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Informal letter

greeting                                  Dear + first name, Hi Karen! Hello Bill!

asking about them                 Hi! How are things? How are you? How’s it going? I hope that you’re fine. I haven’t heard from you for ages.

referring to their news           Thanks for your letter. It was nice to hear from you. Glad to hear that…  Sorry to hear about…

giving news                            Great news about… Listen, did I tell you about… You’ll never believe what… Oh, and another thing… You should know…

making suggestions               Why don’t you…? Maybe you could… How about…?

closing expressions                 Well, got to go now. Well, I think that’s about it. I must go now because… Keep in touch. Give my love to… Say hello to… See you soon!

signing off                              Love,  Lots of  love, Yours, Best wishes, All the best, Bye for now, Take care, All my love,  

name                                       your first name

 

Informal greetings and goodbyes

Which of these greetings and goodbyes could you insert into gaps A and B in the informal letter below?

a Dear Sir,           c All the best,                e See you soon,             g Yours faithfully,

b Hi, Kev!            d Yours sincerely,         f Hello, Kevin!              h Love from,

A ____

How are things with you? Are you enjoying working at the garage? Do you wish you'd gone on holiday instead? (1) Actually / So, I think you made the right decision! The school canoeing trip to France turned into a bit of a disaster.

On the second day there was a serious accident. We stopped for lunch by the side of the river, and everyone took off their helmets. (2) Luckily / Predictably, William Cooper started messing around and diving into the river from the rocks.  Actually / Anyway, on his fifth dive,

he hit his head on a rock and disappeared under the water. Our canoeing instructor had to dive in after him.

         (4) Luckily / Well, there was a hospital only a few kilometres away and an ambulance arrived really quickly. William was OK (5) but / so he had to stay in hospital for three days. This meant that we couldn't continue down the river, (6)     but / so we spent three days sunbathing. (7) Actually / Predictably, they didn't let us swim in the river! (8) Anyway / Luckily, everyone got really bored and fed up, and we came home two days early!

         (9) Predictably / Well, I'd better go   now. School starts again in ten days, and I haven't done that geography project yet.

B ______

Beth

Informal writing examples:

1. contractions (There’s something else I’ve got to tell you.) 

2. informal set phrases (greetings, connecting words, etc) (Thanks! Well,… Dear Sam,)  

3. incomplete sentences (Great news about Tom!)

4. informal vocabulary, including phrasal verbs (to go on instead of to continue)

5. direct questions (How was your holiday last month?)

6. more use of the active voice (They’ve built a new cinema near our house.)

7. simpler sentence structures (I’ll be late for the party. It’s because of my French exam.)

8. punctuation using exclamation marks ( If you’d been at the wedding, you’d have loved the food!)

Formal letter

greeting

name unknown:  Dear Sir / Madam,

name known:       Dear Mr _ / Dear Mrs ... / Dear Ms surname,    

reason for writing

I am writing to... / I am writing with regard to ... / I am writing on behalf of / I am interested in…

asking questions

I would be grateful if… / I wonder if you could…/ Could you…? /   I have a few questions to ask. Another question I have is …

referring to their letter / points

As you stated in your letter…/ Regarding… / Concerning…/         With regard to…

closing expressions

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

signing off

if Dear + name              -  Yours sincerely,

if Dear Sir / Madam      - Yours faithfully,

name

your first name + surname

 

Formal writing examples:

1. no contractions (I do not think…)

2. formal set phrases (greetings, connecting words, etc) (I look forward to hearing from you. Dear Sir / Madam, in addition, moreover, nevertheless)

3. complete sentences (In my view, we should consider redoing the shop window display.)

4. formal vocabulary, usually not using phrasal verbs (to tolerate instead of to put up with)

5. indirect questions (I wonder if you could inform me about the cost of the course.)

6. more use of the passive voice (The majority of local sports centres were opened in the last ten years.)

7. more complex sentence structures (Knowing what a good reputation the restaurant has, I was disappointed with the service.)

8. punctuation using semi-colons ( The library offers no facilities for borrowing videos; this is because of the high cost involved.)

 

LINKING WORDS

Task 1. Complete with so, because, but, although.

1. We couldn’t find a taxi, _________ we walked home. 2. ________ it was very cold, she wasn’t wearing a coat. 3. I woke up in the middle of the night ________ there was a noise. 4. I called him ________ his mobile was turned off. 5. ________ she is very nice, she doesn’t have many friends. 6. There was nothing on TV ________ I went to bed. 7. All cafes were full ________ it was a public holiday. 8. She wanted to be a doctor ________ she failed her exams.

 

Task 2. Match the sentences halves and complete with so, because, but, although.

1. I was tired last night _____                                     a. I lost your e-mail address

2. She drove quite fast _____                             b. it was her birthday.

3. His English isn’t very good _____                          c. they didn’t have any rooms.

4. I phoned him at his office _____                    d. he lived in the UK for 2 years.

5. She’s not feeling very well _____                            e. I went to bed early.

6. I didn’t write to you _____                                      f. she was in a hurry.

7. He called the hotel _____                               g. he was in a meeting.

8. I took he to the restaurant _____                   h. she can’t go to class tonight.

 

Task 3. Make longer sentences. Use and / but / or + the sentences in italics.

Did you stay at home? We watched television. Don't come back! She looked out. Do you want to get a taxi? I didn’t read it. He didn't see me. They don't use it very often. I can't remember his name. She swam to the other side. They took some photographs.

1.  We stayed at home and watched television.

2. I bought a newspaper _____________________________________.

3. She went to the window ___________________________________.

4. I saw Jack ______________________________________________.

5. The girl jumped into the river _______________________________.

6. Did you go out last night ___________________________________.

7. They walked round the town ________________________________.

8. They've got a car _________________________________________.

9.  I can remember his face ____________________________________.

10. Go away _______________________________________________.

11 Shall we walk to the hotel __________________________________?

 

Task 4. Make longer sentences. Use so / because + the sentences in italics.

She was ill. Don't phone me. I walked in. We walked home. We didn't play tennis. We didn’t go swimming. They haven't got a key.  She does the same thing ill the time. It was very hot in the room. She is friendly and interesting. I couldn't sleep.

1. I opened the window _______________________________________.

2. The water wasn't very clean, _________________________________.

3. The door was open _________________________________________.

4. Ann didn't go to work   ______________________________________.

5. I like Carol   ______________________________________________.

6. It was raining _____________________________________________.

7. There were no buses ________________________________________.

8. I got up m the middle of the night ______________________________.

9. I won't be at home this evening ________________________________.

10. They can't get into the house _________________________________.

11. She doesn't like her job _____________________________________.

 

Task 5.  Put the following linking words into the necessary column.

also, although, and, as well as, but, however, in addition, On the one hand/ On the other hand, plus, too

Making a list ______________________________________________________________                                             

Showing contrasts ________________________________________________________

 

Task 6. Underline the correct linking word. 

1. Start your walk at the traffic lights in the main street plus / and then keep going along Smith Street. 2. There is a beautiful park near here. On the other hand / As well as, you can visit the church if the weather is bad. 3. You can catch a bus from here although  /also the journey on foot is much more interesting. 4. This city has a famous cathedral. In addition / Too, there are several beautiful churches. 5. There is a monument in the square plus / in addition many  international restaurants. 6. This is a fascinating museum. However / On the one hand, not many tourists visit it. 7. After you go shopping you can have a coffee and eat some traditional cakes, too / plus. 8. This street has some interesting cafes as well as / also lots of designer shops.

 

Task 7. Insert the necessary linking word into the gaps.

nevertheless / however, in spite of / despite, although

1. He is not a good-looking man, but __________ this he gets all the girls in this film. 2. __________ the film is very funny, it is also far too long. 3. The film is not really very exciting __________ the work of special effects man Sid Tomkins. 4. Crasy About You was a low budget film (under £100,000). It was well filmed ___________. 5. The loyal friend, Catherine, is an interesting character __________ her accent is more New York than sixteenth-century England. 6. __________ the film’s imaginative scenes, it is still a bit like a bad soap opera.

 

Task 8. Insert the necessary linking word into the gaps.

in order to, despite, however, although, but, to sum up, for example

Rich Man, Poor Man is Peter Keller’s first comedy, (1) _________ his long career as a film director. The plot concerns Harry, a taxi-driver who wins the lottery (2) ________ who wants to keep his money a secret until after his wedding to girlfriend Sandra.

Paul Dillon gives an outstanding performance as Harry, (3) _________ Diana Horne disappoints as Sandra, and much of the dialogue is not particularly funny. The plot is fast and imaginative, with Harry getting involved in all sorts of deception (4) ________ hide his fortune from Sandra. (5) _________, this film is very similar to a lot of other romantic comedies of recent years, (6) ___________ , Young at Heart and Love Lessons. (7) ________, there is a lot to like about this film, but you may get the feeling that you’ve seen it before! It’s worth watching if you’ve nothing better to do!

 

Task 9.  Translate into your native language.

1. He can also sing a little. 2. She kept her coat on, although it was warm in the room. 3. He is kind as well as sensible.  4. Later, however, he wrote her a letter.  5. The wind was frigid and, in addition, the sky threatened rain. 6. All the ladies brought pies and cakes. Plus they had coffee and tea and punch. 7. He was minus a big toenail, and plus a scar upon the nose. 8. I can't go, nevertheless I appreciate the invitation. 9. He came nevertheless. 10. He came despite his illness. 11. Despite what she said we really enjoyed the play.  12. He hired her in spite of the fact that she had never sung on stage. 13. Do we eat in order to live or do we live in order to eat? 14. Many, like Helen, for example, come from very poor backgrounds.         15. Anyway, it's gone. 16. Whether you like it or not, I'm going anyway. 17. Frankly speaking, I can't bear him.

18. You must do your work anyway.  19. The price is too high, and moreover, the house isn't in a suitable position. 20. It's too late to go, besides it starts raining.  21. I don't like this dress, besides it's very expensive. 22. He is actually 45. "Do you know her?" "Actually I'm her husband". 23. "You don't want that, do you?" "Actually I do". 24. I was rather glad to see you, in fact. 25. Does your back feel any better? – On the contrary, it feels much worse. 26. ‘Do they like one another?’ ‘On the contrary. There is no love lost between them.’ 27. Frankly speaking, I couldn't care less.