Grammar ~21 min of the core left

Write a letter

After this lesson you can

I can write a letter or a message — to a friend and on business — without mixing up the registers.

Start the lesson Core 19–21 min · steps: 6 · optional: +2

Declared core time. Two of the core blocks carry no figure at all, so the real lesson is longer than this sum.

Grammar

5 min

An English letter has a fixed frame, and it is different for a friend and for business.

	to a friend	on business
greeting	Hi Anna, / Dear Anna,	Dear Mr Smith, / Dear Sir or Madam,
beginning	How are you? / Thanks for your message.	I am writing about… / I am writing to ask…
ending	See you soon, / Love, / Best wishes,	Best regards, / Yours sincerely,
signature	Paulo	Paulo Silva

Yours sincerely — when you write to someone by name (Dear Mr Smith); after Dear Sir or Madam the British rule asks for Yours faithfully. Best regards works in both cases.

Two rules that are broken most often:

after the greeting there is a comma, not a colon: Dear Anna,
Dear works for business and for a friend — it is not only for people you love, it is a neutral greeting.

The subject of the letter (Subject) is a short group of words around a noun, with no verb and no full stop: Meeting on Tuesday, Question about my order.

A business letter avoids short forms: to a friend I'm, don't; on business I am, do not.

Three useful phrases for business:

I am writing about the meeting.	you say why you are writing
Could you send me the document?	a polite request (lesson 17)
Thank you in advance.	thanks before they help you

Common learner errors

written for your language

A colon or ! after the greeting

✗ Dear Anna:

✗ Dear Anna!

✓ Dear Anna,

Spanish letters use a colon (Estimado señor:), Polish ones often an exclamation mark (Szanowny Panie!). In an English letter there is a comma, and the next line starts with a capital letter.

I write instead of I am writing

✗ I write about my order

✓ I am writing about my order

French Je vous écris, Spanish Le escribo and German Ich schreibe use the simple present; in English the letter is happening now, so it is I am writing.

Short forms in a business letter

✗ I'm writing about… in a formal letter → ✓ I am writing about…. I'm is normal in speech and to a friend, so learners use it everywhere.

Your own ending, word for word

✗ With friendly greetings,

✓ Best regards,

or Yours sincerely,. German Mit freundlichen Grüßen, French Cordialement and Spanish Saludos cordiales do not translate word for word — use the fixed endings of this lesson.

Pronunciation

3 min

A letter is not spoken, but you read it aloud when you check it — it is the best way to catch a missing word. Read your whole letter aloud: what the eye fills in by itself, the ear catches.

Surnames on the phone are spelt letter by letter (A1 #1), and there is a spelling alphabet for this: A for Alpha, B for Bravo.

Text

3 min

Subject: Question about my order

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing about my order number 4517. I received the parcel yesterday, but the size is wrong. I ordered a large shirt and you sent a medium one.

Could you tell me how I can return it? I would like a refund or the correct size.

Thank you in advance.

Best regards, Paulo Silva

Reading aloud

Exercises

8–10 min

1. Matching.

Hi Anna,
See you soon,
Dear Sir or Madam,
Best regards,

Show the answers

`Hi Anna,` and `See you soon,` — a letter to a friend; `Dear Sir or Madam,` and `Best regards,` — a business letter.

2. Error correction.

1) Dear Anna: 2) I'm writing about my order. (business) 3) Subject: I have a question about my order.

Show the answers

Dear Anna, / I am writing… / Subject: Question about my order

3. Gap fill.

business —
to a friend —

Show the answers

I am writing about my order; Thanks for your message / How are you?

4. Write the subject of a letter

for this: you want to move a meeting from Tuesday to Wednesday. Example: Change of meeting date — with no full stop.

Summary

Covered

the frame of a letter to a friend and on business
the comma after the greeting
the subject line
no short forms on business

Next — lesson 36: the test.

End of the core

The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.

Lesson 72

optional

Vocabulary for your deck

12 words

Dear /dɪə/ the word before a name at the start of a letter
Best regards /best rɪˈɡɑːdz/ a polite ending before your name in a letter
Yours sincerely /jɔːz sɪnˈsɪəli/ a formal ending when you know the person's name
subject /ˈsʌbdʒɪkt/ the short line that says what an email is about
attach /əˈtætʃ/ to add a file to an email
document /ˈdɒkjumənt/ a paper or a file with important information
receive /rɪˈsiːv/ to get something that someone sends you
reply /rɪˈplaɪ/ to answer; an answer
in advance /ɪn ədˈvɑːns/ before something happens
correct /kəˈrekt/ right, without mistakes
medium /ˈmiːdiəm/ not big and not small (a size: M)
large /lɑːdʒ/ big (a size: L)

Writing

Two letters of 5–6 sentences each: one to a friend about your plans for the weekend, and one on business — with a question about an order.

Checklist

a comma after the greeting?
No short forms in the business letter?
A subject with no verb?
A signature that fits the register at the end?

The draft is saved on this device

Practise this lesson in the other sections

Dictationbased on this lesson Write down what you hear. The check shows every word that differs, and how. Write the dictation Reading aloudbased on this lesson Read the lesson text aloud — speech recognition highlights the words it did not catch. Read the text aloud Reading and listeningA1–C1 Texts at every level with comprehension questions; the transcript opens after you answer. Try it

Got a feature idea?

Send idea