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!
Comments
it's very useful , and the most important is telling the truth , i still remeber that i ve got an invitation for a freind i was unable to attend to and i told him i had been travelling , later he meet my brother and he knew that i was ........
Oh, it's not easy to get British accent. But what's the meaning of "they’re not that couple who?" I don't get it.
Hello albert_001,
This is an example of one of the features of conversation between people who know each other well: they do not say everything clearly and in full sentences because they know that the other person will understand what they are trying to say. Both the man and the woman know Josh and Henrietta, so it is not necessary to spell out exactly what the woman is remembering about them. It is really a rhetorical question: the woman has remembered who Josh and Henrietta are, and knows that the man remembers the same thing about them, so does not need to say it explicitly.
I hope that clarifies it for you. It can be hard to follow this kind of chat between people who know each other so well!
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
it's really helpful to learn such great tips.
thank you very much indeed
I am a new user. I like it.
Thanks alot..
it's useful!
Yes!! I have been in this situation and I didn't know how to avoid it :(
These series of " How " is so interesting. I like all of them , I've learned new expressions and i think i m improving my speaking skills that way.Thanks so much .
excuse me, what is the "RSVP" stand for?
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