Accepting and Declining Invitation

     Making, Accepting, and Declining an Invitation

·      Inviting Someone to Come to Your House for Dinner (Informal)

·         Wanna come over for dinner tonight? (Wanna = want to)

·         Wanna pop over for a quick dinner?

·         How about coming over for dinner tonight?

·         Care to come over for dinner tonight?

·      Inviting Someone to Come to Your House for Dinner (More formal)

·         Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?

·         Would you care to join us for dinner at our house tonight?

·         I was just wondering if you would like to come over for dinner tonight.

·         Please come over for dinner tonight.

·         We'd be delighted to have you over for dinner tonight.

·      Accepting an Invitation (Informal)

·         Sure.  What time?

·         Why not?  When do you want me to be there?

·         Sure.  When should I be there?

·         Yes!  Want me to bring something?

·         I'd love to.  I'll bring dessert.

·      Accepting an Invitation (More formal)

·         Thank you!  I'd love to.  Would you like me to bring anything?

·         Thank you very much!  I'd be delighted to.  What time should I be there?

·         Oh, certainly!  Thank you.  Do I need to bring anything?

·      Declining an Invitation (Informal)

·         I can't.  I have to work.

·         Tonight's no good.  I have an appointment.

·         I'm busy tonight.  Can I take a raincheck on that? 

(*raincheck: if someone invites you to dinner on a night that you are busy, you can say, "Can I take a raincheck?"  This means that you hope they will invite you again on another night.)

·      Declining an Invitation (More formal)

·         I'd love to, but I'm afraid I'm busy tonight.

·         I'd love to, but I already have plans tonight. 

Examples:

Dialog 1:  (between 2 co-workers) 

·      Ann:  Bob and I are having a little get-together at our place tonight .  Wanna pop over after work?

·      Jim:  Sure, why not?  What time do you want me to be there?

·      Ann:  Around 6. 

·      Jim:  OK.  Want me to bring something?

·      Ann:  No.  Just bring yourself.

Dialog 2:  (between 2 friends) 

·      Sam:  Wanna come over for a quick meal tonight? 

·      Tom:  Tonight's no good.  I have a date.  Can I take a raincheck?

·      Sam:  OK.  No problem.  Enjoy your evening!

·      Tom:  You too. 

Dialog 3:  (a parent is making an invitation to her son's teacher) 

·      Jan:  Mr. Brown, my husband and I were just wondering if you would like to come over for dinner this evening. 

·      Brown:  Oh, thank you!  I'd be delighted to.

·      Jan:  Great!  Could you come over at around 6?

·      Brown:  Sure.  Do I need to bring anything?

·      Jan:  No, but thanks for asking.

·      Brown:  OK.  See you this evening then.

Dialog 4:  (a parent is making an invitation to her son's teacher) 

·      Jan:  Mr. Brown, my husband and I were just wondering if you would like to come over for dinner this evening. 

·      Brown:  Well, I'd love to, but I have another appointment tonight.

·      Jan:  Oh, that's too bad.  Well, maybe next time then.

·      Brown:  Yeah!  Thank you for asking.  Enjoy your evening!

If you are the host and your guest has arrived at your house, what can you say to welcome them? Here are some common expressions:

· Welcoming a Guest

o    I'm so glad to have you here.

o    I'm so glad you could come.

o    I'm so glad you could visit.

o    We're delighted to have you here.

o    Delighted to have you here.

· Welcoming a Guest Whom You Haven't Seen for a While

o    It's so good to see you after all this time.

o    Good seeing you again.

o    It's a pleasure to see you again.  (formal)

· Welcoming an Unexpected Guest

o    Hey, look who's here!

o    Well, look who's here!

o    Oh boy!  Am I surprised to see you!

o    What brings you here?

o    What a delightful surprise!

o    What a nice surprise!

Host - Making a Visitor Feel at Home

·                   Asking a Guest to Come Inside the House

·         Come right in.

·         Come on in.

·         Please come in.

·         Please do come in.  (formal)

· Making a Visitor Feel at Home

·         Make yourself at home.

·         Make yourself comfortable.

·         Make yourself comfy.  (informal)  (comfy = short for comfortable)

·         Would you like to take off your coat?

·         Here, let me take your coat.

· Offering a Visitor a Seat

·         Please have a seat.

·         Please sit down.

·         Would you like to sit over here?

·         Sit over here.  This chair is more comfortable.

· Offering a Visitor Something to Drink

·         Would you like some coffee or tea?

·         Let me get you something to drink.  What would you like?

·         Can I get you something to drink?

Now that we have looked at some useful expressions for socializing, we can put them together and look at how they are actually being used in some sample dialogs. As you can see, Dialogs 1, 2, and 5 are between friends and therefore more informal, while Dialogs 3 and 4 are more formal.

Dialog 1:  (Mary and Jane are good friends.  They haven't seen each other for a while.  Mary is visiting Jane.  She is at the door.)

· Jane    :  Hi, Mary!  I'm so glad you could come.  It's so good to see you after all this time.

· Mary    :  Glad to see you too.  Sorry I'm a bit late.  I got stuck in traffic.

· Jane    :  No problem.  Come on in.  Here, let me take your coat.

· Mary    :  Thanks.  Oh!  I love what you did to your sitting room!  It's nice.

· Jane    :  Thank you.  Sit down over here.  This chair is more comfy.  Can I get you something to 

                drink?

· Mary     :  Sure.  I'll have some mineral water.

· Jane    :  OK...  Here you go.  So, Mary, what's new?  How have you been doing?

Dialog 2:  (Mary and Jane finished dinner.  It's time to say goodbye!) 

· Mary   :  It's getting late.  I'd better get going.

· Jane   :  Oh!  Can't you stay for a little bit longer?

· Mary   :  I'd love to, but I have a big day tomorrow.  Listen, thank you for having me over tonight.  I 

             really enjoyed it.

· Jane   :  I had a good time too!  We have to do this again sometime.

Dialog 3:  (John Smith is a teacher.  The parents of one of his students have invited him to their home for dinner.)

· Sato:  Mr. Smith!  Glad to have you here.  Please do come in and make yourself comfortable.

· John:  Thank you so much for inviting me.  Oh.  You have a wonderful place here.

· Sato:  Thank you.  Let me get you something to drink.  What would you like?

· John:  A cup of hot tea would be nice.

· Sato:  Sure.  It's cold and windy out, isn't it?

Dialog 4:  (John, the teacher, is getting ready to go) 

· John:  Well, it's getting late.  I'd better get going.  Thanks for a lovely evening.

· Sato:  The pleasure is all ours.  I'm glad you could come.  Please drive safely.

Dialog 5:  (Liz is paying Joe an unexpected visit) 

·  

Joe:  Hey!  Look who's here! 

· Liz:  Hi!  I was shopping in the neighborhood and thought I'd just drop by.  Hope I'm not interrupting anything.

· Joe:  No, come right in.  Make yourself comfy.

· Liz:  Oh.  I love your sofa. 

· Joe:  Yeah?  I just bought it last month.   Hey, want anything to drink?

· Liz:  No, I'm fine.  I won't stay long.