writing_prhases ELR, mkd

COMMONLY USED EXPRESSIONS

FOR BUSINESS WRITINGBeginnings and Endings

Style Opening Close

You dont know their name

Dear Sir/Dear Madam Dear Sir or Madam Dear Sales Manager ( job t i t le)

Yours Faithful ly (very formal!) Sincerely (Yours) Yours truly

You know their name Dear Mr Smith

Dear Dr Smith

Dear Ms Smith

Dear Mrs Smith (marr ied)

Sincerely (Yours)

You know someone wel l Dear John

Hi John

John

(Best/Kind) Regards

Best Wishes

Take Care

(NB: CU Soon is best left for a SMS or scr ibbled note!)

Introduction x With reference to your e-mai l of 12 Januaryx Further to our discussion last weekx Thank you for x How are you?

Offering help x I f you require more information, we would be happy to x Would you l ike me to/ Shal l I. x Do you want me to x We would be del ighted to x I f you dont mind

Reason for writing x We are writ ing to x I m just wri t ing to x Just a short e-mai l to request / conf irm / inform you that / ask i f / c lari fy

Saying sorry x We must apologize for (not) / We deeply regret x I do apologize for(any inconvenience caused) x I m real ly sorry for/about

Good News x We are del ighted to conf irm that x You wi l l be pleased to hear that x We are pleased to inform you thatx I m happy to Attaching fi les x We are attaching / We attachx Please f ind attached / enclosed x I m attaching/I ve at tached

Declining an offer / bad news x We regret to inform you that x I m afraid that / Unfortunately, x I m sorry, but x I t is not possible for me / us to x Unfortunately, we are unable to

Ending x Do not hesi tate to contact us again at (079) 221 4576 i f you require further assistance. x I f you have any further quest ions, please contact me by e-mai l . x Let me know i f you need any more help.

Requesting x You are requested to x We would appreciate i t i f you could x I d be grateful i f you could

Confirming x Monday at 10h00 would sui t me perfect ly.x Tuesday is f ine by me.x Please reply without delay.

writing_prhases ELR, mkd

x Could you please x Would i t be possible for you to x We would l ike to have x Please let us know as soon as

possible (NB: asap is very forceful! )x Would you please conf irm?x Please contact me at your earl iest convenience

Obtaining information x Could you let us know whether / i fx We would be interested to know whether / i f x Would you please send me x Please send me x Could you please send further detai ls of

Making suggestions x May I suggest? x I d suggest x You could / might x I propose that x What would you say / do you think about?

Expressing certainty and doubt x I t is c lear thatx There is no doubt thatx We are convinced / conf ident thatApologizing x We were very sorry to hear that x We are very sorry for / that x We apologize for

Thanking x We would l ike to express our s incere thanks for x Wed l ike to thank you for x Thank you once again for your help.

Closing x We would l ike to thank you in advance.x I /We look forward to meeting/seeing you next week. x I /We look forward to hearing from you.x Please dont hesi tate to contact me under 058 456 1234 i f you need any further information.

Note: these abbreviat ions are good to know, but they are NOT APPROPRIATE for business writ ing.

Abbreviations asap = as soon as possible br = best regards btw = by the way cc = copy (n.); send a copy to (Could you cc me, please?) t ia = thanks in advance