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I am told to use "We are inviting you..." instead of "We invite you...". The reviewer mentions that this first option is progressive and more appropriate. In which cases do you use either one, for example, one case is inviting to a birthday party and the second case is inviting to a medical treatment.

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    A third is "You are invited". There is no single best answer- the choice changes based on context. it feels like your last sentence was submitted before you finished typing. We'd need the exact context along with the sentence you'd like to use before we can provide a reasonable answer.
    – Jim
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 17:46
  • "You are being invited" should also be an option then ;)
    – punund
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 18:10
  • They all seem essentially equivalent to me.
    – Barmar
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 18:50
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    I invite you to my birthday every year. I am inviting you to celebrate my birthday in someone's house tomorrow. So, it depends on the context. Even in the second sentence I can say I invite you.
    – Arsen Y.M.
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 21:04
  • Actually, I started to doubt about my first sentence, should it be I've been inviting you ?
    – Arsen Y.M.
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 21:06

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Even though some want to see a difference between normal form and progressive form I dare say that they see things that are not there. We invite you makes more sense than We are inviting. If I had to correct the above passage I would never say change we invite in we are inviting you. That only leads to the effect that a learner will ever be unsure whether to use the normal form or the progressive form.

To say that the progressive form is more appropriate is insufficient as there is no reason given. If the teacher had said you might as well use We are inviting you - not to emphasise the progressive aspect but to use it as a form that has a bit more weight - simply because it is longer - then I would agree with this teacher. But that is a choice you can decide on for yourself. But there is no rule that says in this sentence only I'm inviting you is correct.

You might as well consider another formula: We would be happy if you accepted our invitation for ...

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Although almost exactly the same, I'd argue that what would sound better mostly pertains to how you are using it and your intent. Finish the sentence for some tone, if you will.

"We are inviting you to our wedding," or, "We're inviting you to our wedding," seems a tad less formal than, "We invite you to our wedding," which sounds more like something on an invitation.

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