attend vs take part in

[maoyueh]

Dear Rover_KE, Tdol, emsr2d2, MikeNew York, Raymott and others,
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you! Thank you all for your helpful answers to my questions.

"I will attend/go to a birthday party/a dinner party/a family party/a wedding reception/a wedding banquet this evening."

In the sentence above, can I replace "attend/go to" with "take part in" ? If so, do they carry the same meanings? I think they probably carry different meanings. If I am wrong, please correct me. Thank you again.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank for your good wishes - and the same to you.

You can't use "take part in" in the context you gave, or at least certainly not for the idea of a party. I suppose you could say that you're going to take part in a wedding ceremony if you are an integral part of it (bridesmaid, page boy, flower girl, celebrant, vicar etc) but not if you're simply an invited guest.