2.1.1 Invitaciones formales e informales.

Shall.

Shall is often used in questions in the first person singular and plural when making suggestions, making an offer or asking for advice:

'Shall we go out for dinner tonight?'
'Shall I get more tomato juice when I'm at the supermarket?'
'What shall we do now? We're clearly not going to get there by nightfall.'

Let’s.

When in action he wants to include oneself, for example, in the expression: "Vamonos" be used "Let's go!"

"Let's" is the contraction of the verb LET + "object pronoun" "us".

How the structure is formed for Let's.

Let's + infinitive Verb + (complement).

LET’S	VERBO INF.	COMPLEMENTO	TRADUCCIÓN
	have	lunch	Vayamos a comer
	work		Vamos a trabajar
	play	cards	Juguemos a las cartas
	make	a party	Organicemos una fiesta
	run away!		¡Escapemos!

Would you like to.

To make the invitation, whether formal or informal, we can also use the "Would you like to ...?" structure, followed by any verb in the infinitive.

Examples:

Would you like to go to the movies tonight?(¿Te gustaría ir al cine esta noche?)
Would you like to play soccer next Saturday afternoon? (¿Te gustaría jugar fútbol el próximo sábado por la tarde?)
Would you like to come to my party next week?(¿Te gustaría venir a mi fiesta la próxima semana?)
Would you like to drink a soda?(¿Te gustaría tomar una gaseosa?)
Would you like to eat something now?(¿Te gustaría comer ahora?)

Exercises:

Here are four real English conversations to help you practice English speaking. Listen to the phrases and repeat them so that you can confidently make an invitation in English!

Conversation 1 – Informal

A: “What are you doing on Friday night?”

B: “Nothing special. Why?”

A: “Do you wanna see a movie?”

B: “Sure! What time?”

A: “Can I pick you up around 7?”

B: “Sounds good.”

Notes:

“pick you up” means that person A will go to person B’s house and take person B to the movie.
“Sounds good” means that person B approves of this plan.

Conversation 2 – Informal

A: “Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?”

B: “I can’t. I have to study.”

A: “OK, then how about getting together for coffee tomorrow afternoon?”

B: “Sorry. I have other plans.”

Notes:

“Would you like to…” can be used in formal or informal conversation.
“How about” is always followed by the -ing form. “How about to get together” is incorrect.
In this conversation, person B’s responses show that she is NOT interested in spending time with person A, and they give the impression that she will not be interested in the future – differently from formal conversation 4 below.

Conversation 3 – Formal

A: “Are you free next Saturday?”

B: “I believe so.”

A: “We were wondering if you’d like to go to a baseball game with us. We have an extra ticket.”

B: “I’d love to!”

Notes:

“We were wondering if…” makes the invitation less direct. It can be used in formal situations, or in informal situations if the person making the invitation is a little shy.

Conversation 4 – Formal

A: “We’re going to the Italian restaurant. Would you care to join us?”

B: “I’d love to, but I’m afraid I have another commitment this evening. Maybe another time.”

Notes:

“Would you care to join us?” is used in more formal conversation.
“Maybe another time” means that person B would like to be invited by person A again in the future. Another phrase used for this is “Can I take a raincheck?”