Informal Letter Useful Phrases

INFORMAL LETTER
There is certainly less pressure when writing an informal letter to someone you
know.
 The most common greeting is still, "Dear" though it would be followed by an
informal use of the person's first name.
Tell them why you’re writing the letter. This will be specified in the question paper
itself. Keep it very short. In the example above, you could say: I’ve been dying to tell
you about this circus that came to town last Friday!!
 In the main body of the letter, informal language can be common, but remember to
include information that is necessary to the purpose of the letter. Despite the fact that
this is an informal letter, when being marked on writing styles in an exam you need
to ensure you keep to the structure expected in a letter - so still make sure your letter
reads in a clear manner and relevant information has been included.
 As with any letter, or piece of writing, spelling and punctuation is important to get
right so you don't lose any unnecessary marks!
 It’s important to end an informal letter, though there are many acceptable ways of
doing this, some examples being, "Thanks", "Yours truly" or even "Love from" -
depending on who you are writing the letter to and your relationship with that person.
 When you are writing an informal letter or sending an email to a friend, it is

very important to try and make it sound friendly and chatty.
 Add a few bits of personal chat, usually at the start of the letter, to make it
seem genuine
 Make sure main part of letter relates to task and that you use appropriate
tone.
 Don’t be bright and cheerful if writing to pass on bad news.
 Do not use ‘text’ speech eg ” Hey Bobby! how r u?” or “I got a present 4 u”
 Do not use slang e.g. ‘gonna’ or ‘cos’
 Use contracted verb forms like we’ve, I’m, etc.
 Use short sentences and active verb forms.
USEFUL PHRASES [INFORMAL LETTER]

Best wishes…;Yours faithfully…; I am sorry to inform you that…; I am very grateful
for… Why don’t we… I will not be able to attend the…; Give my regards to…; I look
forward to hearing from you…; Let me know as soon as… I’m really sorry I…We had
a little bit of luck…
GREETING
• Dear / Hello / Hi …
INTRODUCTION
• It’s great to hear from you. / Many thanks for your e-mail / letter/ Thank you for your
letter which I received yesterday/ I was pleasantly surprised to hear from you/ It was
wonderful to hear from you after so long… / Thank you for your letter/ It was really
nice hearing from you/ I was pleased to hear that you are in good health/ I am glad
that you like your new school.
• Sorry it's taken me so long to write back. / I haven't written for ages but …
• I’ve been really busy recently. / You’ve to know that I’ve been working really hard.
• How are you? / How are things (with you)? / How's it going? / How’s life?
• I hope you’re fine. / I hope you and your family are well. / I do hope this e-mail /
letter will find you in good health and spirits.
• Just thought I’d drop you a line.
REFERRING TO GOOD / BAD NEWS

• Glad / sorry to hear / read about …
• I'm really glad / very happy to hear / read about …
• I'm extremely sorry / very sad to hear / read about …
MOVING THE TOPIC ON

• By the way, have you heard about … / Did you hear about … / Tell me about …
• Oh, another thing I wanted to mention … / So you want my advice about …
• Anyway, the reason I’m writing … / Anyway, I was wondering …
• I thought I’d write to tell / ask you …
ENDING
• Well, time to go / to close! / Got to go now! / I've got to leave off now! / That’s all
for now.
• Looking forward to hearing from you. / Hope to hear from you soon. / Write back
soon! / I promise to write to you soon
• Make sure you write soon! / Keep in touch! / Drop me a line if you have time! / I
hope you will reply soon.
• Take care of yourself! / Look after yourself!/ Give my best wishes to your parents.
• Let me know if you need anything. / Just give me a call if you have any questions
left.
SIGN-OFF
• Yours(,) / Your friend(,)
• Best wishes(,) / All the best(,)
• Hugs(,) / Hugs and kisses(,)
• Love(,) / Lots of love(,) / All my love(,)
• Take care(,) / Bye for now(,)

Informal Letter Useful Phrases

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INFORMAL LETTER

 When you are writing an informal letter or sending an email to a friend, it is

 Don’t be bright and cheerful if writing to pass on bad news.

 Do not use slang e.g. ‘gonna’ or ‘cos’

 Use contracted verb forms like we’ve, I’m, etc.

 Use short sentences and active verb forms.

USEFUL PHRASES [INFORMAL LETTER]

REFERRING TO GOOD / BAD NEWS

MOVING THE TOPIC ON

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