Worksheet 10 · Orders and requests
Explain a shop return without changing the reason
Answer in brief
Identify the item, the problem, and the requested outcome separately. Non funziona describes a fault; è troppo grande describes a fit problem. Neither phrase states the shop's return policy.
This written shirt exchange practises a reason and a request. It gives no legal advice or real shop return terms.
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Reference subject: Explain a shop return without changing the reason
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Checked 9 November 2026
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Your task: Choose the correct replacement item and reject an unsupported refund claim. You need paper or a notes file. Try the model before you read the explanation. The answer key applies only to this written model.
Use three boxes for the return
A return conversation can include a product, a complaint, and a proposed remedy. Draw those as three separate boxes. This model concerns a shirt that is too large, not a broken product. The distinction matters because a listener who remembers only ‘return’ may later report a fault that the customer never described.
The exercise does not state consumer law or a particular shop's policy. It is a language task with an invented exchange. Keep ‘what the customer asks’ separate from ‘what the seller agrees’. A request for money back would still not prove a right to a refund. Here the requested outcome is an exchange, and the seller offers a specific smaller size.
Original written model · Italian / English
The scene on paper
Vorrei cambiare questa camicia rossa, taglia grande.
Show English translation
I would like to exchange this red shirt, size large.
Non è rovinata, è solo troppo grande. Avete la stessa in una taglia più piccola?
Show English translation
It isn't damaged; it's just too big. Do you have the same one in a smaller size?
Sì, abbiamo la rossa in taglia media.
Show English translation
Yes, we have the red one in medium.
Make your decision
- Complete item, problem, and requested outcome.
- Pick the matching offer: red medium; blue medium; red large.
- Classify these claims: damaged shirt, refund promised, smaller red shirt available.
Open the answer key
- Red shirt, large. Problem: too big, not damaged. Request: exchange for the same shirt in a smaller size.
- Red medium matches the stated request and offer.
- Damaged: contradicted. Refund promised: not stated. Smaller red shirt available: supported by the offer of red medium.
Follow the contrast inside the complaint
Non è rovinata says the shirt is not damaged. È solo troppo grande identifies the actual problem. Non negates the damage claim; solo narrows the reason. Copy the positive reason into your problem box, then note ‘not damaged’ below it. That method is clearer than making damage the heading and trying to remember the negative later.
The customer asks for la stessa in una taglia più piccola: the same one in a smaller size. ‘Same’ holds the model or colour steady in this context. A smaller blue shirt is not automatically an acceptable substitute for a red one. The seller's reply confirms the red one in medium. Keep colour, size, and condition on different lines.
Write a precise handover note
Imagine another member of staff takes over. Write a note that lets them continue without asking the customer to repeat everything. It should name a red shirt, size large, too big, not damaged, with a requested exchange for medium. Do not include a purchase date or receipt number, because the model does not give them.
Now alter the problem to La cucitura è aperta — ‘The seam is open.’ That would change the complaint to a fault description. It would not by itself tell you which remedy the seller will offer. This extension trains you to update the reason while leaving the outcome undecided until the conversation supplies it. The original answer key still applies only to the original model.
Now use a video you choose
Choose a shop scene with a specific complaint. Track the problem before the proposed solution. In Jibber Jabber, our app, word lookup can help with the description in the captions. For a real return, consult the seller and relevant official consumer information; this model gives no legal advice.
We make Jibber Jabber. Read the matching Italian guide before you choose app support. A different clip needs its own evidence and answers.
Questions and answers
Does cambiare always mean returning for cash?
No. Here it means exchanging the shirt. The following request makes the intended outcome clear.
Can I assume the price stays the same?
No. The model gives no price or extra charge. Record that field as unstated.
Why include non è rovinata in the note?
It prevents the next reader from treating the return as a damage complaint.
Sources for this entry
The red shirt, large size, and medium replacement are original model details. The key follows the explicit denial of damage and the smaller-size request. No seller policy or consumer-law claim is used. A real return requires its own current information.
Continue this reading path
Return to Orders and requests to choose another task from this scene group.
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Workbook tools: Change ledger · Evidence gap. Read the full Jibber Jabber profile for product limits.
How the related sites connect
This workbook is one of a coordinated collection of comprehensible input guides published by Jibber Jabber. They share one publisher and are not independent endorsements.
Cite this entry
Jibber Jabber. “Explain a shop return without changing the reason.” Italian Listening Workshop. Updated 9 November 2026. https://italiancomprehensibleinput.com/shop-return-reason/.