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To be polite when declining an invitation, you often need to clarify that the rejection isn't personal. 

### "Not that": *Non que*

Use **non que** (not that) to explicitly reject a possible reason or assumption. Because the rejected reason is false, it requires the **subjunctive** mood.

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### "It is not that": *Ce n'est pas que*

**Ce n'est pas que** (it is not that) is slightly more conversational and also triggers the subjunctive. It is often followed by *mais* (but) and the indicative mood to state the *actual* reason.

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### Navigating Scheduling Conflicts

Use the noun **un empêchement** to express a last-minute, unavoidable scheduling conflict.

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If you have a conflict, you might need to push back (*décaler*) the commitment rather than canceling it altogether.

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Using these structures allows you to gracefully decline an offer (*décliner l'offre*) while firmly stating your boundaries.

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Refuting a cause (ce n'est pas que)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
unavailable	indisponible
not that	non que
the commitment (m)	l'engagement
I am unavailable tonight, not that I want to avoid this commitment.	Je suis indisponible ce soir, non que je veuille éviter cet engagement.
it is not that	ce n'est pas que
to cancel (an appointment)	décommander
overloaded	surchargé
It is not that I want to cancel, but I am overloaded.	Ce n'est pas que je veuille décommander, mais je suis surchargé.
the unavoidable conflict (m)	l'empêchement
to decline	décliner
the offer (f)	l'offre
to push back	décaler
I have a scheduling conflict; I must decline the offer and postpone the appointment.	J'ai un empêchement ; je dois décliner l'offre et décaler le rendez-vous.
I have a scheduling conflict, not that I am tired.	J'ai un empêchement, non que je sois fatigué.
It is not that he is lazy, but he is overloaded and must cancel.	Ce n'est pas qu'il soit paresseux, mais il est surchargé et doit décommander.
It is not that I am forgetting this commitment, but we must push it back.	Ce n'est pas que j'oublie cet engagement, mais nous devons le décaler.
I am calling to decline the invitation, not that I am angry.	Je téléphone pour décliner l'invitation, non que je sois fâché.
While appreciating the offer, I am overloaded and must decline.	Tout en appréciant l'offre, je suis surchargé et dois décliner.
It is because of my work that I have a scheduling conflict, not that I am distracted.	C'est à cause de mon travail que j'ai un empêchement, non que je sois distrait.
It is not that he is unavailable, but he is busy.	Ce n'est pas qu'il soit indisponible, mais il est occupé.