How to turn down an invitation

Learn how to say 'no' to a formal invitation.

Do the preparation task first. Then watch the video and do the task. You can read the transcript at any time.

Preparation

Transcript

Man: Oh no!

Woman: What is it?

Man: 'Josh and Henrietta would like to have the pleasure of your company at a drinks party next Saturday evening ...'

Woman: Oh no, Josh and Henrietta ... they're not that couple who ...?

Man: Yeah, exactly! And it gets worse!

Woman: How?

Man: 'Formal dress'.

Woman: Argh ... It means you've got to wear a suit.

Man: At the bottom it says 'RSVP'. What does it mean?

Woman: You've got to reply.

Man: But I don't want to go, so what can I say?

Woman: Tell them you've got a dentist's appointment.

Man: Josh is my dentist!

Woman: Tell them it's your grandmother's 100th birthday party.

Man: But they know my granny died ages ago.

Woman: Tell them your dog's sick and you've got to take him to see the vet.

Man: It's no use. I'm just going to have to tell them the truth.

Woman: The truth? 'I'm not coming to your birthday party because I think you're boring and stupid?'

Man: Maybe not, then.

Woman: Tell them this: 'I'm unable to attend because I have a prior engagement.'

Man: 'Prior engagement'?! And … they won't be offended?

Woman: Absolutely not.

Man: Perfect!

Task 1

Exercise

Discussion

Can you think of any other polite excuses for not going to a party?

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Language level

Intermediate: B1

Comments

Peter M.'s picture Peter M. replied on 17 June, 2013 - 11:18 Poland

Hi Renee918,
Thank you for the nice comment - it's always good to hear that the site is helping people learn. In answer to your questions:

The meaning is the same, but 'you've got to' is quite informal and used more often in spoken than written English
It's true that the contracted have ('ve) is very weak in the phrase but it's still there in most dialects. In some dialects - I think in some American dialects, for example - the pronunciation is as you suggest. In my (UK) dialect, though, it is definitely 'you've got to' with a weak 'you' and a weak 'to', and the 'got' and 'to' run together.

Best wishes,

Peter
The LearnEnglish Team

tigertiga's picture tigertiga replied on 13 May, 2013 - 07:05 Sudan

really nice i like it that what i want

mdjana's picture mdjana replied on 10 May, 2013 - 06:57 Sri Lanka

will i get transcript ?

Jeremy Bee's picture Jeremy Bee replied on 11 May, 2013 - 06:02 Taiwan

Hello mdjana!

Try clicking on the link that says "Transcript"! That will show you the script for the episode.

Regards

Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team

aroma aroma's picture aroma aroma replied on 28 April, 2013 - 16:32 Iraq

cool

vinhtd1311's picture vinhtd1311 replied on 20 March, 2013 - 08:38 Vietnam

I need to download a transcript :D

Simonx's picture Simonx replied on 13 March, 2013 - 08:48 China

Oh, it's difficult for me to catch what they said because they talked so fast.

What a pity!

nevi1's picture nevi1 replied on 7 March, 2013 - 15:50 Greece

Hello!!! I really like the videos.They are so helpful :)

gulus1998's picture gulus1998 replied on 7 March, 2013 - 14:41 Azerbaijan

This site is very interesting. I think that learners get a lot of information about the English language.

Jeremy Bee's picture Jeremy Bee replied on 8 March, 2013 - 01:19 Taiwan

Hello gulus1998!

Welcome to the site, and I'm glad you think it's useful. We always like to know that our site helps people!

Regards

Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team

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How to turn down an invitation

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