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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Worksheet

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Language level

Intermediate: B1

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Comments

s.milind80's picture s.milind80 replied on 21 August, 2014 - 12:40 India

Yeha ..Geni Rufino

Geni Rufino's picture Geni Rufino replied on 17 August, 2014 - 22:56 Brazil

Hi people!

I'm new here. I be happy for this. I think this site is very good for improve my English.
See you

AbhilashaWy's picture AbhilashaWy replied on 1 August, 2014 - 04:18 Malaysia

"Be called in sick" is the reason for me to turn down the invitation :)

aimad habhouba's picture aimad habhouba replied on 16 June, 2014 - 15:36 Algeria

IT' good absolutely

camito74's picture camito74 replied on 14 June, 2014 - 16:26 Uruguay

Hy, it´s so fine. Thanks a lot Kirk

Gaelle12's picture Gaelle12 replied on 4 June, 2014 - 12:33 France

Hi. This is great. But is there a way to download the video so I can watch this when I am not online?

Kirk's picture Kirk replied on 5 June, 2014 - 06:52 Spain

Hello Gaelle12,

I'm afraid that our videos are not available for download. Anything that is available for download on our site is clearly marked as such.

Sorry!

Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Akkumis's picture Akkumis replied on 19 March, 2014 - 03:32 Kazakhstan

Hi, I can't watch this video. How do you think what it is the reason? Thank you

Peter M's picture Peter M replied on 19 March, 2014 - 06:30 Poland

Hi Akkumis,

The video appears to be working correctly so I suspect the problem might be at your end. Could you tell us what device you are using to access the site? Many of our materials require Flash compatibility, which is a problem for some mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads. Do the other videos on LearnEnglish work for you, or do you have problems with all of them? If you cannot see the video, what do you see in the space where it should be?

Please let us know and we'll try to help you to find a solution.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Akkumis's picture Akkumis replied on 1 April, 2014 - 10:11 Kazakhstan

Thank you for answering me. In fact I am using simple laptop, not ipad or iphone. I have problems with all videos. I see only images in the space where videos should be
Thank you in adnvance
Akkumis

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How to turn down an invitation

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