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How to write an INFORMAL e-mail?
How to write an INFORMAL e-mail?
You need:
- Salutations / greeting
- Body (openings)
- Closing
Informal language, including phrasal verbs, informal vocabulary ("I guess you loved the pics"), contractions, question tags.
An informal letter or email is usually between people who know each other fairly well. In addition to giving news, they are often used to request information, congratulate people, give advice and ask questions. There are a lot of similarities between informal letters and conversation. Informal letters ask a lot of questions, show interest and enthusiasm, and imagine a lot of shared information.
1) SALUtations / greetings
1) SALUtations / greetings
- Start with Dear followed by the first name of the person to whom you are writing.
you can also start with Hi (and the person's name)
EXAMPLE: Dear Ben, or Hi Ben,
- Use only the first name of the person you are writing to and not Dear Mr John, which is never used, or Dear Mr John Brown, which sounds too formal.)
2) body
2) body
Openings
Useful phrases for the opening
- How are you? / How have the family been? / I hope you are well.
- Thank you / Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter / postcard.
- It was good / nice / great to hear from you again.
- I was so surprised to hear that...
- I’m sorry I haven’t written / haven't been in touch for such a long time.
- It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. I hope you're well / you and your family are well.
- How are things? / How are you? / How’s it going?
Other useful phrases
Referring to news
- Great news about … Glad to hear that … Sorry to hear about …
Giving news
- Listen, did I tell you about …? You’ll never believe what …
- Oh, and another thing … This is just to let you know that …
- I thought you might be interested to hear about / know that …
- By the way, have you heard about / did you know that …?
Apologies
- I’m writing to apologise for missing your party but I’m afraid I was with flu.
- I’m really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with my new job.
Requests
- I’m writing to ask for your help / you (if you could do me) a favour.
- I wonder if / I was wondering if you could help me / do me a favour.
- I hope you don’t mind me asking but could you (possibly) …?
- I’d be very / really / terribly grateful if you could …
Thank you / Congratulations / Good Luck
- I’m writing to thank you for your hospitality / the wonderful present.
- It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you.
- I really appreciated all your help / advice.
- Congratulations on passing your exams / your excellent exam results!
- I wish you good luck / Good luck in / with your exams / your driving test / your interview.
- Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do well / pass.
- Do be on time, won’t you, and don’t forget to …
Making suggestions and recommendations
- Why don’t you …? / Maybe you could …? / How about …?
- You can’t leave New York without (...doing sth)
- I’m sure you will enjoy (...doing sth). If you like, we can …
- Do visit ... / Don’t forget to ...
INVITATIONS
INVITATIONS
- I’m / We’re having a party on Friday 19th and I / we hope you’ll be able to come.
- Would you like to come / go to see ‘Room With a View’ with me at the weekend?
- I was wondering if you’d like to go to the theatre / come on holiday with us.
- Could you let me / us know if you can come / you’d like to join us?
- Thank you very much for your invitation. I’d love to come.
- Thank you for asking / inviting me to … but I’m afraid I won’t be able to …
3) Closing
3) Closing
The end of your letter is as important as the beginning.
You can:
- Give a reason why you're ending the letter: Anyway, I must go and get on with my work! / I guess it's time I got on with that studying I've been avoiding.
- Send greetings and/or make reference for future contact: Give my love / regards to... / Say hello to... / Anyway, don't forget to let me know the dates of the party. / I'll try and phone you at the weekend to check the times. / We must try and meet up soon. / I can't wait to hear from you / Look forward to seeing you again / Hope to hear from you soon / See you soon / Write soon
- Closing statement such as Love, Lots of love, All the best, Take care, Best wishes, should be written on a new line. If you used a comma after the opening greeting, use a comma here too.
- Signing off: Your first name then follows on another new line.
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
INFORMAL EMAIL.docxReferences:
- http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing-skills-practice/informal-email
- http://www.rubenvalero.com/english/content/fce-informal-letter-or-email
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