[General] General: You won't be able to go to your appointment

[sb70012]

Hi,
Suppose that you and I are close friends. We make an appointment for tomorrow afternoon at 5:00 PM.
But tomorrow morning my dad asks me to help him in the garden. This makes me not go to the appointment I have made.
After some minutes in the morning I call my friend and tell him:

"Hello Alex, I'm so sorry for the appointment we made. I got another work to do. Today I may won't be able to see you"

1. I got another work.
2. I got something else to do.
3. Another work came to me.

In Persian language we say "sorry Alex another work came to me (helping my dad in the garden)"

What will you say in this circumstance? I mean how will you say the bold written part in English?

Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

I'd say

'Sorry Alex — I won't be able to meet you today after all. I've got to help my dad in the garden'.

 

[sb70012]

I've got to help my dad in the garden'.

Thank you.
But sometimes people don't want to say the reason that why they don't want to go.
Can we say it in a way without saying the reason? I mean I don't want him to know that I want to help my dad in the garden.

For example: "I got something else to do"

Can we say it in a way without mentioning exactly what we want to do?
I hope you understood me.

 

[Rover_KE]

"I've got something else to do."

"I've got another job (not 'work') to do."

 

[sb70012]

"I've got another job (not 'work') to do."

Thank you now I got it. Just one more thing. "job"=occupation
Isn't it odd to say "I've got job (occupation) to do?

 

[Rover_KE]

See definition 1 below:



job n

• an individual piece of work or task
• an occupation; post of employment

(Collins)

 

[sb70012]

Hello again,

Suppose that I go to the date but 5 minutes later.

My friend tells me: "Why did you come late Alex?"
I want to tell him:
"Sorry something came up to me that's why I am late." :?:
"Sorry I got another job to do that's why I am late." :?:

Are the bold written part correct? If not then would you please tell me what would you say if you were me?
Thank you.

 

[Barb_D]

Hello again,

Suppose that I go to the date but 5 minutes later.

My friend tells me: "Why did you come late Alex?"
I want to tell him:
"Sorry something came up to me that's why I am late." :?:
"Sorry I got another job to do that's why I am late." :?:

Are the bold written part correct? If not then would you please tell me what would you say if you were me?
Thank you.

I'm sorry. Something came up [at the last minute] and made me late. (If your father asked for help in the morning and you knew it would make you late, you would have called. Something must have happened just before you met your friend.)

Sorry - I had something I had to do at home that delayed me.
Sorry - there was something at home I had to do that held me up.


You don't say "another job" because meeting your friend (it's not a "date" if it's your buddy) is not a job.

 

[sb70012]

(it's not a "date" if it's your buddy)

Thank you Barb. Now I got it.
You know why I changed the word "appointment" to "date"? Because once a native English speaker in one of the forums told me:
'appointment' is not the right word in this context. You have appointments
with doctors and dentists, etc. With friends you have an arrangement to meet, or you have a date (which sometimes, but not always, can have romantic implications).

Now I should go with "date" or "appointment"?:?:

Thanks in advance

 

[Barb_D]

It's a good question.

Date strongly suggests a romantic event, although you'll hear "a lunch date with the girls" when women have lunch together. I jokingly referred to my "playdate" when I had a beer with my next door neighbor ladies last week on the deck in the fall sunshine.

Appointment does suggest something more formal than meeting your friend at the bar to have a beer.

You basically hear things like "I have plans to hang out with Billy tomorrow night" or "Billy and I are planning to go to the Station Taproom tomororw night."

I wonder what others might suggest.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you Barb. Now I got it.
You know why I changed the word "appointment" to "date"? Because once a native English speaker in one of the forums told me:
'appointment' is not the right word in this context. You have appointments
with doctors and dentists, etc. With friends you have an arrangement to meet, or you have a date (which sometimes, but not always, can have romantic implications).

Now I should go with "date" or "appointment"?:?:

Thanks in advance

Like BarbD, I wouldn't use "date" or "appointment" for a planned meetup with a friend. I probably wouldn't use a noun at all. I would just say "I'm planning to meet up with my friend Alex tomorrow" or "I'm going to meet Alex tomorrow" or similar. I wouldn't say "I have a XXX with Alex tomorrow".

 

[sb70012]

So, when a boy meets another boy you call it a date or an appointment?

 

[emsr2d2]

So, when a boy meets another boy you call it a date or an appointment?

If the boys are homosexual and there's a romantic aspect to it, it's a date. If it's two men meeting to discuss business, it's an appointment. If it's just two male friends meeting for a chat/beer/coffee/cinema etc, then it's neither. That's why I said I wouldn't use a noun at all for that kind of meetup. One boy is simply going to meet his friend.