E Mails

Writing Bank: Useful words and phrases
Informal letter / e-mail

 Dear (first name)
 Hi / Hello (first name) - (for informal e-mails)
Beginnings
 Thank you/Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter/e-mail.

 Thank you so much for writing.
 It was good/nice to hear from you recently.
 It’s always nice to hear from you.
 Thanks for your e-mail, it was wonderful/great to hear from you.
 Lovely to hear from you.
 I’m sorry I haven’t written/been in touch for such a long time.
 Sorry I haven’t been in touch for a while.
 Sorry for not writing for so long.
 It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. I hope you’re/you and your family are well.
Asking
 Hi! / How are things going?

 Hi! What’s up?
 How are you?
 How’s it going?
 What have you been up to lately?
Referring to their news
 Great news about …

 Glad to hear that …
 I'm so pleased to hear ...
 Sorry to hear/learn about …
Giving news
 Just dropping you a line to tell you about...

 Guess what!
 I’m writing to let you know that...
 Listen, did I tell you about …? You’ll never believe what …
 Oh, and another thing … This is just to let you know that …
 I thought you might be interested to hear about/know that …
 By the way, have you heard about/did you know that …
 You'll never guess who I bumped into yesterday.
 I wanted to let you know that / tell you about …
 Good news!
 Unfortunately,...
To go back to a previous topic
 Anyway, as I was saying earlier...
Offering help:
 Would you like me to... (do sth.)?

 How about I come and help you out?
 Do you need a hand with...?
Apologies
 I’m writing to apologise for missing your party but I’m afraid I was with flu.
 I’m really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with my new job.
 I’m sorry, but ... I can’t make it tomorrow. (= I can’t come tomorrow.)
 I’m sorry for the trouble I caused.
 I apologize for the delay.
 I promise it won’t happen again.
 Sorry to trouble you.
 Sorry for any trouble caused!
 We are very sorry for ...
Complaining:
 I’m fed up with (someone/something)

 I am not happy with...
 I’m rather annoyed with...
Invitations
 I’m/We’re having a party on Friday 19th and I/we hope you’ll be able to come.
 Would you like to come/go to see ‘Room With a View’ with me at the weekend.
 I was wondering if you’d like to go to the theatre/come on holiday with us?
 Could you let me/us know if you can come/you’d like to join us?
 Thank you vary much for your invitation. I’d love to come.
 Thank you for asking/inviting me to … but I’m afraid I won’t be able to …
Requests
 I’m writing to ask for your help/you (if you could do me) a favour.
 I wonder if/I was wondering if you could help me/do me a favour.
 I hope you don’t mind me asking but could you (possibly) …?
 I’d be very/really/terribly grateful if you could …
 Would you mind ... (doing sth..)?
 I’m writing to ask you a favour.
 Do me a favour, will you?
 Would it be possible for you to?
Thank you / Congratulations / Good Luck
 I’m writing to thank you for your hospitality/the wonderful present.

 It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you.
 I really appreciated all your help/advice.
 Congratulations on passing your exams/your excellent exam results!
 I wish you good luck/Good luck in/with your exams/your driving test/your interview.
 Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do well/pass.
Attaching files:
 I’m attaching/sending you the holiday photos.

 Sorry, but I can’t open it. Can you send it again in … format?
Making suggestions and recommend
 Why don’t you …? Maybe you could …? How about …?

 You can’t leave New York without doing sth
 I’m sure you will enjoy doing sth If you like, we can …
 Do visit (somewhere). Don’t forget to (do sth) (Imperative -> Strong Recommendation)
 I’m told that … People say that … (If you heard sth is good)
Endings
 Well, that's all for now...

 Well, that’s my news.
 Well, that’s all from me.
 I must go now./ I’d better finish.
 Got to go now.
 I’ll have to finish now because…
 Give my love/regards to … your family/your parents.
 Say hello to …
 Hope to hear from you soon..
 Write back soon
 Looking forward to hearing from you again
 See you soon!
 Write soon.
 Write back soon and tell me your news.
 Once again, thank you for all your help.
 We must try and meet up soon.
 I can't wait to hear from you.
 Can’t wait to see you.
 Write when you have time, will you?
 Keep in touch!
 Bye for now!
 Thanks again for...
Signing off
 Love,
 Lots of love,
 Take care
 All the best,
 Best wishes,
+First name
Remember that in informal e-mails and letters we use:
 Informal vocabulary, including phrasal verbs

‘go on’ instead of ‘continue
 Punctuation using exclamation marks (don't overuse it)

If you’d been at the wedding, you’d have loved the food!
 Contractions
I've just heard you've been to...
 Idioms
“I had a whale of a time at the dance last night!”
Extra
Start with “Dear...” followed by the first name of the person to whom you are writing. In e-mails, you
can also start with Hi (and the person's name), or just the person's name.
When you have finished your opening comments, begin a new paragraph and cover all the
information that you want to mention.
Make sure that your reply answers any questions that you were asked in the original letter or email
and takes into account any additional information that you have been told to mention.
In many exam questions, you will be told what to include in your reply. There will also often be
additional notes which serve as prompts for your reply. It is important that you include these in order
to get a good grade.
It is important that you use grammatical expressions and vocabulary appropriate to the level of the
exam. Even if there are no mistakes in your writing, you will not be able to get a good grade if you use
only the language and vocabulary that you learnt at elementary level. Even in informal writing, there is
a good range of language you can use.
An informal letter or email is an opportunity to demonstrate informal language skills. There are a
number of ways to make your language informal:
USEFUL PHRASES
 Use intensifying adjectives and adverbs to show enthusiasm: I've got a fantastic new job. | My
new boss is an absolute nightmare.
 Use idiomatic language: Things have been getting on top of me at work lately. | It's been ages
since we last managed to meet up. | What have you been up to lately? | Let me know what
you think. | I'll fill you in when we next meet.
 Use question forms to make the letter read more like a conversation: How are your studies
going? | How does that sound to you?
 Use informal vocabulary: use get instead of receive, I guess instead of I think
 Use phrasal verbs and phrases: we get on well, write back soon, get in touch.
 Use contractions: I can't help thinking I should've told you sooner.
A closing statement, such as Take care, Best wishes or Love should be written on a new line. If you
used a comma after the opening greeting, use a comma here too. Your name then follows on another
new line. People often write an X below their name to indicate a kiss.
Sample informal e-mails
Part of an informal email:
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject - Invitation
Anyway, I was really writing to ask if you would like to stay a little bit longer when you come over.
You've already got the wedding invitation - I can't believe my sister's getting married in a few months'
time! I was thinking perhaps we could spend some time together before or after the wedding. Let me
know what dates would be good for you. Also, my mum would like to know if you wouldn't mind sharing
a room. We're going to be quite busy, what with the wedding and everything.
I know this is your first visit to Britain, so please let me know in your next email what kind of things
you'd like to do when you're here. We're going to have a great time.
Write back soon.
John

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Writing Bank: Useful words and phrases

Informal letter / e-mail

 Thank you/Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter/e-mail.

 Hi! / How are things going?

Referring to their news

 Great news about …

 Just dropping you a line to tell you about...

 Anyway, as I was saying earlier...

 Would you like me to... (do sth.)?

 I’m fed up with (someone/something)

 I’m writing to thank you for your hospitality/the wonderful present.

 Congratulations on passing your exams/your excellent exam results!

 I’m attaching/sending you the holiday photos.

Making suggestions and recommend

 Why don’t you …? Maybe you could …? How about …?

 Well, that's all for now...

Remember that in informal e-mails and letters we use:

 Informal vocabulary, including phrasal verbs

 Punctuation using exclamation marks (don't overuse it)

new boss is an absolute nightmare.

you think. | I'll fill you in when we next meet.

going? | How does that sound to you?

 Use contractions: I can't help thinking I should've told you sooner.

Sample informal e-mails

Part of an informal email:

Write back soon.

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