Definition
A preinvitation is a presequence that is likely to be understood by the respondent as a signal of a coming invitation. The coming invitation may be a question-answer sequence concerning the availability of the participant to be invited.
Examples
The second and third turns of the following exchange are a preinvitation:
- A: Hi, John.
- B: Say, what’re you doing?
- A: Well we’re going out. Why?
- B: Oh, I was just gonna say come over here this evening.
Sources 2
- Atkinson and Drew 1979, 143
- Levinson 1983, 346