to act on behalf of
to agree with
always at your service
as agreed
as far as I'm concerned
as far as the payment is
concerned
as follows
as per invoice
as per to the conditions
as per your request
as requested
as soon as possible
at your convenience
at your earliest convenience
at your expense
awaiting your reply
to be able to to be
authorised to to be
characterised by
to be confident in
to be delighted to to be held
responsible for
to be in arrears with
payments
to be in difficulty
to be interested in
on arrival of the goods
on behalf of
on condition that - provided
that
on delivery
on receipt of the order
on short notice
on written request
order to be confirmed
our best attention
our offer is still open
outside address
to pay the maximum
attention to the matter
payable in advance
please allow us
please send us
please send us your
instructions
prices are increasing
to reach the destination
to refer to to return a letter
to the sender
to be late
to be overrun with orders
to be prepared to - to be willing to in compliance with -
before the date we agreed upon accordingly
Best regards
body of the letter
circular letter
claim - letter of complaint
to come to a decision
to come to an agreement - to
reach an agreement
complimentary close
to cope with the competition
correspond to the sample
to correspond with
covering letter
due to oversight
enclosure - attachment
to fix an appointment
following your instructions
from order receipt
further to our letter - following
our letter
goods listed below
greeting
half-price
to have the pleasure to to stop
negotiations
to submit a sample
to suit the quality - to meet the
quality
to take into consideration
the aim of this letter
the following items
the goods are available in our
warehouse
the goods are not similar to
sample
the goods are sold out
the goods arrived in good
conditions
the letter remained unanswered could answer
the matter in reference
the meeting was cancelled
to our mutual benefit
to the kind attention of
under separate cover
up to an amount of
utmost care
we acknowledge receipt of
to have the power to hereby
in case of need
in due time - in due course
in good condition
in our favour
in partial payment
in reply to your letter
in the absence of
to inform in due time
inside address
to let someone know in
advance
letter opening - beginning of
the letter
letterheading - heading
to look forward to looking
forward to an early reply
looking forward to hearing
from you
to make the goods available
to meet a demand
to meet customer's
requirements
to meet the demand
Messrs
to notify in advance about
on advanced payment
we have received
we hope we'll receive the
goods soon
we look forward to your kind
reply
we must apologise for
we remain - our kindest
regards
we sent you
we thank you in advance
we wish to inform you that
we would appreciate it if you
we would appreciate your
reply
with no obligation - without
commitment
with reference to - in
reference to with the
compliments of
with the utmost care
to sell at the best we apologize again for with two weeks' notice
to send under separate we apologize for within the end of the month
cover we apologize for the delay within which
sender address we apologize for the mistake without delay
short term we are sorry to have to we are without notice
similar to sample - up to sorry to inform you would you please let us have
sample would you please let us know
you ordered
you requested
you sent us
Yours faithfully (GB) - Yours
truly (GB)

Dear Mr. Brown

Dear Ms. White
Dear Sir
Salutation Dear Madam
Dear Sir or Madam
Gentlemen

We are writing
- to inform you that ...
- to confirm ...
- to request ...
- to enquire about ...
Starting I am contacting you for the following reason...
I recently read/heard about ..... and would like to know ....
Having seen your advertisement in ..., I would like to ...
I would be interested in (obtaining / receiving) ...
I received your address from ----- and would like to ...

Thank you for your letter of March 15.

Thank you for contacting us.
In reply to your request, ...
Thank you for your letter regarding ...
Referring to With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday...
previous Further to our meeting last week ...
contact It was a pleasure meeting you in London last month.
I enjoyed having lunch with you last week in Tokyo.
I would just like to confirm the main points we discussed
on Tuesday.

Making a We would appreciate it if you would ...

 request I would be grateful if you could ...
Could you please send me ...
Could you possibly tell us / let us have ...
In addition, I would like to receive ...
It would be helpful if you could send us ...
I am interested in (obtaining / receiving) ...
I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
Please let me know what action you propose to take.

Would you like us to ...?

We would be happy to ...
Offering help We are quite willing to ...
Our company would be pleased to ...

We are pleased to announce that ...

Giving good I am delighted to inform you that ..
news You will be pleased to learn that ...

We regret to inform you that ...

I'm afraid it would not be possible to ...
Giving bad
Unfortunately we cannot / we are unable to ...
news
After careful consideration we have decided (not) to ...

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ...

I am writing to complain about ...
Please note that the goods we ordered on ( date )
have not yet arrived.
Complaining
We regret to inform you that our order n ----- is now
considerably overdue.
I would like to query the transport charges which seem
unusually high.

Apologising We are sorry for the delay in replying to ...

(US: I regret any inconvenience caused (by) ...
Apologizing) I would like to apologise for the (delay, inconvenience)...
Once again, please accept my apologies for ...

Orders Thank you for your quotation of ...

We are pleased to place an order with your company for..
We would like to cancel our order n .....
Please confirm receipt of our order.
I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your order n .....
Your order will be processed as quickly as possible.
It will take about (two/three) weeks to process your order.
We can guarantee you delivery before ...(date)
Unfortunately these articles are no longer available /
 are out of stock.

Prices Please send us your price list.

You will find enclosed our most recent catalogue and price list.
Please note that our prices are subject to change
without notice.
We have pleasure in enclosing a detailed quotation.
We can make you a firm offer of ...

Referring to Our terms of payment are as follows ...

payment Our records show that we have not yet received
payment of ...
According to our records ...
Please send payment as soon as possible.
You will receive a credit note for the sum of ...

Enclosing I am enclosing ...

documents Please find enclosed ...
You will find enclosed ...

Closing If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know.

remarks If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
If you require more information ...
For further details ...
Thank you for taking this into consideration.
Thank you for your help.
We hope you are happy with this arrangement.
We hope you can settle this matter to our satisfaction.

Referring to We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future.

future business We would be (very) pleased to do business with your company.
I would be happy to have an opportunity to work with
your firm.

Referring to I look forward to seeing you next week.

future contact Looking forward to hearing from you, ...
Looking forward to receiving your comments,
I look forward to meeting you on the (date).
I would appreciate a reply at your earliest convenience.
An early reply would be appreciated.

Ending Sincerely,
business letters }
Yours
for all customers / clients
sincerely,}
Sincerely
 yours,}

Yours
in more formal letters
faithfully,

for those you already know and/or with whom

Regards,
you have a working relationship

Request for information

I am writing to inquire about . . .

I am writing in reference to . . .

I read/heard . . . and would like to know . . .

Could you please send me . . .

at the address below/above

Thank you for your assistance.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Response to request
Thank you for your interest/inquiry

Enclosed is the information you requested.

You can learn more about this at . . .

If you have further questions,

If you require assistance, please contact:

If I can be of more help, please feel free to contact me at . . .

Sample Sentences: Requests
Could you please send me your most recent brochure?

Could you fax me the results of the market survey?

I would like to order ten copies of the book, Touchy Situations.

I would be very grateful if you could send me this information.

Please return the enclosed envelope with your payment.

Sample Sentences: Goodwill

Thank you for your hospitality.

I enjoyed having lunch with you last week while I was in New York.

Congratulations on your promotion to General Manager.

I want(ed) to congratulate you on your new position.

I was happy to hear that contract negotiations went well.

Sample Sentences: Introduction of Product/Service.

I am writing to tell you about . . .

(Our new product) is coming out next month.

This product/service is designed to (help you) . . .

Sample Sentences: Reference

I am writing in regard to . . .

I am writing in reference to . . .

Please refer to the enclosed invoice/brochure.

I hope you have had a chance to look over the materials we sent.

Sample Sentences: Confirmation

I am writing to confirm . . .

I would like to confirm what we discussed last Friday.

I would just like to confirm the main points we discussed . . .

Sample Sentences: Notification

I am writing to let you know that . . .

Please be aware/informed that . . .

I would like to inform you of a recent policy change.

I am happy to inform

you that . . .

Your request for funding has been approved.

Sample Sentences: Offering Assistance

We would be happy to . . .

If we can be of assistance, please don't hesitate to ask.

Sample Sentences: Collection
According to our records . . .

Our records show that . . .

Your monthly installment is past due.

Please send payment as soon as possible.

Apologizing
I'm sorry about...
I am sorry that...
I'm very sorry about...
I'm very sorry for...
Please forgive me for...
I'd like to apologize for...
Please accept my apologies.
Please accept my sincere apologies. (very formal)

Asking for Help

I'd be grateful if you could...
I would be grateful if you could...
I would appreciate it if you could...
Could you please...
I was wondering of you could help me.(informal)
I would like to know...

Asking for Information

I am writing to enquire about...
I am writing to find out about...
What I am looking for is...
I would like to know about/if...

Closing
I look forward to seeing you.
I look forward to hearing from you.
I look forward to meeting you.

Complaining / expressing dissatisfaction

I'm writing to express my dissatisfaction with...
I'm writing to express my annoyance with...
I am not happy about...
...was very disappointing.
Conveying regards
Please give my best regards to your family.
Please pass on my best wishes to your wife and children.
Please give my regards to your parents.

Expressing satisfaction
I was delighted to hear that...
I was very happy to learn that...
I was thrilled to find out that...
I was glad to hear that...
...was very enjoyable.

Expressing concern / sympathy

I was sorry to hear about... (your accident/ illness)
I am writing to express my concern about...

Giving bad news

I regret to inform you that...(semi-formal)
I am sorry to tell you that...(informal)
I regret to advise you that...(formal)
I am afraid I have some bad news.(informal)

Giving good news

I am pleased to inform you that...(semi-formal)
I am delighted to tell you that...(informal)
I am happy to advise you that...(formal)
I thought you might like to know that...

Giving reasons
This is because...
This is because of...
This is due to... (formal)
This is as a result of...(formal)
This is owing to...(formal)

Making suggestions
Would it be a good idea to...
Perhaps it would be a good idea to...

Thanking
Thanks.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you kindly.
I can't thank you enough.
No words can express my gratitude.
I am extremely grateful for...
I very much appreciate your ______ing
QUIZ
Match the following:

1. Thank you kindly.

2. I am pleased to inform you that...
3. Please give my best wishes to...
4. This is due to...
5. I look forward to hearing from you.
6. I would like to know...
7. I'd like to apologize for...
8. I regret to inform you...

a. Apologizing
b. Conveying regards
c. Giving bad news
d. Giving reasons
e. Closing
f. Thanking
g. Giving good news
h. Asking for information

Answers:
1-f, 2-g, 3-b. 4-d, 5-e, 6-h, 7-a, 8-c