Grammar ~21 min of the core left

Phone, invite, say no

After this lesson you can

I can make a phone call, invite someone, accept an invitation or say no politely, and leave a message.

Start the lesson Core 19–21 min · steps: 6 · optional: +2

Declared core time. Two of the core blocks carry no figure at all, so the real lesson is longer than this sum.

Grammar

5 min

Inviting — three ways, from the most polite to the most casual:

Would you like to come to dinner on Saturday? the polite invitation
How about going to the cinema? an idea to try (+ -ing)
Let's go to the cinema. among friends: we both go (A1 #16)

Would you like to + a verb is a polite offer; How about + the -ing form.

Accepting and saying no:

accept say no
Yes, I'd love to. I'd love to, but I'm busy on Saturday.
That sounds great. I'm afraid I can't — I'm working.
Thanks, that's very kind. Maybe another time?

An English refusal almost never starts with the word no. First thanks or regret, then the reason, then another option.

I'd rather — saying that you would prefer something else:

I'd rather stay at home. staying at home is better for me
I'd rather not, thanks. a soft "no"

After I'd rather the verb comes WITHOUT to.

A phone call:

Hello, this is Paulo. you say who is calling
Can I speak to Anna, please? you ask for the person you want
Who's calling? they ask for your name
She's not here. Can I take a message? they offer to pass on your words
Could you ask her to call me back? you leave a message
Sorry, you've got the wrong number. you called the wrong person
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Common learner errors

written for your language
1

I am on the phone

✗ I am Paulo

✗ Here is Paulo

✓ This is Paulo

Spanish Soy Paulo and Italian Sono Paolo say "I am", German Hier ist Stefan says "here is". On the phone English uses only this is.

2

How about + the infinitive

✗ How about to go?

✓ How about going?

Spanish ¿Qué tal ir…? and Portuguese Que tal ir…? have an infinitive here. about is a preposition, and after it there is always the -ing form.

3

I'd rather with to

✗ I'd rather to stay at home

✓ I'd rather stay at home

Learners add to because of I'd like to and I'd love to; after rather there is none.

4

A refusal with only "no"

✗ No, I can't with nothing after it sounds cold → ✓ I'd love to, but I'm busy on Saturday. Maybe another time? In many languages a short "no" is polite enough; in English a refusal needs regret, a reason and another option.

Pronunciation

3 min

A polite refusal depends on an intonation of regret — a rise in the middle and a soft fall:

I'd love to ↗, but I'm busy on Saturday ↘

A sharp fall on love to turns regret into a formality.

I'd is /aɪd/, one syllable; would you in fast speech merges into /ˈwʊdʒu/: /d/ and /j/ become /dʒ/, as in job.

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Text

3 min

Hello, this is Paulo. Can I speak to Anna, please?

I'm afraid she's not here. Can I take a message?

Yes, please. Could you ask her to call me back?

Of course.

Thank you. Oh, and one more thing: would you like to come to dinner on Saturday?

I'd love to, but I'm working that evening. Maybe another time?

Reading aloud

Exercises

8–10 min

1. Gap fill.

  1. come to dinner on Saturday?
  2. going to the cinema?
  3. , but I'm busy
  4. stay at home, actually
Show the answers
Would you like to, How about, I'd love to, I'd rather.

2. Error correction.

  1. I am Paulo. (on the phone)
  2. How about to go to the cinema?
  3. I'd rather to stay at home.
Show the answers
This is Paulo. / How about going to the cinema? / I'd rather stay at home.

3. Matching.

  1. Can I speak to Anna?
  2. Who's calling?
  3. Would you like to come?
Show the answers
`Can I speak to Anna?` — `I'm afraid she's not here.`; `Who's calling?` — `This is Paulo.`; `Would you like to come?` — `I'd love to.`

4. Say no politely

to an invitation to the cinema on Saturday — in three parts: regret, the reason, another option. Example: I'd love to, but I'm working on Saturday. Maybe next week?

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Summary

Covered

  • three ways to invite
  • accepting and saying no
  • I'd rather
  • six phrases for the phone

Next — lesson 33: writing without mistakes.

End of the core

The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.

Lesson 69

optional

Vocabulary for your deck

13 words
  • invite /ɪnˈvaɪt/ to ask someone to come to a party, a dinner and so on
  • invitation /ˌɪnvɪˈteɪʃn/ when you ask someone to come somewhere
  • voicemail /ˈvɔɪsmeɪl/ a phone message you leave when nobody answers
  • put through /pʊt ˈθruː/ to connect a caller to another person's phone
  • wrong number /rɒŋ ˈnʌmbə/ a phone number that is not the one you wanted
  • another /əˈnʌðə/ a different one; one more
  • kind /kaɪnd/ nice and friendly to other people
  • sounds great /saʊndz ˈɡreɪt/ what you say when you like an idea
  • I'd rather /aɪd ˈrɑːðə/ I would prefer to
  • busy /ˈbɪzi/ with a lot to do; not free
  • dinner /ˈdɪnə/ the meal in the evening
  • party /ˈpɑːti/ a time when people meet to eat, drink and have fun
  • speak to /ˈspiːk tuː/ to talk with someone

Writing

A dialogue of three lines: you call, the person is not there, you leave a message and invite them.

Example

— Hello, this is Paulo. Can I speak to Anna? — She's not here. Can I take a message? — Could you ask her to call me back? And would you like to come to dinner on Saturday?

Checklist

The draft is saved on this device
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Practise this lesson in the other sections

Dictationbased on this lesson Write down what you hear. The check shows every word that differs, and how. Write the dictation Reading aloudbased on this lesson Read the lesson text aloud — speech recognition highlights the words it did not catch. Read the text aloud Reading and listeningA1–C1 Texts at every level with comprehension questions; the transcript opens after you answer. Try it

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