FORMAL vs INFORMAL VOCABULARY

Formal and informal vocabulary in writing letters.

Formal letters are requests, applications, enquiries etc. sent to people or

organisations.
The tone is respectful and the letter is structured.
Informal letters are sent to friends and relatives. The tone is casual and friendly.

FORMAL INFORMAL
Beginning ▪Dear Sir/Madam / Dear Mr/Ms Brown ▪Dear Mark/Laura
Ending ▪Yours faithfully / Yours sincerely ▪Best/kind regards
Reason for ▪I am writing ▪This is a short note
writing -with regard to … -to thank you
-to request -to apologise
-to enquire about … -to mention
-to inform you that… ▪I thought you might like to know
-in response to … that …
Recalling ▪As you may recall, we recently discussed ▪As you know, we talked about…
facts the possibility of … ▪You probably remember our
▪As you know, our company is interested in recent conversation about ...
…
What you ▪In order to develop this idea ▪If you agree, we could …
propose ▪To allow us to take the matter further, may ▪It might be a good idea to …
I suggest that.. ▪What I suggest is …
▪To enable us to move forward on this, we ▪One /another possibility would
would like to propose … be to …
▪I/we/our firm would be pleased to …
Further ▪Please do not hesitate to contact us if you ▪Feel free to contact me at any
contact require further details / more information. time for more details.
▪We would be happy to provide more ▪Let me know how you feel about
detailed information. my suggestion.
Signing off ▪We would be pleased to have an ▪We could discuss this over lunch
opportunity to work with your firm. one day.
▪I look forward to hearing from you. ▪Hope to hear from you soon.