Best Practices: 10 Important Expressions For E-mail And Letters












Here is a list of ten important expressions for E-mail and letters:
  • Following our meeting / our telephone conversation / your message dated February 1, . . .
  • With reference to our meeting / our telephone conversation / your message dated June 8, . . .
  • I am writing to confirm / ask about / inform you / complain about . . .
  • I am sorry about (informal) | I apologize for (formal) the delay / the problems / the inconvenience / sending you the wrong documents / forgetting our meeting (verb + ing)
  • I would like to (re)schedule our lunch, our meeting / postpone our meeting (until) / plan dinner, our meeting / make an appointment with you on Wednesday, February 1 at 3 PM / cancel our lunch, our meeting
  • I would appreciate it if you could send me the information as soon as possible. I would be grateful if you could contact Mr. Smith and ask him about the meeting. Could you please forward me the meeting agenda?
  • Please find attached the information you requested / the meeting schedule / my document. (For E-mail only) | Please find enclosed a check for 200 euros. (For letters only)
  • Please find below the meeting agenda / my address:
  • Thank you (very much) for your time / your help / your cooperation / your understanding / your phone call / your message / sending me the information / taking time to meet me (verb + ing)

    Please note that in English we thank someone AFTER an action, not before. If you want to ask someone to do something, you can say: PLEASE do something or COULD YOU PLEASE do something.
  • Please let me know about the meeting / when you receive my message / if we can meet on Tuesday / what you think. | I look forward to hearing from you / seeing you / meeting you / having lunch with you / receiving your documents (verb + ing)

PRACTICE AND THINK IN ENGLISH

  • What are the expressions you typically use in your E-mail and letters?
  • How many more expressions can you add to the list above?

Tell me by leaving a comment below or in a message by E-mail at kaufman.terry@gmail.com, if you like.

To learn how to leave a comment, please click for instructions in English or click for instructions in French. It is not necessary to have a Google account. After you type your comment, click on the menu, "Comment as" ("choisir une identité") and choose "Name" or "Anonymous".
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2012 at 5:57 PM

    Hi Terry,

    I suggest that you should do the same about phone calls.

    It cold be interesting and useful.

    Thanks and go ahead with this blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Terry KaufmanJanuary 28, 2012 at 7:55 PM

      Thank you very much for your good idea!

      I think telephone expressions will be helpful too.

      I appreciate your encouragement. I will continue to do my best and add useful content and information to the blog.

      Terry

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2012 at 8:32 PM

    Hi Terry,

    "Please note that in English we thank someone AFTER an action, not before. If you want to ask someone to do something, you can say: PLEASE do something or COULD YOU PLEASE do something."

    ---> Interesting. I use correctly please/thanks but I was not aware of the rule and as a consequence did not realize that "Je vous remercie de..." is for "please". That shows that sometimes we do not need to know the formal rule to speak or write correctly.

    Tony Argaud

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Terry KaufmanJanuary 28, 2012 at 9:03 PM

      Thank you for pointing that out, Tony. I often see the difference between French and English in this case.

      Another example (please correct me if I am wrong) is:

      "Merci de bien vouloir . . . ."

      "PLEASE send me the information." and "COULD YOU PLEASE send me the information?" would be the equivalent expressions in English to ask someone to do something.

      There are many differences in how we express ideas. I often make mistakes when I communicate in French!

      Delete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2012 at 8:35 PM

    I forgot to say it's a cool post.

    Another expression that could be added is:

    Would you be so kind as to + ing

    Tony Argaud

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Terry KaufmanJanuary 28, 2012 at 9:14 PM

      Good point, once again Tony!

      However, please note that we use AS TO + VERB (INFINITIVE) in the expression, and not a VERB + ING.

      For example,

      "Would you be so kind as to send me the information?"

      I know it is a strange construction because after phrasal verbs and expressions (like LOOK FORWARD TO), we usually use a VERB + ING.

      I like that expression and I am happy you contributed it.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousNovember 6, 2013 at 4:47 AM

    Thank you very much for getting me this useful experience in English . am not gonna add nothing but to say good work continue doing it .
    am a beginner, it seems to me difficult to learn English so what do you advice me ???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Terry KaufmanNovember 6, 2013 at 7:54 AM

      I would advise you to practice when you can! Read, listen, write, and speak.
      All the best to you, Terry

      Delete

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