Inviting and declining politely
Invite with or . Accept with thanks and a plan. Decline with ; a short reason is enough.
suggests another time. , and have normal negative agreement. The pronoun nobody does not make an affirmative verb negative by itself.
A learner can say . can also mean alone or by oneself, a describing word separate from the auxiliary . The gendered forms in refer to the cook, not the soup.
| Pattern | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| I invite you to dinner. | ||
| I invite you to dinner. | ||
| I am sorry, I cannot. | ||
| I am sorry, I cannot. | ||
| Maybe another time. | ||
| Maybe another time. | ||
| Everyone is busy. | ||
| Everyone is busy. | ||
Pozivam vas na večeru.I invite you to dinner.
Žao mi je, ne mogu.I am sorry, I cannot.
Možda drugi put.Maybe another time.
Svi su zauzeti.Everyone is busy.
Nitko ne može doći.Nobody can come.
Zauzet sam.I am busy.
Zauzeta sam.I am busy.
Sam kuham.I cook by myself.
Sama kuham.I cook by myself.
Sviram u subotu.I play on Saturday.
Practice 1/6 · Finding words
Notice the useful pattern
Tap the form practised in this unit.
.
I invite you to dinner.
, .
I am sorry, I cannot.
.
Maybe another time.
.
Everyone is busy.
Practice 2/6 · The right form
Choose the form
Use the English meaning and the pattern in this unit.
Pozivam vas na .
I invite you to dinner.
Žao je, ne mogu.
I am sorry, I cannot.
Možda drugi .
Maybe another time.
Svi zauzeti.
Everyone is busy.
Nitko ne doći.
Nobody can come.
Zauzet .
I am busy.
Zauzeta .
I am busy.
kuham.
I cook by myself.
kuham.
I cook by myself.
Sviram u .
I play on Saturday.
Practice 3/6 · Fill the gaps
Complete the messages
Fill the gaps with the words from the box.
Možda drugi .
Maybe another time.
Svi zauzeti.
Everyone is busy.
Nitko ne doći.
Nobody can come.
Zauzet .
I am busy.
Zauzeta .
I am busy.
kuham.
I cook by myself.
kuham.
I cook by myself.
Sviram u .
I play on Saturday.
Practice 4/6 · Building sentences
Build a sentence
Put the words in order.
I invite you to dinner.
I am sorry, I cannot.
Maybe another time.
Everyone is busy.
Nobody can come.
I play on Saturday.
Practice 5/6 · In situations
What would you say?
Choose the right words for the situation.
I invite you to dinner.
You say:
Use the meaning and Croatian pattern explained in this unit.
I invite you to dinner.
You say:
Use the meaning and Croatian pattern explained in this unit.
I am sorry, I cannot.
You say:
Use the meaning and Croatian pattern explained in this unit.
I am sorry, I cannot.
You say:
Use the meaning and Croatian pattern explained in this unit.
Maybe another time.
You say:
Use the meaning and Croatian pattern explained in this unit.
Maybe another time.
You say:
Use the meaning and Croatian pattern explained in this unit.
Everyone is busy.
You say:
Use the meaning and Croatian pattern explained in this unit.
Everyone is busy.
You say:
Use the meaning and Croatian pattern explained in this unit.
Practice 6/6 · Matching
Connect messages and meanings
Match the pairs.
Unit complete
