Learn English – I’m going to the SHOPS vs I’m going to the STORE (UK vs. US)

american-englishphrase-requestword-choice

The day before yesterday I think, my daughter asked me where we were going and since I was not planning to do the weekly shopping on that day and I just wanted to buy some stuff from two stores, I said offhand we are going to the shops! Looking back, it seems when I don't find a NAmE word I turn to UK if I know of.

So what do you say when:

  1. go shopping (it's just go shopping!)
  2. you go to buy something specific; I mean you're not going shopping, and it's usually found in any store. You don't have to shop around.
  3. you want to buy non grocery or clothing stuff, maybe a can of paint and a spare part for your car together.

I have found some kind of answer for this question on this page, but I prefer to get a clear answer to my points above, and also if you agree with this native speaker about using store in singular form not plural:

Just as a side note, we don't use the plural in American English. "I'm
going to the store" (even if I may visit several stores), not "I'm
going to the stores". (If we know we are going to several stores I
think it would be more likely to say "I'm going shopping" or even "I'm
going downtown" in smaller towns.)

Best Answer

I think in some ways you have answered your own question(s).

  1. Yes, "go shopping". One would not say "go storing". Shopping is, as far as I know, used the same way in UK and US English, and has nothing to do with "shop" vs "store".

  2. and 3. You would either name the store or type of store ("I'm going to the hardware store") or, as you say, ""I'm going shopping" or "I'm going downtown", but not "I'm going to the stores". You might be inclined to add specifics: "I'm going shopping for a hammer", for example.

In certain places, you may find "shop" and "store" are interchanged (I certainly do this, having lived in both US-English and UK-English countries). If you want to sound natural, though, stick with what is usual for your area.

Of interest:

eytmonline.com says that "shop" meaning "booth or shed for trade or work" is c. 1300, while "to visit shops for the purpose of examining or purchasing goods" is from 1764 (no idea what they would have said before that!).

Meaning "building or room set aside for sale of merchandise" is from mid-14th century, while "store" for "place where goods are kept for sale" is first recorded 1721, in American English.

There was apparently a strong distinction between "shop" and "store" in US English, with "shop" having retained its original (1300) meaning:

The word store is of larger signification than the word shop. It not only comprehends all that is embraced in the word shop, when that word is used to designate a place in which goods or merchandise are sold, but more, a place of deposit, a store house. In common parlance the two words have a distinct meaning. We speak of shops as places in which mechanics pursue their trades, as a carpenter's shop a blacksmith's shop a shoemaker's shop. While, if we refer to a place where goods and merchandise are bought and sold, whether by wholesale or retail, we speak of it as a store. [C.J. Brickell, opinion in Sparrenberger v. The State of Alabama, December term, 1875]

Not sure whether that use of "shop" remains in US English.