too. It is perfectly natural to me.

 

Sometimes, our stores refer to their modes of purchasing as online and in-store & online and in-person.

 

He was engrossed in the music (or, as some people commonly say, totally/completely engrossed)

I would add, also, that "high street" is probably only going to make sense in a British context. 

 

I �m American, and I heard references to "high street shops" for months before I realized that it was a reference to the type of shop and not the name of the street.  

Yep, physical shop sounds fine to me too. I �d probably use actual shop in an actual conversation!

 

I agree with apodo �s suggestions for your second question.

I wouldn �t use �taken in by" about music.

 

This phrase has other meanings:

 

She was taken in by the scam email. (deceived)

 

The orphan was taken in by a kind aunt. (given somewhere to live)