The basics of good business letter writing are easy to learn. The following guide provides the phrases that are usually found in any standard business letter. These phrases are used as a kind of frame and introduction to the content of business letters. By using these standard phrases, you can give a professional tone to your English business letters.

The Start

Dear Personnel Director,

Dear Sir or Madam: (use if you don't know who you are writing to)

Dear Dr, Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms Smith: (use if you know who you are writing to, and have a formal relationship with - VERY IMPORTANT use Ms for women unless asked to use Mrs or Miss)

Dear Frank: (use if the person is a close business contact or friend)

The Reference

With reference to your advertisement in the Times, your letter of 23 ^rd March,
your phone call today,
Thank you for your letter of March 5 ^th .

The Reason for Writing

I am writing to inquire about
apologize for
confirm

Requesting

Could you possibly?
I would be grateful if you could

Agreeing to Requests

I would be delighted to

Giving Bad News

Unfortunately,
I am afraid that,

Enclosing Documents

I am enclosing
Please find enclosed
Enclosed you will find

Closing Remarks

Thank you for your help Please contact us again if we can help in any way.
there are any problems.
you have any questions.

Reference to Future Contact

I look forward to ...
hearing from you soon.
meeting you next Tuesday.
seeing you next Thursday.

The Finish

Yours faithfully, (If you don't know the name of the person you're writing to)

Yours sincerely, (If you know the name of the person you're writing to)

Best wishes,

Best regards, (If the person is a close business contact or friend)

Next month some more helpful Business English....I hope!!!  So stay tuned....Heather

Useful Business English Phrases

Business English: Participating in a Meeting

The following phrases are used to participate in a meeting. These phrases are useful for expressing your ideas and giving input to a meeting.

Getting the Chairperson's Attention

If I may, I think...
Excuse me for interrupting.

Giving Opinions

I'm positive that...
In my opinion...
If you ask me,... I tend to think that...

Asking for Opinions

Do you (really) think that...
(name of participant) can we get your input?

Commenting

That's interesting .
I never thought about it that way before.

Agreeing

I totally agree with you.
Exactly!

Disagreeing

Unfortunately, I see it differently.
Up to a point I agree with you, but...

Advising and Suggesting

Let's...
How/What about...

Clarifying

Have I made that clear?
Do you see what I'm getting at?
Let me put this another way...

Requesting Information

Please, could you...
I wonder if you could...

Asking for Repetition

I'm afraid I didn't understand that. Could you repeat what you just said?
I didn't catch that. Could you repeat that, please?

Asking for Clarification

I don't quite follow you. What exactly do you mean?
I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you're are getting at.

Asking for Verification

You did say next week, didn't you? ('did' is stressed)
Do you mean that...?

Asking for Spelling

Could you spell that, please?
Would you mind spelling that for me, please?

Asking for Contributions

We haven't heard from you yet, (name of participant).
What do you think about this proposal?
Would you like to add anything, (name of participant)?
Has anyone else got anything to contribute?
Are there any more comments?

Correcting Information

Sorry, I think you misunderstood what I said.
Sorry, that's not quite right.
I'm afraid you don't understand what I'm saying.

Keeping the Meeting On Target (time, relevance, decisions)

We're running short of time.
Well, that seems to be all the time we have today.
Please be brief.

Next time - useful phrases in business....



Useful Business English Phrases

Business English: Running a Meeting

The following phrases are used to conduct a meeting, and the phrases used depend upon whether the meeting is formal or less formal.

Opening

Good morning/afternoon, everyone.
If we are all here, let's get started / start the meeting / start.

Welcoming and Introducing

Please join me in welcoming (name of participant)
It's a pleasure to welcome (name of participant)
I'd like to introduce (name of participant)

Stating the Principal Objectives

We're here today to ...
Our main aim today is to ...

Giving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent

I'm afraid.., (name of participant) can't be with us today. She is in...
Unfortunately, (name of participant) ... will not be with us today because he ...

Reading the Minutes (notes) of the Last Meeting

To begin with I'd like to quickly go through the minutes of our last meeting.
Here are the minutes from our last meeting, which was on (date)

Dealing with Recent Developments

Jack, can you tell us how the XYZ project is progressing?
Has everyone received a copy of the Tate Foundation report on current marketing trends?

Moving Forward

So, if there is nothing else we need to discuss, let's move on to today's agenda.
Shall we get down to business?

Introducing the Agenda

Have you all received a copy of the agenda?
If you don't mind, I'd like to go in order today.
I suggest we take item 2 last.

Allocating Roles (secretary, participants)

(name of participant) has agreed to take the minutes.
(name of participant) will lead point 1, (name of participant) point 2, and (name of participant) point 3.

Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions, timing, decision-making, etc.)

We will first hear a short report on each point first, followed by a discussion of ...
I suggest we go round the table first.
There will be five minutes for each item.

Introducing the First Item on the Agenda

Why don't we start with...
Pete, would you like to kick off?

Closing an Item

I think that takes care of the first item.
If nobody has anything else to add, lets ...

Next Item

Let's move onto the next item
The next item on today's agenda is...

Giving Control to the Next Participant

I'd like to hand over to (name of participant), who is going to lead the next point.
Next, (name of participant) is going to take us through ...

Summarizing

Before we close today's meeting, let me just summarize the main points.
Let me quickly go over today's main points.

Finishing Up

If there are no other comments, I'd like to wrap this meeting up.
Is there Any Other Business?

Suggesting and Agreeing on Time, Date and Place for the Next Meeting

Can we set the date for the next meeting, please?
So, the next meeting will be on ... (day), the . . . (date) of.. . (month) at ...

Thanking Participants for Attending

Thank you all for attending.
Thanks for your participation.

Closing the Meeting

The meeting is finished, we'll see each other next ...
The meeting is closed.

The next article will be on Useful Business Phrases when participating in a meeting......



People are always talking about “Business English” as if it were a totally different language! When, in actual fact, it is just “General English” geared towards business-related matters. The English is the same; it's just the vocabulary and terminology that needs to be learnt....for the specific job requirements. For instance, someone who works in banking would need financial vocabulary and particular phrases used for dealing with money or the stock market. Likewise, someone who works in Human Resources would need the same but with vocabulary and phrases concerning the job market and related issues such as employee training, professional development and benefits. So although you might be learning Business English, in essence what you are learning is general English but with the additional business area-related support for your particular professional development needs in your field of actuation.

In the global work place in which we now find ourselves, it's also important to realize the differences in culture. Even though you might be speaking in English, you will no doubt be speaking English to a non-native speaker the majority of the time! There are even differences in how business is conducted and specific business terminology used between the United Kingdom and the United States. The British still have a more conservative approach to business, whereas the Americans generally tend to take a 'bottom line' approach. There are also differences in the expressions used in British English, as compared to American English, the vocabulary used, and how words are pronounced and spelled. In many cases, in British English “s” is used in the spelling of words, whereas in American English “z” would be the correct spelling for the word. Also, in British English quite often a double letter is used in spelling a word, but in American English only one letter is used for spelling the same word. For example: organise/organize, memorise/memorize, cancelled/canceled, travelled/traveled.

In my next post I will offer general phrases used when conducting a meeting in English...stay tuned! Heather