Coffee Shop Expressions

This is a situation that happens to me quite often because I like to go to coffee shops to work.

OK so I go to the coffee shop and I’m working on my computer.

And then I need to go to the bathroom but if I take my computer with me to the bathroom then I might lose my seat.

Maybe I have a very good seat.

Well that’s not good.

But if I leave my computer.

Well then maybe it will be stolen.

It will be stolen.

I don’t want that to happen.

Actually recently I had a bicycle stolen.

So it’s not fun to have your stuff stolen.

OK.

So you look over there and there’s a person and they have a computer.

So you think they must be pretty reliable reliable and they’re probably not going to steal your computer.

You would like them to watch.

Look at not all the time.

Not like staring but pay attention to your computer while you go to the bathroom.

OK.

You’re going to ask them to do that.

This is a common thing to do in America.

Very common.

And then you can come back and then you can have your seat back.

Now it is something that we do that requires trust a little bit because you don’t know that person.

But they seem fairly reliable.

It’s your judgment it’s your judgment that they seem reliable.

So you’re at a coffee shop and you need to go to the bathroom but your computer is on the table.

You see a stranger sitting nearby and they seem fairly reliable.

What can you say.

OK now we’re going to use a very common expression to go up to this person.

I’m going to put it in the situation so I walk up to that person and I say Excuse me.

Now I could add here sorry to bother you.

Sorry sorry to bother you.

Sorry to bother you.

You could take this out.

You could take this up.

You could say just sorry to bother you.

You could say hi there.

Sorry to bother you.

There are a lot of different ways that you could begin.

Excuse me is a very common thing to say in general to a stranger when you want to say something to them.

Excuse me is a great way to if you need to talk to somebody you don’t know to begin that whatever it is you need to say excuse me.

Sorry to bother you could you could you.

Now here’s the expression.

Keep an eye on my computer while I go to the bathroom and you could add then I’ll be back in a minute.

Back means you’ll return.

I’ll be back in a minute.

I’ll be right back or I’ll.

We could say also.

I’ll I’ll just be a minute.

I’ll just be a minute.

I’ll just be a minute.

So this is a very common thing to say in this situation.

There are other things you could say but keep an eye on is the is the useful expression here.

Excuse me sorry to bother you could you keep an eye on my computer.

Well I go to the bathroom.

I’ll just be a minute.

I’ll just be a minute.

Or would you mind.

Would you mind keeping if you use would you mind then we can say keeping.

But it’s the same expression.

Would you mind keeping an eye on my computer while I go to the bathroom.

I’ll be back in a minute.

I’ll be back in a couple of minutes and they’ll probably say yes sure.

Yeah sure sure.

No problem.

All right.

OK fine.

That’s OK.

Then when you come back you have to because your computer is over there.

Don’t do nothing.

You’ll have to do something it’s sort of polite it’s unspoken rule when you come back.

You look at them if they’re far enough away you don’t have to actually shout across the coffee shop things like that.

You can just say thank you.

Like that and whisper it to yourself.

Wave like that and say then you have acknowledged that they did something for you.

You don’t need to go over to them and say thank you very much for helping me.

Here’s my business card.

It’s a little too much because it’s a very simple common thing.

This expression.

Keep an eye on can be used in lots of other ways.

Now if I’m watching the computer does it really mean that that person has one eye on their computer and one eye on my computer.

No.

Doesn’t mean that what it means is they’re paying attention to it.

They’re not looking at it every moment that I’m gone.

They’re just paying attention so we can use it to mean to pay attention to something or to care about the condition of something.

So we could use keep an eye on for example for children for a week maybe for example going on vacation.

I have a young child and I ask my my mother do you think you could keep an eye on Joseph for the week.

Well we’re on vacation.

Could you keep an eye on him.

Well that means could you could you let him come over and live with you and take care of him.

But keep an eye on means to care about that thing or pay attention to it.

We could also use it for for example a price.

You know prices go up and down for things and maybe we want to buy something but we’re waiting for that thing to be cheap enough.

The price is too high right now waiting for it to go down.

I’m keeping an eye on the price of the latest iPhone when it gets low enough.

I’m going to buy it.

I’ll buy it.

I’m going to get it I’m going to get it.

And keeping an eye on the price.

The prices are not at not exactly a real thing is it goes up and down.

So that’s the thing I’m paying attention to.

OK.

There’s a really useful expression and it can be used in all kinds of different situations for physical things and non physical things non-physical things.

I’m keeping my eye on you.

That one’s a little critical.

I’m keeping my eye on you.

That means I may be expected to do something bad.

That’s OK too.

You can use it in that situation as well.