INVITATIONS AND REPLIES

CLASS XII

Invitations are extended to relatives, friends, acquaintances and clients on a number of

social occasions like marriages, births, engagements, deaths, or other public
functions. Invitations are of two types:

FORMAL INVITATIONS AND INFORMAL INVITATIONS

They can be printed on cards or can be drafted in the form of letters.
FORMAL INVITATIONS
Formal invitations are sent to relatives, friends, acquaintances on special occasions. A
simple and elegant card is printed for formal occasions. In such cases, invitations are
written in third person. (Ex. Mrs and Mr S. Kumar request the pleasure of the
company with …). Avoid use of abbreviations for the names of guests, days and
dates. The subject matter is written in the centre setting.

Important points to be noted while designing an invitation in the card format.

❖ Name of the host

❖ Formal phrase of invitation , for example :‐ o Request the pleasure of
your benign presence/company.
o Seek your auspicious presence.
o Solicit your gracious presence on the auspicious occasion.
❖ The date, time and venue of the event.
❖ The occasion/reason of the invitation.
❖ These are written in the third person. In case a VIP is invited as the chief guest the
name of the VIP must appear prominently.
❖ Name of the invitee is not to be included. The addressee’s address is to be written
only on the envelope.
❖ Simple Present Tense is to be used.
❖ The date of writing is not to be given.
❖ There is no signature of the host.
❖ The abbreviation RSVP (French : repondez s’il vous plait ) i.e. ‘please reply’ is
written below on the left with name(s), address and phone number of the host(s) ❖
Put the invitation in a box.
❖ The font size needs to be varied to show the differences in the lines of the invitation.
❖ Word limit - 50

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

SAMPLE-FORMAL INVITATION (CARD)

1. FORMAL INVITATION CARD- SCHOOL FUNCTIONS

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

2. FORMAL INVITATION CARD- SOCIAL OCCASIONS

2. FORMAL INVITATION‐LETTER FORMAT

An invitation written formally in the letter format has the following characteristics:
▪ Meant for an individual (a formal letter of invitation)
▪ Include the name of the invitee
▪ These are to be written on run‐on lines. The sentence is not broken into different
words/phrases.
▪ Other details are similar to the mass‐scale invitations.

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

SAMPLE-FORMAL INVITATION-LETTER FORMAT

Kamala Nehru School

Cantonment
Bangalore

17th August, 2024

Mr. K.J. Singh

District Commissioner of Police
Police Lines
Bangalore

Sub: Invitation to the Annual Day Function

Sir, It gives us immense pleasure to inform you that we are celebrating our school’s
Annual Day function on 29 August, 2024 at 5.30 p.m. in the Activity Hall of the
school. We shall consider it a great honour if you could grace the occasion and
preside over the function as the Chief Guest and give away the prizes.

Yours faithfully/ Truly

Sd/‐
Principal

PS: (‘Sincerely’ is to be used if you address someone by name. Eg. Dear Mr. Gupta)

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

FORMAL REPLIES

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

INFORMAL INVITATION AND REPLIES

The following points are to be remembered while writing informal invitations.

▪ Written in a letter form, in informal format. Such letters are very persuasive in nature.
▪ Written in the first person.
▪ Salutation is ‘dear + name’.
▪ Complimentary close ‘yours sincerely’.
▪ Date of writing the invitation is given.
▪ The sender’s address appears on the left hand side.
▪ Various tenses used to suit the sense.

SAMPLE

REPLIES

▪ Like an ordinary letter

▪ Do not use any formal expressions but use informal words and expressions
▪ Use the first person (I, We)
▪ State the reason if you are expressing your inability to attend

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

Acceptance of Informal Invitation
A/7, Harding Road
Hyderabad
August 17, 2019
Dear Mercy
I was delighted on reading about your son's achievement. It is indeed a remarkable feat. My
family and I will surely attend the puja at your house on Sunday.
Yours sincerely
Mini

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

INVITATIONS AND REPLIES
CLASS XII

Invitations are extended to relatives, friends, acquaintances and clients on a number of social
occasions like marriages, births, engagements, deaths, or other public functions. Invitations
are of two types:

FORMAL invitations and INFORMAL invitations

They can be printed on cards or can be drafted in the form of letters.

FORMAL INVITATIONS

Formal invitations are sent to relatives, friends, acquaintances on special occasions. A

simple and elegant card is printed for formal occasions. In such cases, invitations are written
in third person. (Ex. Mrs and Mr S. Sundaresan request the pleasure of the company with
…). Avoid use of abbreviations for the names of guests, days and dates. The subject matter
is written in the centre setting.

Important points to be noted while designing an invitation in the card format.

 Name of the host

 Formal phrase of invitation , for example :
o Request the pleasure of your benign presence/company.
o Seek your auspicious presence.
o Solicit your gracious presence on the auspicious occasion.
 The date, time and venue of the event.
 The occasion/reason of the invitation.
 These are written in the third person. In case a VIP is invited as the chief guest the name of the
VIP must appear prominently.
 Name of the invitee is not to be included. The addressee’s address is to be written only on the
envelope.
 Simple Present Tense is to be used.
 The date of writing is not to be given.  There is no signature of the host.
 The abbreviation RSVP (French : repondez s’il vous plait ) i.e. ‘please reply’ is written below on
the left with name(s), address and phone number of the host(s)
 Put the invitation in a box.
 The font size needs to be varied to show the differences in the lines of the invitation.
 Word limit - 50

Replying to an invitation is essential for two reasons

• to appreciate the host’s kindness in inviting you to the occasion
• to let the host know whether you are attending the function or not in order to enable him/her to
make arrangements accordingly.

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

The layout of a formal reply to an invitation is much the same as the invitation itself.
1. The lines may be written in ordinary prose but the language used is formal.
2. The reply is written in the third person and there is no address or date.
3. You may accept or decline the invitation.

SAMPLE-FORMAL INVITATION(CARD)
Your father, Mr. Raj Kumar Gupta , residing at K 18 ,13th Cross Street, Malleswaram,
Bangalore wants to celebrate the success of your brother Rohith’s clearing the IIT JEE
Entrance Examination and securing admission in IIT Powai,Mumbai. He wants you
to draft a formal invitation for him on his behalf. Draft the invitation for him in not
more than 50 words.

Mrs. And Mr. Raj Kumar

Gupta
Seek your GRACIOUS
presence at the
Grand Celebration Party
of their son Rohit’s success
in the
IIT JEE ENTRANCE
EXAMINATION
at
8.00
p.m.
On
15th October ,
2017 at
UTSAV BANQUET
HALL
84 Dr. Raj Kumar Road,

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

Rajaji Nagar
Bangalore 55

Compliments from Friends and Relatives

RSVP
k 18, 13th Cross Street, Malleswaram
2712001/9732966964

SAMPLE 2

Design a formal invitation for your ‘School Annual Sports Day’ to be held in July. Give
necessary information. Also accept and refuse the invitation.

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

2 7
0

R :
.S

Acceptance of Formal Invitation

Mrs. & Mr. Dinesh Ojha happily accept the Annual Sports Day invitation of St. Andrew
High School on July 15, 2017 at 10:00 am and look forward to attending it.

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

Refusal to Formal Invitation

Mrs. & Mr. Kumar regret to inform that they would not be able to attend the Annual Sports
Day of St. Andrew High School on 15 July, 2017due to prior engagements. However, they
express their thanks for the kind invitation and wish the function a grand success.

FORMAL INVITATION LETTER FORMAT

An invitation written formally in the letter format has the following characteristics:

 Meant for an individual (a formal letter of invitation)

 Include the name of the invitee
 These are to be written on run on lines. The sentence is not broken into different words/phrases.
 Other details are similar to the mass scale invitations.

SAMPLE-FORMAL INVITATION-LETTER FORMAT

Kamala Nehru School
Cantonment
Bangalore

7th October, 2017

Mr. K.J. Singh

District Commissioner of Police
Police Lines
Bangalore

Sub: Invitation Annual Day Function

Sir,
It gives us immense pleasure to inform you that we are celebrating our school’s Annual Day function on
29 October, 2017 at 5.30 p.m. in the Activity Hall of the school. We shall consider it a great honour if
you could grace the occasion and preside over the function as the Chief Guest and give away the prizes.

Yours faithfully
Sd/
Principal

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

Replies are sent either accepting or declining the invitation in a letter format to the
person who has invited the guest. While declining the invitation please state the reason.

INFORMAL INVITATION AND REPLIES

The following points are to be remembered while writing informal invitations.
 Written in a letter form, in informal format. Such letters are very persuasive in nature.
 Written in the first person.
 Salutation is ‘dear + name’.

 Complimentary close ‘yours sincerely’.

 Date of writing the invitation is given.

 The sender’s address appears on the left hand side.

 Various tenses used to suit the sense.
REPLIES
 Like an ordinary letter
 Do not use any formal expressions but use informal words and expressions
 Use the first person (I, We)
 State the reason if you are expressing your inability to attend

SAMPLE
You are Mercy, a middle-aged housewife whose son has just cracked a tough
engineering examination. You are extremely happy and have decided to organise a
puja at your residence wherein you plan to invite all your friends. Write an invitation
letter and two replies in response to it. One should show acceptance and the other
refusal.
Seva Kuteer
Banjara Hills
Hyderabad

7th October, 2017

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

Dear Mini

You will be glad to know that my son has secured the 49th rank in the All India Engineering
Entrance Examination.

He has really done us proud and I plan to celebrate this occasion by organising a puja on
Sunday which will be followed by dinner. I request you to come over along with your whole
family.

Yours sincerely

Mercy

Acceptance of Informal Invitation

A/7, Harding Road

Hyderabad

7th October, 2017

Dear Mercy

I was delighted on reading about your son's achievement. It is indeed a remarkable feat. My
family and I will surely attend the puja at your house on Sunday.

Yours sincerely

Mini

Refusal of Informal Invitation

Yamuna Apartment
Adarsh Nagar

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

Hyderabad

7th October, 2017

Dear Mercy

I offer my heartiest congratulations to you on your son's success. We would have loved to
attend the puja at your house but unfortunately we are leaving for Kodaikanal on Friday. We
will return by the end of next week. I am extremely sorry but we will surely pay you a visit
once we are back.

Yours sincerely
Jolly

***********

PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1. You are a student of Newton Public School, Nagpur. The school is holding its annual
function on Saturday, the 15th November, 20XX at 11 a.m. The HRD Minister Dr M.M.
Joshi has consented to be the chief guest. Design an invitation card to be sent to the parents
and other invitees. Do not exceed 50 words.

2. You are the Principal of Zodiac Senior Secondary School, Ooty. The school has completed
25 years of its meritorious services to the society. The Silver Jubilee Celebrations are to be
held on Sunday, the 26th October, 20XX. Mrs M. Kamath, the founder Principal will
preside. Draft a suitable invitation to be sent to important dignitaries of the city and the
parents of students.

3. You are Sachin Bansal, the Head Boy of Springdales Public School, Gurgaon. Your school
is holding an inter-school T-20 cricket championship from 2 Oct. to 8 Oct., 20XX. Write a
formal invitation to Sh. B.S. Bedi, the legendary cricketer, to inaugurate the championship
on 2 Oct. 20XX at 10 a.m. at your school grounds.

4. You were invited by the local unit of Boogie Woogie, a talent search organisation, to make
a selection of the local teams for participation in the zonal competition and performance at
the national level. But you are not in a position to do so because you have met with an

ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY

accident. Write a letter to the convener regretting your inability to honour the request
explaining to him your position. You are Arun/Aruna Joglekar.

5. You have received an invitation to attend the prize giving ceremony on the occasion of the
Regional Social Sciences Exhibition. Write a letter to the Secretary of the ‘The World
View’ (the organiser of the exhibition) informing him about your inability to attend. Give
three reasons.
6. Write an informal reply to your pen-friend in the U.K assuring her of all help and guidance
dining her planned forthcoming visit to India.
7. You are Arun/Aruna. You have been invited to attend the wedding of your friend’s sister
during summer vacation. Respond to the invitation accepting the invitation.
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ISWK/ DEPT OF ENGLISH/ INVITATIONS AND REPLIES/ COMPILED BY MR SONY