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BUSINESS
CORRESPONDENCE
LANGUAGE

​Stuart Cook
​ ​for Speakspeak.com
 Business correspondence language

Index

Starting and ending a business email

When we know the recipient’s name
Writing to a colleague or close business partner
Addressing more than one person

Opening and closing lines

First correspondence with someone: opening lines
First correspondence with someone: closing lines
Replying to a letter, email, call: opening lines
Replying to a letter, email, call: closing lines
Complaining: opening lines
Complaining: closing lines
Apologising: opening lines
Apologising: closing lines
Giving negative or bad news
Enclosing/attaching documents

Making requests

Miscellaneous words in business correspondence

How to use “as” (to give a reason)
How to use “therefore”
How to use “nevertheless” and “nonetheless”
How to use “however”
More common words, with examples

Numerals vs. words

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 Business correspondence language

Starting and ending a business email

There are no fixed rules for starting and finishing an email – these examples are meant purely as
recommendations based on experience and personal usage.

When we know the recipient’s name

salutation complimentary close

Dear Mr Smith Regards

Dear Mrs Coles Regards

Dear Miss Jones Regards

Writing to a colleague or close business partner

salutation complimentary close

Dear Andrew Best regards/Best wishes

Dear Annemarie Best regards/Best wishes

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 Business correspondence language

Starting and ending a business email cont.

Addressing more than one person

salutation complimentary close

Gentlemen Regards
[formal, to several male colleagues]

Ladies Regards
[formal, to several female colleagues]

Dear All Regards

[formal, to several colleagues]

Hello, everyone Use an informal close relevant to the content of

[informal, to several colleagues] the email.

Hi, everyone Use an informal close relevant to the content of

[informal and friendly, to several colleagues] the email.

Hi, Team Use an informal close relevant to the content of

[informal and friendly, to several colleagues] the email.

Dear Anna, Tom, Mike and Steve Regards, Kind regards

[quite formal, to a small number of colleagues]

Go to Index

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 Business correspondence language

Opening and closing lines

First correspondence with someone: opening lines

The left column shows formal phrases, while their less formal equivalents are on the right.

more formal less formal

After having seen your advertisement . . . , I I saw your advertisement . . . and would like . . .
would like . . .

After having received your address from . . . I received your address from . . .
and would like to . . .

I am writing to enquire about . . . I would like to ask you about . . .

You may be interested to hear . . . You might be interested to know . . .

We/I recently wrote to you about . . . We/I wrote to you on 8 May about . . .

First correspondence with someone: closing lines

more formal less formal

I am enclosing a . . . I am enclosing a . . .

Should you require any further/more information, Feel free to contact me/us if you need anything
(please) do not hesitate to contact me/us.
If you need any more information, please
contact me/us.

I/We look forward to your reply. I look forward to hearing from you.

Could you please advise as you see necessary? Please advise as you see necessary.

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 Business correspondence language

Opening and closing lines cont.

Replying to a letter, email, call: opening lines

more formal less formal

Thank you for your email. Thanks for the email.

Thank you for your email regarding . . . Thanks for the email about . . .

Thank you (very much) for your enquiry about . . . Thank you for your enquiry about . . .

In reply to your email of 8 May, . . . Thank you for your email.

Further to our conversation of 8 May, . . . Regarding our telephone conversation of . . .

Further to yesterday's telephone conversation, . . . Regarding our telephone conversation, . . .

I/We have received your . . . I/We have received your . . .

This is to confirm that . . . Just to confirm that . . .

This is to confirm our . . . Just to confirm our . . .

​ © Stuart Cook/Speakspeak ​|​ ​www.speakspeak.com​ ​ ​ 6

 Business correspondence language

Opening and closing lines cont.

Replying to a letter, email, call: closing lines

more formal less formal

(Once again,) thank you (very much) for your (Once again,) thanks for the help.
help.

I/We look forward to your reply. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

I/We look forward to seeing you. Look forward to seeing you soon.

I/We look forward to hearing from you soon. See you soon/Thanks again – see you soon.

Should you need any further/more information, Please contact me/us again if there is anything
(please) do not hesitate to contact me/us. you need.

If you need any more information, please

contact me/us.

(Once again,) I apologise for any inconvenience. Sorry for any trouble this might have caused.

I am really/very sorry for any trouble this might

have caused.

I apologise for any inconvenience and trust that I am very sorry for any trouble caused.
we may continue to receive your valued custom.

We look forward to a successful working We look forward to a successful working

relationship in the future. relationship in the future.

Could you please advise as you see necessary? Please advise as you see necessary.

​ © Stuart Cook/Speakspeak ​|​ ​www.speakspeak.com​ ​ ​ 7

 Business correspondence language

Opening and closing lines cont.

Complaining: opening lines

more formal less formal

I wish to draw your attention to . . . I wanted to inform you about/that . . .

I wish to complain about . . . I am writing to complain about . . .

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with. . . I am writing to say how dissatisfied I am with . . .

Complaining: closing lines

more formal less formal

I would appreciate your immediate attention to I would appreciate if you could sort it out (as
this matter/these matters. soon as possible).

I would appreciate if you could look into the I would appreciate if you could look into it (as
matter/these matters (as soon as possible). soon as possible).

I would like to discuss the matter with you. I would like to discuss it with you.

Apologising: opening lines

more formal less formal

I/We would like to apologise for our mistake . . . I am sorry that I . . .

I am/We are writing to apologise for the I am sorry about . . .

misunderstanding over . . . Just writing to say sorry about . . .

​ © Stuart Cook/Speakspeak ​|​ ​www.speakspeak.com​ ​ ​ 8

 Business correspondence language

Opening and closing lines cont.

Apologising: closing lines

more formal less formal

We hope that we may continue to rely on your We hope that we can continue to rely on your
valued custom. valued custom.

We look forward to a successful working We look forward to a successful working

relationship in the future. relationship in the future.

I apologise for any inconvenience. I am sorry for any trouble caused.

Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience. Once again, I am sorry for any trouble caused.

Please accept my sincere apologies. Please accept my apologies.

Once again, please accept my sincere apologies. I am sorry for any problems caused.

Sorry again for any problems caused.

Giving negative or bad news

more formal less formal

I/We regret that . . . Unfortunately, . . .

I am afraid that I must inform you of/that . . . I am sorry to have to tell you that . . .
Sorry to tell/inform you that . . .

Go to Index

​ © Stuart Cook/Speakspeak ​|​ ​www.speakspeak.com​ ​ ​ 9

 Business correspondence language

Enclosing/attaching documents

We ​attach​ to an email and ​enclose​ in a letter.

more formal less formal

Please find attached . . . I am attaching . . .

[in an email]

Please find enclosed . . . I am enclosing . . .

[in a letter]

Go to Index

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 Business correspondence language

Making requests
To make requests in letters and emails we often use ​could you​ and ​would​.

Here are some examples. Note the different degrees of politeness:

I would be grateful if you could send me . . . very polite

Could you please send me . . . ?

polite
Could you send me . . . , please?

I would be grateful if you could send me . . . polite but direct

I would appreciate if you could . . .

Please send me . . . direct, instruction

Some other examples:

I would request [+ noun] very formal – to express

I would request your immediate attention to the matter. dissatisfaction

Could you possibly . . . ? tentative

Could you possibly send it before Friday?

Adverbs such as ​therefore​ and ​also​ can be inserted into a request after c
​ ould you​ and ​would​:

I would ​therefore​ be grateful if you could send me . . .

I would ​also​ be grateful if you could send me . . .
Could you ​also​ send me . . . ?
Could you ​therefore​ please send me . . . ?
Could you ​therefore​ send me . . . ?

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 Business correspondence language

Making requests cont.

Making more than one request in an email

If you make two requests in a letter or email, the second request should include the word ​also​:

Dear Mr Smith

I recently saw an advertisement for your new range of kitchen equipment.

I own a small retail shop selling household goods and am interested in buying some of your
products. ​Could you​ therefore please send me more details, including pricing?​ ​[first request]

I would also be grateful if​ you could include details of how often you deliver.​ ​[second request]

Thank you in advance.

Best regards

Go to Index

​ © Stuart Cook/Speakspeak ​|​ ​www.speakspeak.com​ ​ ​ 12

 Business correspondence language

Miscellaneous words in business correspondence

as ​(giving a reason)

We often use ​as​ in business correspondence to give a reason for something. It is a synonym for
because​.

Position of ​as​ in a sentence

We can use ​as​ in the first part of the sentence:

[reason] [situation]
As he is on holiday at the moment, it is not possible to get a signature on the letter.

[reason] [situation]
As we do not have the goods on stock at the moment, we are not able to send the order.

We can also use ​as​ in the second part of the sentence:

[situation] [reason]
It is not possible to get a signature as he is on holiday at the moment​.

[situation] [reason]
We are not able to send the order​ a
​ s we do not yet have the goods on stock​.

Examples of ​as

As we are closed for holidays next week, delivery will be at the beginning of June.
The customer returned the goods as they were slightly damaged.
Bulk purchases take longer as they are delivered by truck, not by plane.

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 Business correspondence language

Miscellaneous words cont.

therefore

Therefore​ is a more formal version of ​so​, ​for that reason ​and​ consequently.​ It links two related ideas
and shows that a sentence or statement is connected to a previous sentence or statement.

Position of ​therefore​ in a sentence

after a modal verb (can, should, etc.) I can/may/will therefore . . .

after the verb ‘be’ I am therefore . . .

He is therefore . . .

after an auxiliary (helping) verb I have therefore informed . . .

I am therefore sending . . .

before main verbs I therefore informed . . .

We therefore think that . . .

the start of a sentence Therefore, I must inform you that . . .

after ‘and’ . . . and therefore we are . . .

. . . and we are therefore . . .

Examples of ​therefore

Therefore, we will have to devise an alternative strategy.

I will therefore need to cancel our appointment next week.
It would mean extra work and we would therefore not be able to meet the deadline.

The personal pronoun (I, you, we, etc.) in the second clause can be omitted if it corresponds
to the personal pronoun in the first clause:

We’d like to place an order ​and we would​ therefore be grateful if you could send more details.
We’d like to place an order ​and would​ therefore be grateful if you could send more details.

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 Business correspondence language

Miscellaneous words cont.

nevertheless, nonetheless

Nevertheless​ and ​nonetheless​ are both quite formal and are very similar to​ despite that​: they show that
two points in some way contrast with one another.

Position of ​nevertheless​ and ​nonetheless​ in a sentence

after ‘but’ . . . but nevertheless . . .

. . . but nonetheless . . .

start of a new sentence or after a Nevertheless, our sales increased . . .

semicolon . . . ; nonetheless, our sales increased . . .

at the end of a sentence It’s good value nevertheless.

It’s good value nonetheless.

Examples of ​nevertheless​ and ​nonetheless

The product didn’t sell as well this year, but nevertheless it was a success.
[= The product didn’t sell well, but despite that it was a success.]

Competition was tough last year, but nevertheless our sales increased.
Competition was tough last year. Nevertheless, our sales increased.
Competition was tough last year; nevertheless, our sales increased.

We have lost money on the investment, but nevertheless we continue to be optimistic.

He lost money on the investment. Nevertheless/Nonetheless, he continues to be optimistic.
He lost money on the investment; nevertheless/nonetheless, he continues to be optimistic.

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 Business correspondence language

Miscellaneous words cont.

however

We use ​however​ to introduce a statement that contrasts with something that has been said previously.
It is quite formal and is common in business correspondence.

However​ has a similar meaning to ​nevertheless​ or ​despite this​.

However​ contrasts a sentence against the preceding sentence.
When ​however ​begins a sentence, it is followed by a comma.
We do ​not​ use ​however​ to join two sentences.

Examples of ​however

We had a small drop in sales last month. However, we are still above the plan.
We invited a hundred customers. However, only about fifty came.
We invited a hundred customers. Only about fifty came, however.

We can also use ​however​ in the middle of a sentence:

We had a small drop in sales last month. We are, however, still above the plan.
The drop in sales was mainly due to the bad weather. There were, however, other factors.

​ © Stuart Cook/Speakspeak ​|​ ​www.speakspeak.com​ ​ ​ 16

 Business correspondence language

More common words

correspondence language informal spoken equivalent

further more

I have some ​further​ information regarding . . . I have some ​more​ information regarding . . .

as yet, not yet yet

As yet​ I have not found out the cost of the I haven't found out the cost of the damage ​yet​.
damage.
I have​ not yet​ found out the cost of the damage.

request ask for

He ​requested​ a discount on future purchases. He ​asked for​ a discount on future purchases.

no longer now/anymore

We ​no longer​ stock product no. 456123. We don't stock product no. 456123 ​now​.
We don't stock product no. 456123 ​anymore​.

require need

All guests will ​require​ an evening meal. All guests will ​need​ an evening meal.

rather quite

It would be ​rather​ difficult to change it. It would be ​quite​ difficult to change it.

Go to Index

​ © Stuart Cook/Speakspeak ​|​ ​www.speakspeak.com​ ​ ​ 17

 Business correspondence language

Recommendations for using words vs. numerals

Use words for numbers one to ten:

There were four people at the meeting. We visited six customers.

Use numerals for numbers above ten:

94 people, 450 rooms

Use words instead of a number at the start of a sentence:

Fifty customers answered the questionnaire. ​4 customers

Use words when generalising:

We received over three hundred orders. We asked hundreds of customers.

Use numerals with units of measurement:

9kg, 10km

Use words for fractions (note the hyphen):

one-quarter, two-thirds

The clearest system for dates is:

12 June 2017​ or ​June 12, 2017 12.6.2017​ ​6.12.2017

Commas are not necessary up to 9999; over 9999 use commas:

4562 9021 10,450 101,347 6,324,342

Go to Index

​ © Stuart Cook/Speakspeak ​|​ ​www.speakspeak.com​ ​ ​ 18