INFORMAL LETTER
| Dear (first name), | |
| Beginnings | Thank you/Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter/postcard. It was good/nice to hear from you recently. Im sorry I havent written/been in touch for such a long time. Its ages since Ive heard from you. I hope youre/you and your family are well. |
| Asking | Hi! How are the things? How are you? Hows it going? |
| Referring to their news | Great news about Glad to hear that Sorry to hear about |
| Giving news | Listen, did I tell you about Youll 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 |
| Apologies | Im writing to apologise for missing your party but Im afraid I was with flu. Im really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with my new job. If you let me know where you bought it/how much it cost Ill gladly pay for it/replace it. Please let me know how much the bill is and Ill gladly pay it. |
| Invitations | Im/Were having a party on Friday 19th and I/we hope youll 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 youd like to go to the theatre/come on holiday with us? Could you let me/us know if you can come/youd like to join us? Thank you vary much for your invitation. Id love to come. Thank you for asking/inviting me to but Im afraid I wont be able to |
| Requests | Im 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 dont mind me asking but could you (possibly) ? Id be very/really/terribly grateful if you could |
| Thank you Congratulations Good Luck | Im 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. Dont worry, Im sure youll do well/pass. Do be on time, wont you, and dont forget to |
| Making suggestions and recommend. | Why dont you ? Maybe you could ? How about ? You cant leave New York without doing sth Im sure you will enjoy doing sth If you like, we can Do visit somewhere Dont forget to do sth (Imperative -> Strong Recommendation) Im told that People say that (If you heard sth is good) |
| Endings | Give my love/regards to Say hello to Hope to hear from you soon. See you soon! Write soon. Once again, thank you for all your help. |
| Signing off | Love, Lots of love, Yours, Best wishes, |
| First name |
FORMAL LETTER
| Dear Mr/Ms (surname), Dear Sir/Madam/Sir or Madam, | |
| Reason for writing | I am writing to I am writing with regard to I am writing on behalf of |
| Asking questions | I would be grateful if I wonder if you could Could you ? Could you tell me something about ? I would particularly like to know I would be interested in having more details about |
| Referring to their letter | As you started in your letter, Regarding Concerning With regard to |
| Complaining | I am writing to complain about You said but in fact what happened We were supposed to stay with British families whereas we actually stayed in a guest house. |
| Closing | If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you. Please contact me if you have any further questions. |
| Signing off | (If Dear surname) Yours sincerely, (If Dear Sir/Madam) Yours faithfully, Yours, |
| First name + surname |
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Remember that in formal letters we use:
Formal vocabulary, usually not using phrasal verbs
(Tolerate instead of put up with)
More complex sentence structure
(Knowing what a good reputation the restaurant has, I was disappointed with the service)
Punctuation using semi-colons
The library offers no facilities for borrowing videos; this is because of the high cost involved
Remember that in informal letters we use:
