Dialogue

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to RussianPod101.com. This is Business Russian for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 25 - Politely Declining an Invitation. John Here.
Karina: Привет, I'm Karina.
John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to politely decline an invitation. The conversation takes place at an office.
Karina: It's between Linda and Alexander.
John: The speakers are boss and employee, therefore, they will speak both formal and informal Russian. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Линда: До свидания, хороших выходных!
Александр: Линда, у тебя есть время вечером? У нас будет небольшая вечеринка для мистера Смитта.
Линда: Я очень извиняюсь, но у меня уже есть планы на вечер.
Александр: Понятно, не беспокойся.
Линда: Всё равно спасибо! Хорошего вечера!
John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly.
Линда: До свидания, хороших выходных!
Александр: Линда, у тебя есть время вечером? У нас будет небольшая вечеринка для мистера Смитта.
Линда: Я очень извиняюсь, но у меня уже есть планы на вечер.
Александр: Понятно, не беспокойся.
Линда: Всё равно спасибо! Хорошего вечера!
John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation.
Linda: Goodbye, have a good weekend!
Alexander: Linda, do you have time tonight? We're having a little party for Mr. Smith.
Linda: I'm really sorry, but I have a commitment tonight!
Alexander: I see, don't worry.
Linda: Thank you anyway! Good evening!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
John: Wow, another after-work gathering! Linda’s office is a party office!
Karina: I’m sure that they are very professional gatherings.
John: I guess so.
Karina: They’re good team building exercises too.
John: I don’t think that there are many phrases more horrible to office workers than “team building exercise.”
Karina: Yeah, I think most office workers get irritated by them, but they’ve become popular in Russian business culture lately.
John: They’re annoying when you actually have work to do and would rather do that than seminars or whatever’s lined up.
Karina: I think that’s why some offices go for exercises such as sports or set up competitions between different departments.
John: What type of sports?
Karina: Things such as running or skiing marathons, swimming, soccer, or hockey competitions.
John: Some companies sponsor or support charities too.
Karina: That’s right. Charities such as foster homes or zoos.
John: Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is...
Karina: вечеринка [natural native speed]
John: party
Karina: вечеринка[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Karina: вечеринка [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Karina: есть [natural native speed]
John: to eat
Karina: есть[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Karina: есть [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Karina: вечер [natural native speed]
John: evening, tonight
Karina: вечер[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Karina: вечер [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Karina: план [natural native speed]
John: plan, commitment
Karina: план[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Karina: план [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Karina: уже [natural native speed]
John: already
Karina: уже[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Karina: уже [natural native speed]
John: And last...
Karina: всё равно [natural native speed]
John: anyway
Karina: всё равно[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Karina: всё равно [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is...
Karina: Я очень извиняюсь
John: ...meaning "I'm really sorry." What can you tell us about this phrase?
Karina: First is the pronoun я, then очень, meaning “very,” and finally извиняюсь.
John: This is “apologize” in the passive form.
Karina: This phrase has an emotional nuance of uncertainty or putting yourself in a lower position than your partner.
John: Are there other ways of saying it?
Karina: To be more firm, use простите or извините.
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Karina: Sure. For example, you can say, Я очень извиняюсь, но этого не было в контракте.
John: ...which means "I'm very sorry, but that was not (mentioned) in contract."
John: Okay, what's the next phrase?
Karina: планы на вечер
John: meaning "plans for tonight." What can you tell us about this phrase?
Karina: This is планы
John: meaning “plans,” and it’s usually in plural form.
Karina: Then there is the preposition на, and finally a period of time.
John: So we can use various words, such as “weekend.”
Karina: Right. That’s выходные.
John: Is this phrase informal or formal?
Karina: This phrase is either neutral or informal. So don’t use it in a very official situation or when speaking to your boss.
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Karina: Sure. For example, you can say, Какие у тебя планы на вечер?
John: ...which means "What are your plans for tonight?"
John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to politely declining an invitation. Sometimes you have to do this, especially if it’s a late invitation and you already have plans.
Karina: Yes, you’ll need to decline politely so as not to be rude or hurt the feelings of the person who invited you.
John: What did Linda say in the conversation?
Karina: Я очень извиняюсь, но у меня уже есть планы на вечер.
John: “I'm really sorry, but I have a commitment tonight!”
Karina: You can break the sentence down into an apology, followed by the conjunction но, meaning “but,” and then the reason.
John: What other conjunctions are there in Russian?
Karina: There are и and а, which both function as “and.” И is used for simple connections, and а for contrast.
John: Can we have an example with that second “and?”
Karina: Я приду в 5, а он придёт в 6
John: “I’ll come at five, and he’ll come at six.”
Karina: You can also use this conjunction at the beginning of a sentence to make a transition smoother.
John: It’s also used in counter questions such as "I'm so hungry, how about yourself?"
Karina: Which is Я такая голодная, а ты как? Another important conjunction is если.
John: This means “if.” Just like in English, it can be put at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence, depending on the structure of the sentence.
Karina: Если он меня пригласит, я приду or Я приду, если он меня пригласит
John: "If he invites me, I'll come," and "I'll come if he invites me."
Karina: There are a couple more conjunctions reviewed in the lesson notes.
John: So check them out! But, back to the main lesson topic and declining an invitation.
Karina: A nice thing to say after you’ve declined is Всё равно спасибо! Хорошего вечера!
John: “Thank you anyway! Have a good evening!”
Karina: Всё равно, meaning “anyway,” is similar to how it’s used in English.
John: How about that “have a good evening” part?
Karina: The word order for Хорошего вечера! is fixed, as it’s a wish. You can also wish a person хорошего дня.
John: Which means “good day!”

Outro

John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson, and this series. Thank you for listening everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Karina: Пока!

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