Useful Phrases for Emails / Letters

1. Popular informal vocabulary items and their formal equivalents

also = moreover, furthermore, in addition, additionally
and = as well as
ASAP = as soon as possible
ask for = request
awesome, great, fantastic = wonderful
be sorry (I’m sorry) for = I (do) apologize for
big = large, huge
buy = purchase
chance = opportunity
cheap = inexpensive
finally = in the end
find out = discover
get = obtain
get in touch = contact
go up = increase
go down = decrease
I think = in my opinion
in the end = finally
Is it alright/OK is … ? = Is it acceptable to … ?
look at = examine
more, extra = further
okay, OK = acceptable
put up with = tolerate
require = need
seem = appear
show = demonstrate
so = therefore
tell sb = inform sb
think about = consider
try = attempt
wrong = incorrect

2. Greetings
Formal
• Dear Sir/Madam,
• Dear Sir or Madam,
• Dear Mr/Ms Jones,
(note: First names are NOT used. Using Miss or Mrs to address a woman is not appropriate if you don’t
know whether she is married or not)
Informal
• Hi Dennis,
• Hello Claire,
• Dear Mum,

3. Starting a letter / Reason for writing

Formal
• Thank you for your letter of 28 January, in which you enquire(d) about our current price list. /
regarding the sale of… / concerning the conference in Brussels.
• I am writing to apply for the post of economist as advertised in the Financial Times of 16
November / make a reservation /confirm my booking / ask for further information about…
 • With reference to/Further to our telephone call this morning, I am writing to confirm the
schedule of lectures and classes we arranged during your visit at our university last week. / I
would like to let you know that…
• I am writing with reference / regard to your e-mail / our telephone conversation of 18 September.
• We are manufacturer of gardening equipment based in Cardiff, Wales, and would like some
information on the range of steel blades you offer.
• I am writing to inform you that the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is organising a special
event from 17 to 20 November on the subject of “Business Today”.
• We are writing to thank you for the informative and useful health and safety course that Ms
Johnson from NHL ran at our office on Thursday 18 December.
• I am writing to enquire about AutoCAD trainings advertised on your website.
• I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction with the training I received from your
representative on 12 March.
Semi-formal/Informal
• Just a quick note to invite you to…/tell you that…
• This is to invite you to join us for...
• Thanks for your e-mail, it was wonderful/great to hear from you.
• I wanted to let you know that /tell you about / ask you if …

4. Giving bad news

• We regret to inform you that the delivery goods you ordered on Tuesday, 15 of May, is / has been
delayed owing to the air-traffic controllers’ strike.
• I am sorry to inform you that we are unable to offer you the position of trainee accountant you
(have) applied for.
• I am afraid that we are unable to grant you the 20 per cent discount you (have) requested.

5. Giving (good) news

• We are writing to inform you that your order no. 567523 for 25 laptop computers has been
dispatched.
• We are pleased to announce that our prices have been cut by 15 per cent.

6. Making requests
Formal
• Could you please let me / us know whether these items are still available? / if you can attend / if
you are available for a meeting on 12 December?
• I would be grateful if you could send / sent me further details regarding the event.
• I would appreciate it if you could recommend a good hotel for my stay / send me a brochure / a
reply within two days.
• If you wish to participate in this prestigious event, please confirm your attendance and the subject
of your talk no later than 31 August.
• Should you require any further details about / If you would like to know more about our latest
innovation, please do not hesitate to contact me personally.
• Could you possibly arrange a meeting with the Logistics Manager?
• I would also like to know if there are any swimming pools in your area.
• Please let me know how much the tickets cost.
Informal
• I was wondering if you could come and see me sometime next week.
• Would you mind coming early to help me clear up the place?
• Do you think you could call Jerry for me?
• Can you call me/get back to me asap? (as soon as possible)
7. Making complaints
Formal
• I am writing (in order) to complain about the delay in our order of 2 October.
• I regret to say that the delivery did not arrive in perfect condition.
• We are not satisfied with the way your company is / has been acting / has acted / acted in this
matter.
• Following our telephone conversation last Wednesday, I would like to express my dissatisfaction
with your company’s recent / delivery service.
Informal
• I’m sorry to say that you’re late with the payments.
• I hope you won’t mind me saying that the place you’d recommended to us wasn’t as nice as we’d
expected.

8. Making apologies
Formal
• Please accept our apologies for the delay / for any inconvenience this has caused / may have
caused / caused / may cause / causes you.
• We would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.
• I am very sorry about the delay in delivering your order. This was caused by a shortage of
components from our suppliers.
• We regret that this mistake was made a second time.
• On behalf of Magic Travel, please accept my sincere apologies for your dissatisfaction with the
guiding service you received during the tour of Amsterdam.
• Please let us know what we can do to compensate you for the damages caused.
• We will make sure that this does not happen again in the future.
• I am afraid I will not be able to attend the conference.
Informal
• I’m sorry for the trouble I caused.
• I apologize for the delay.
• I promise it won’t happen again
• I’m sorry, but I can’t make it to the meeting.

9. Enclosures / Attachments
Formal
• Please find enclosed / attached a copy of the following documents.
• I enclose our latest catalogue.
• I am attaching my CV for your consideration.
• I am sending you the brochure as an attachment.
• Please see the statement attached.
• Please find attached the file you requested.
• I am afraid I cannot open the file you have sent me.
• Could you send it again in … format?
Informal
• I’m attaching/sending you the holiday photos.
• Sorry, but I can’t open it. Can you send it again in … format?

10. Extending invitations

• We would be delighted if you could attend the conference and give a talk to our medical students
on a topic of your choice.
• I am writing to invite you to our conference which will be held at the Grand Milano Hotel on 24
April 2019.
11. Offering help / Giving information
Formal
• We are happy to let you know that your article has been selected for publication.
• I am glad to inform you that we will be holding our annual conference in Brussels on 20
September 2014.
• We are willing to arrange another meeting with the CEO.
• We would be glad to send you another statement if necessary.
• Please (do) let me know if I can be of further assistance.
• Should you need any further information/assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Informal
• I’m sorry, but I can’t make it tomorrow. (= I can’t come tomorrow.)
• I’m happy to tell you that John and I are getting married next month.
• Would you like me to come early and help you clear up the place?
• How about I come and help you out?

12. Thanking
• (First of all), I would like to thank you for the excellent service we received at your hotel / for
inviting me to speak at the conference “Architecture Today” as organised by your Faculty.
• On behalf of our whole team, please convey our thanks to Victoria for the excellent presentation
she delivered to a group of our workers.
• I would like to express my gratitude for the invaluable support you offered me in this critical
situation.

13. Declining
• I regret that I must cancel our appointment.
• Thank you for offering me the position of senior accountant. I have considered it carefully and
must decline the offer because this position will require too much travelling.
• Thank you for the invitation to give a lecture at your university on 22 February. Unfortunately, I
am unable to accept because I have another commitment on the same day.

14. Ending and Closing

Formal
• Yours faithfully, (when you start with Dear Sir/Madam,)
• Yours sincerely, (when you start with the name e.g. Dear Ms Collins)
• (Kind) Regards,
• Best regards, / Best wishes,
• I look forward to hearing from you (soon).
• Many thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing from you.
• We look forward to doing business with you again in the near future.
• I hope you will resolve the matter quickly.
• I hope I will not be forced to take this matter further.
• I would like to receive a full refund and compensation for the damages.
• I am interested to hear how your company can compensate us for the distress we suffered.
• I hope you will accept my / our apologies.
• I look forward to seeing you at the conference.
Informal
• Hope to hear from you soon.
• I’m looking forward to seeing you.
• Love,
• Thanks,
• Take care,
• Yours,