BBC Learning English
How to … decline invitations

Quiz

How to …

© BBC Learning English 2007

decline invitations

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For each question choose the one correct answer.

1:

How might you decline an invitation?

a: I’d love to but I’m meeting my dad
b: Sorry - I’d love to and I’m meeting my dad
c: I’d love to!

2:

How might you decline an invitation?

a: Sorry, I’d like to
b: Sorry, I love to
c: Sorry, I can’t

3:

Complete the sentence: ‘Sorry…’

a: I have got to meet my mother
b: I’ve got to meet my mother
c: I’ve to meet my mother

4:

Q: Are you up for a pint later? A: Sorry….

a: I can’t make it
b: I can’t take it
c: I can’t attend

5:

‘…. …. …. …. …. but I’ve got to meet my friend.’

a: Thank you for invite me
b: I really appreciate invite me
c: I really appreciate the invite

6:

Q. Are you going to the match this Saturday? A: Ah no…

a: maybe last time
b: maybe this time
c: maybe next time

How to …

© BBC Learning English 2007

decline invitations

Page 2 of 3

bbclearningenglish.com

ANSWERS

For each question choose the one correct answer.

1:

How might you decline an invitation?

a: I’d love to but I’m meeting my dad
Correct – This is one way to decline an invitation
b: Sorry - I’d love to and I’m meeting my dad
Wrong – The word ‘and’ is wrong because it doesn’t signal that you can’t accept the
invitation
c: I’d love to!
Wrong – You are accepting the invitation if you say this!


2:

How might you decline an invitation?

a: Sorry, I’d like to
Wrong – If you use ‘I’d like to’ when you are declining an invitation, you must explain why
you can’t accept the invitation
b: Sorry, I love to
Wrong – If you use ‘I’d love to’ when you are declining an invitation, you must explain why
you can’t accept the invitation
c: Sorry, I can’t
Correct – This is one way to decline an invitation

3:

Complete the sentence: ‘Sorry…’

a: I have got to meet my mother
Wrong – Grammatically this is fine but we would always use the short form here, i.e. ‘I’ve got
to…’
b: I’ve got to meet my mother
Correct – ‘I’ve got to…’ is an informal way of saying ‘I have to…’
c: I’ve to meet my mother
Wrong – Grammatically this is fine but we would always use the long form here, i.e. ‘I have
to…’

4:

Q: Are you up for a pint later? A: Sorry….

a: I can’t make it
Correct – This is an informal way of saying you can’t attend a meeting or event
b: I can’t take it
Wrong – this phrase means that something is too difficult or painful for you, not that you
can’t attend a meeting or event
c: I can’t attend
Wrong – Grammatically this is OK but it’s too formal for this situation.

How to …

© BBC Learning English 2007

decline invitations

Page 3 of 3

bbclearningenglish.com

5:

‘…. …. …. …. …. but I’ve got to meet my friend.’

a: Thank you for invite me
Wrong – This wrong but you can say ‘Thank you for inviting me’
b: I really appreciate invite me
Wrong – This is wrong but you can say ‘I really appreciate your inviting me’
c: I really appreciate the invite
Correct – In spoken English, ‘invite’ is sometimes used as a noun instead of ‘invitation’

6:

Q. Are you going to the match this Saturday? A: Ah no…

a: maybe last time
Wrong – You are saying that you might be able to go to the next match, so ‘last’ is wrong
b: maybe this time
Wrong – You can’t go this time, so ‘this’ is wrong
c: maybe next time
Correct – You are saying that you might be able to go to the next match