The Basics
| Context | Language | |
|---|---|---|
| Formal / Neutral | Informal | |
| Name | Dear Mr/Ms/Mrs Carvalho Dear Peter |
Hi/Hello Peter Peter,… |
| Previous contact |
Thank you for your email of … Further to your last email, … I apologize for not getting in contact with you before now. |
Thanks for your email. Re your email, … Sorry I haven’t written for ages, but I’ve been really busy. |
| Reason for writing |
I am writing in connection with … I am writing with regard to … In reply to your email, here are … Your name was given to me by … We would like to point out that … |
Just a short note about … I’m writing about … Here’s the … you wanted. I got your name from … Please note that … |
| Giving information |
Please find attached my report. I’m sending you … as a PDF file. |
I’ve attached … Here is the … you wanted. |
| Asking for information |
Could you give me some information about … I would like to know … I’m interested in receiving/finding out … |
Can you tell me a little more about … I’d like to know … Please send me … |
| Requests | I’d be grateful if you could … I wonder if you could … Do you think I could have … ? Thank you in advance for your help in this matter. |
Please could you … Could you …? Can I have …? I’d appreciate your help on this. |
| Promising action |
I will … I’ll investigate the matter. I will contact you again shortly. |
I’ll … I’ll look into it. I’ll get back to you soon. |
| Offering help | Would you like me to …? If you wish, I would be happy to … Let me know whether you would like me to … |
Do you want me to …? Shall I …? Let me know if you’d like me to … |
| Final comments |
Thank you for your help. Do not hesitate to contact us again if you require any further information. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. My direct line is … |
Thanks again for … Let me know if you need anything else. Just give me a call if you have any questions. My number is … |
| Close | I’m looking forward to … (+ ing) Give my regards to … Best wishes Regards |
Looking forward to … (+ ing) Best wishes to .. Speak to/see you soon. Bye (for now)/All the best |
Negotiating
| Context | Language |
| Asking for information |
What are your usual charges (fees/rates) for …? Can you give me some more information about …? |
| Requests | Do you think you could …? Would you be able to …? |
| Emphasizing a main point |
My main concern at this stage is … The main thing for me is … |
| Asking for a suggestion |
How do you think we should deal with this? What do you think is the best way forward? |
| Making a suggestion |
Why don’t you …? What about if we …? |
| Negotiating: being firm |
I understand what you’re saying about … (but … ) I can see what you’re saying, but … |
| Negotiating: being flexible |
We would be prepared to … (if …) I am willing to … (if …) |
| Negotiating: agreeing |
Okay, I’m happy with that for now. That’s fine. |
| Next steps | I’ll be in touch again soon with more details. Let’s talk next week and see how things are going. |
| Closing | I look forward to working with you. I’m sorry that we couldn’t use your services this time, but I hope there will be another opportunity. |
Confirming Understanding
| Context | Language |
| Technical problems |
Did you get my last message sent on …? Sorry, you forgot to attach the file. Can you send it again? I got your email, but I can’t open the attachment. Did you mean to send this? I don’t want to open it in case it’s got a virus. |
| Asking for clarification |
I’m not sure what you meant by …? could you clarify? Which … do you mean? I don’t understand this point. Can you explain in a little more detail? Are you sure about that? |
| Giving clarification |
Sorry, what I meant was …, not … I thought …, but I may be wrong. I’ll check and get back to you. The correct information is given below. Please amend your records accordingly. Sorry, forget my last email. You’re right. |
| Close | I hope this clarifies the situation. Get back to me if there’s anything else. |
Meetings
| Context | Language | |
| Formal / Neutral | Informal | |
| Reason for writing |
I’m writing to arrange a time for our meeting. What time would be convenient for you? |
Just a quick note to arrange a time to meet. When would suit you? |
| Suggesting time/place |
Could we meet on (day) in the (morning) at (time)? | How about (day) at (time)? Are you free sometime next week? |
| Saying when you are/ are not free |
I would be able to attend the meeting on Thursday morning. I’m out of the office until 2 pm. Any time after that would be fine. I’m afraid I can’t manage next Monday. |
I’m free Thursday am. I won’t be around until after lunch. Any time after hat is okay. Sorry, can’t make it next Monday. |
| Confirming | I’d like to confirm … That’s fine. I will call/email you tomorrow to confirm the details. |
Thursday is good for me. That should be okay. I’ll get back to you if there’s a problem. |
| Changing arrangements |
This is to let you know that I will not be able to attend the next meeting next Thursday. I wonder if we could move it to …? I apologize for any inconvenience caused. |
Re our meeting next week, I’m afraid I can’t make Thursday. How about … instead? Sorry for the inconvenience. |
| Close | I look forward to meeting you in Brussels. Let me know if you need to change the arrangements. |
See you in Brussels. Give me a call if anything changes. |
Invitations
| Context | Language | |
| Formal / Neutral | Informal | |
| Inviting | We would be very pleased if you could come to … I would like to invite you to … / attend our … Please let me know if you will be able to attend. |
I’m writing to invite you to … Would you like to come to …? Please let me know if you can make it. |
| Prepare | Before the meeting it would be useful if you could prepare … It would be helpful if you could bring … |
Please prepare … before the meeting. Please bring to the meeting … |
| Accepting | Thank you for your kind invitation. The date you suggest is fine. I would be delighted to attend the meeting. I am sure it will be very useful. |
Thanks a lot for the invitation. The date’s fine for me. I’d love to come to the meeting. It sounds like a great idea. |
| Refusing | Thank you for your kind invitation. Unfortunately, I have another appointment on that day. Please accept my apologies. I hope we will have the opportunity to meet on another occasion in the near future. I am sure that the meeting will be a great success. |
Thanks a lot for your kind invitation. Unfortunately, I have something else in my schedule on that day. I hope we can meet up soon. Good luck with the meeting! |
Writing Styles
| Context | Language | |
| Formal / Neutral | Informal | |
| Example phrases |
Thank you for your email received 12 Feb. With regard/reference to … I would be grateful if you could … We regret to advise you that … Please accept our apologies for … I was wondering if you could … We note that you have not … We would like to remind you that … It is necessary for me to … It is possible that I will … Would you like me to …? However, …/I addition, … / Therefore, … If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to meeting you next week |
Thanks for the email. Re … Please could you … I’m sorry to tell you that … I’m sorry for … Could you …? You haven’t … Don’t forget that … I need to … I might … Shall I …? But, … / Also, … / So, … If you’d like more details, let me know. See you next week. |
| Latin / Anglo- Saxon origin |
Assistance / due to / enquire / inform / information / obtain / occupation / possess / provide / repair / request / requirements / verify |
Help / because of / ask / tell / facts / get / job / have / give / fix / ask for / needs / check (prove) |
Direct / Indirect
| Context | Language | |
| Direct | Indirect: polite / diplomatic | |
| Requests | Can you …? Please could you … |
Could you …? I was wondering if you could … |
| Asking for permission |
Can I …? Could I …? |
Is it all right if …? I wonder if I could …? |
| Offering help | Can I …? Shall I …? |
Would you like me to ..? Do you need any help with …? |
| Making a suggestion |
What about … (+ing)? Shall we …? |
Why don’t we …? Perhaps we should …? |
| Make a strong comment softer |
There is a problem. That will be very expensive. We can’t do that . That gives us very little time. It will be better to ask Heidi. I disagree. |
I’m afraid there is a small problem. It seems there is a slight problem. That might be quite expensive. Won’t that be a bit expensive? I’m not sure we can do that. Actually, that doesn’t give us much time. Wouldn’t it be better to ask Heidi? I can see what you’re saying, but … Don’t you think that …? To be honest, I think it might be better to … |
Source: Hélder Fanha Martins
Hi, I'm Tim 