Business dinner English dialogue

In this lesson, we will learn how to invite others to dinner and how to reply to the invitation. In addition, we have to learn some sentence patterns and vocabulary that will be used in restaurants.

The background of this conversation is like this. After Mr. and Mrs. Locks accepted the suggestion of the representative of "Hal and Hardy Company" about the color of the outer packaging, the owner decided to celebrate it. Harvey therefore sent an invitation to the rock.

Harvey:

Now I have a surprise. We have booked the South Tower Restaurant to celebrate.

Our partnership.

Harvey: I have a surprise for you. To celebrate our cooperation, we reserved the South Tower Restaurant.

Harvey: We will.

I want to invite you to dinner.

Harvey: We invite you two to dinner.

Locke: South Building? we

I want to go there, but I was fully booked months ago.

Locke:

Are you the Guide Tower Restaurant? We used to want to eat there, but the seats in that restaurant have been reserved several months in advance.

Harvey: Ah, yes … but Douglas has one.

Very influential in Sydney! We reserved a table for 7 o'clock. Caroline and

Douglas will be there.

Harvey:

Yes, but Douglas is an influential figure in Sydney. We have a reservation for seven o'clock tonight. Caroline and Douglas will also attend.

Lian: How?

That's great. We'd be happy to go.

Lian: Great. We are glad to go as promised.

Locke: OK, thanks.

You

Locke: Yes, thank you.

In this part of the conversation, Harvey used very standard English expressions when he invited Mr. and Mrs. Locke to dinner. He said:

Harvey: We will.

I want to invite you to dinner.

Harvey:

We invite you two to dinner.

Besides this more formal statement, we can also use the following sentence patterns to express the same meaning.

Would you like to come?

Lunch?

Do you want to have lunch together?

We would be very happy if you could join us.

Dinner.

If you can have dinner with us, we will be very happy.

We have reserved a table. We hope you can join us.

We ...

We have reserved a restaurant, and we hope you can have dinner with us.

Now let's practice these sentences with the teacher.

We would like to invite you.

Go to eat.

Do you want to come for lunch?

We would be glad if you could.

Have dinner with us.

We have reserved a table. We hope you can join us.

After being invited, the rocks also accepted Harvey's kindness. They said:

Lian: Great. We'd be happy to.

Come on.

Lian: Great. We are glad to go as promised.

Locke: Yes, thank you.

Locke:

Yes, thank you.

When accepting an invitation from others, we can also say:

That's great. thank

You

Thank you very much for your kindness.

Yes, I'm happy to accept it.

Of course, I'm glad to keep the appointment.

How can I?

Refuse such a kind invitation!

How can I refuse such an offer?

Please practice these sentences with the teacher.

We were

I'd love to come.

Yes, I'm happy to accept it.

Yes, thank you.

How can I?

Resist such kindness

Invitation!

As the saying goes, people respect me one foot and I return one foot. This also shows from a certain angle that it is really difficult to refuse the kind invitation of others. But sometimes we have to. So what should we say when we refuse an invitation from others?

exactly

That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid I have a priority.

Engaged.

Thank you very much for your kindness, but I already have an appointment.

Sorry, I have to refuse. I have

Family responsibilities.

Sorry, I can't be invited because I have something at home.

Sorry, I can't go.

Go ahead. I have an important appointment.

Good night

Sorry, I can't keep the appointment. I have an important appointment that night.

Sorry, I can't. I was busy that night. but

thank you

Anyway.

I'm sorry, because I was too busy that night to be invited. But thank you very much.

I wonder if you have noticed that when you refuse someone's invitation, it's best to simply explain the reasons out of courtesy. Ok, now please practice with the teacher.

exactly

That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid I already have an appointment.

Sorry, I have

Refuse. I have family responsibilities.

Sorry, I can't arrive on time.

I have an important appointment that night.

Sorry, I can't. I'm busy with that.

Good night But thank you.

Anyway.

In this conversation, employees of Hal and Hardy are entertaining their business partners, Mr. and Mrs. Locke, at the South Tower Restaurant. Please pay special attention to the new words and phrases that appear in the next part of the conversation.

Douglas:

This is the tallest restaurant in the southern hemisphere.

Douglas:

This restaurant is the tallest in the southern hemisphere.

Lian: What a beautiful view. The opera house is over there. we are

over there

Yesterday.

Lian: The scenery is really beautiful. That's the Sydney Opera House, which we visited yesterday.

Attendant: yours

Menu.

Attendant: Please look at the menu.

Lian: Thank you.

Waiter: Do you want it?

Would you like to order a drink now?

Attendant: Would you like something to drink now?

Lian: I just need a glass of water.

Here we go. Thank you.

Lian: May I have a glass of water first? Thank you.

Douglas: Please give us a bottle of this champagne.

Douglas:

Please bring us a bottle of this champagne.

Attendant: OK. I'll come back to take your order.

Attendant:

All right. I'll write you some menus later.

Lian: Oh, there are so many choices. What did you do?

Recommended?

Lian: Oh, this menu is too rich. Do you have any special dishes to recommend?

Douglas: If you like.

Seafood, the grilled lobster here is

Delicious.

Douglas: If you like seafood, the grilled lobster in this restaurant is very delicious.

Locke: That sounds good.

Me.

Locke: That sounds great.

Lian: I want Beijing roast duck.

Cheap:

Then I'll order Beijing roast duck.

Locke: Where is the Opera House?

Locke: Which direction is the Sydney Opera House?

Harvey:

Locke, this is a revolving restaurant. We will see it again soon.

Harvey:

This is a revolving restaurant, Locke. We will go to see the Sydney Opera House again later.

Locke: Oh, great!

Locke:

Oh, that's great.

At this point in the conversation, I don't know if you have noticed. In fact, when ordering food in English in restaurants, the most commonly used sentence pattern is "I want …"

It means "what can I order?" You just need to add the name of the dish at the end of this sentence pattern. For example:

I want

Ducks.

I want some ducks.

I want chicken.

I want some chicken.

I want beef,

Thank you.

Please give me some beef.

We want a bottle of white wine, please.

You

We want a bottle of white wine.

Ok, now let's practice these sentences with the teacher.

I want a duck.

I want

Chicken.

I want beef, please.

We want a bottle of white wine.

Wine, please

You

If it is the first time to go to a restaurant, we may not know much about the specialties of this restaurant. In this case, it is a good choice to ask the service staff to recommend the menu. We can say to the waiter like this:

Cheap:

Oh, there are so many choices. What do you recommend?

Cheap:

Oh, this menu is too rich. Do you have any special dishes to recommend?

In addition, we can also say:

What did you do?

Suggestion?

Do you have any recommendations?

What's delicious?

Here?

What's your specialty here?

Ok, please practice with the teacher.

What do you recommend?

What did you do?

Suggestion?

What's delicious?

Here?

Although there are some cultural differences between the East and the West, they are similar in dining etiquette. For example, don't show your teeth when you talk with food in your mouth, and cover your mouth with one hand when you use a toothpick. Besides, if you want food you can't get, please don't reach across the table, because it's impolite. You can say that, come and ask the people at the same table for help.

Excuse me, can you pass that to me?

Sauce?

Excuse me, please pass me that sauce.

Ok, now let me sum up some things we learned in this class.

When inviting others, we can say:

We were

I want to invite you to dinner.

Do you want to come for lunch?

we have

I reserved a table. We hope you can join us.

If you can accept each other's invitation, we can reply to each other like this:

We were