Page 569 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford
P. 569

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invitations and visits
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Invitations often begin: Would you like to ...?
Possible replies:
Thank you very much. That would be very nice/lovely. (formal) Than1cs, that would be great. (informal)
Sorry. I'm afraid I'm not free.
It is normal to thank people for hospitality at the moment of leaving their houses.
Thank you very much. That was a wonderful evening.
offers and replies
Offers often begin Would you like ...? or Can/May I get/offer you ...? (more formal). Offers to do things for people can begin Would you like me to ...?, Can/May I ...?or Shall I ...? (mainly BrE). Typical replies are Yes please; No thank you; Than1cs, I'd love some; I'd love to; That's very nice/kind ofyou. Note that thank you can be used for accepting as well as refusing.
asking for things
We normally ask for things by using yes/no questions. (see 435). Could you lend me a pen? (NOT Pletae lend me a pen.)
handing over things
We do not have an expression which is automatically used when we hand over things. We sometimes say Here you are, especially when we want to attract people's attention to the fact that we are passing something to them.
HaveyougotamapofLondon?-Ithinkso. Yes, hereyouare.- Thanks. There you go is also possible in this situation, especially in ArnE.
thanks
Common ways of thanking people are:
Thank you. Than1cs very much / a lot. (NOT Thank 16ft a 16t.) Thank you very much. Cheers. (informal BrE)
Thanks. (informal)
Possible replies to thanks are:
Not at alL
Don't mention it.
You're welcome.
That's (quite) all right. No problem. (informal)
That's OK (informal)
But note that British people do not always reply to thanks, especially thanks for small things.
For more information about thanking and the use of please, see 433. 20 sleep
When somebody goes to bed, people often say Sleep well. In the morning, we may ask Did you sleep well? or How did you sleep?
For expressions used when telephoning, see 578.
'social' language 545
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