Now that the end-of-the-year holidays are coming up, it’s the perfect time to review how to extend an invitation to someone or how to accept/refuse an invitation we received.
Let’s take a look at some frequently used expressions to help us sound like a Spanish native speaker!
1. HOW TO GIVE AN INVITATION:
There are different questions we can use to give out an invitation, usually featuring verbs such as querer, apatecer, gustar, parecer:
- ¿Quieres ir a al cine el sábado? Would you like to go to the movies on Saturday?
- ¿Les apetece probar el nuevo restaurante este fin de semana? Would you like to try the new restaurant this weekend?
- ¿Te gustaría pasar Día de Gracias con nosotros? Would you like to spend Thanksgiving with us?
- ¿Qué les parece si vamos a Madrid por el fin de semana largo? How about if we go to Madrid for the long weekend?
- ¿Por qué no vienen con nosotros a la playa? Why don’t you come over to the beach with us?
2. HOW TO ACCEPT AN INVITATION:
There are many different ways to accept an invitation, starting with the simple “Sí, gracias” to some more cordial and/or emphatic phrases, such as:
- ¡Sí, me gustaría! Yes, I would love to!
- ¡Perfecto, gracias! Perfect, thanks.
- ¡De acuerdo! Sounds great!
- Con mucho gusto. I’d be happy to.
- Me parece bien / fantástico / fenomenal, etc. It sounds good, great, amazing, etc.
To work out the details of when and where to meet, you can follow up with:
- ¿Dónde quedamos? Where should we meet?
- ¿A qué hora quedamos? At what time should we meet / should I be there?
- ¿Podemos quedar sobre las …? Can we meet up around…?
- Prefiero quedar antes de / después de… I’d rather meet before / after….
3. HOW TO REFUSE AN INVITATION:
a) When refusing an invitation, it’s important to use phrases like “lo siento” or “desafortunadamente” as a mark of cordiality that help soften the refusal:
- Lo siento, pero hoy no puedo. Estoy muy ocupado -a. I’m sorry, but I can’t today. I’m very busy.
- Gracias, pero no me apetece / deseo. Thank you, but I don’t feel like it.
- Desafortunadamente, no puedo. Tengo prisa. Unfortunately / I’m afraid I can’t. I’m in a hurry.
- Me gustaría, pero hoy no puedo. Estoy cansado – a. I would love to, but I can’t today. I’m tired.
b) If we would like to accept, but we have a more pressing obligation, we can use the phase tener que + infinitivo to explain this prior need or obligation:
- Lo siento, no puedo. Tengo que estudiar para un examen de la universidad. I’m sorry, I can’t go. I have to study for a college exam.