Objectives based English School since 1998


BUSINESS  ENGLISH  VOCABULARY

Writing Business Letters

Useful phrases and vocabulary for writing business letters.



Salutation • Dear Mr. Brown
• Dear Ms. White
• Dear Sir
• Dear Madam
• Dear Sir or Madam
• Gentlemen

Starting •  We are writing
- to inform you that ...
- to confirm ...
- to request ...
- to enquire about ...
• I am contacting you for the following reason...
• I recently read/heard about ..... and would like to know ....
• Having seen your advertisement in ..., I would like to ...
• I would be interested in (obtaining / receiving) ...
• I received your address from ----- and would like to ...

Referring to previous
  contact
• Thank you for your letter of March 15.
• Thank you for contacting us.
• In reply to your request, ...
• Thank you for your letter regarding ...
• With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday...
• Further to our meeting last week ...
• It was a pleasure meeting you in London last month.
• I enjoyed having lunch with you last week in Tokyo.
• I would just like to confirm the main points we discussed
       on Tuesday.


Making a request • We would appreciate it if you would ...
• I would be grateful if you could ...
• Could you please send me ...
• Could you possibly tell us / let us have ...
• In addition, I would like to receive ...
• It would be helpful if you could send us ...
• I am interested in (obtaining / receiving) ...
• I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
• Please let me know what action you propose to take.

Offering help • Would you like us to ...?
• We would be happy to ...
• We are quite willing to ...
• Our company would be pleased to ...

Giving good news • We are pleased to announce that ...
? I am delighted to inform you that ..
• You will be pleased to learn that ...

Giving bad news  • We regret to inform you that ...
• I'm afraid it would not be possible to ...
• Unfortunately we cannot / we are unable to ...
• After careful consideration we have decided (not) to ...

Complaining  • I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ...
• I am writing to complain about ...
• Please note that the goods we ordered on ( date )
       have not yet arrived.

• We regret to inform you that our order n° ----- is now
       considerably overdue.

• I would like to query the transport charges which seem
       unusually high.


Apologizing
  • We are sorry for the delay in replying to ...
  • I regret any inconvenience caused (by) ...
  • I would like to apologize for the (delay, inconvenience)...
  • Once again, please accept my apologies for ...
Orders
  • Thank you for your quotation of ...
  • We are pleased to place an order with your company for..
  • We would like to cancel our order n° .....
  • Please confirm receipt of our order.
  • I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your order n° .....
  • Your order will be processed as quickly as possible.
  • It will take about (two/three) weeks to process your order.
  • We can guarantee you delivery before ...(date)
  • Unfortunately these articles are no longer available /
    are out of stock.
Prices
  • Please send us your price list.
  • You will find enclosed our most recent catalogue and price list.
  • Please note that our prices are subject to change
    without notice.
  • We have pleasure in enclosing a detailed quotation.
  • We can make you a firm offer of ...
Referring to payment
  • Our terms of payment are as follows  ...
  • Our records show that we have not yet received
    payment of ...
  • According to our records ...
  • Please send payment as soon as possible.
  • You will receive a credit note for the sum of ...
Enclosing documents
  • I am enclosing ...
  • Please find enclosed ...
  • You will find enclosed ...
Closing remarks
  • If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know.
  • If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to
    contact me.
  • If you require more information ...
  • For further details ...
  • Thank you for taking this into consideration.
  • Thank you for your help.
  • We hope you are happy with this arrangement.
  • We hope you can settle this matter to our satisfaction.
Referring to future business
  • We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future.
  • We would be (very) pleased to do business with your company.
  • I would be happy to have an opportunity to work with
    your firm.
Referring to future contact
  • I look forward to seeing you next week.
  • Looking forward to hearing from you, ...
  • Looking forward to receiving your comments,
  • I look forward to meeting you on the (date).
  • I would appreciate a reply at your earliest convenience.
  • An early reply would be appreciated.
Ending business letters
◊ Sincerely,    }
? Yours sincerely,}  for all customers / clients
? Sincerely yours,}

 
? Yours faithfully,

in more formal letters

◊ Regards, for those you already know and/or with whom
you have a working relationship