Invitations & Arrangements
Social life is logistics with feelings. Russian handles both with a handful of formulas — and the perfective future you just learned turns out to be the engine of every invitation.
давай + Future
Давай (to a friend) or давайте (politely / to several people) + the perfective future:
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| Давай пойдём в кино! | Let's go to the movies! |
| Давай выпьем кофе. | Let's have a coffee. |
| Давайте встретимся в субботу. | Let's meet on Saturday. (polite) |
Are You Free?
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| Ты свободен в субботу? | Are you free on Saturday? (to a man) |
| Ты свободна вечером? | Are you free tonight? (to a woman) |
| Во сколько встретимся? | What time shall we meet? |
| Где встретимся? | Where shall we meet? |
Yes, No, and Gracefully
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| С удовольствием! | With pleasure! — the warmest yes |
| Конечно! | Of course! |
| К сожалению, не могу. | Unfortunately, I can't. — the graceful no |
| Может быть, в воскресенье? | Maybe Sunday instead? — the counter-offer |
Sealing the Deal
Анна, ты свободна в пятницу? Давай пойдём в театр!
Anna, are you free on Friday? Let's go to the theater!
С удовольствием! Во сколько?
With pleasure! What time?
В семь часов. Встретимся у метро?
At seven. Meet at the metro?
Договорились! До встречи!
It's a deal! See you there!
Договорились! — agreed, settled, deal — is the one-word handshake. До встречи! — see you there.
Common Mistakes
- давай + infinitive for one-off plans. Давай пойти is off — давай пойдём (perfective future).
- Свободен for everyone. A woman is свободна; the ending follows the person.
- Ignoring the counter-offer. «Не могу» ends things; «не могу, но давай в воскресенье!» keeps them going.
What You Can Do Now
You can invite anyone anywhere, negotiate time and place, decline without damage, and close with a satisfying Договорились! Your Russian calendar is officially open.