Useful Vocabulary for INFORMAL LETTER / EMAIL

Salutation
Dear John / Maria, ...
Hi John / Maria, ...

Beginning the letter

Thanks a lot/so much for your letter/email. It was so good to hear from you (and get all your news).
I was really pleased to get your recent letter/email. Congratulations on ... !
Great / Lovely to hear from you (after so long). Sorry not to have contacted you earlier.
I’m really/ terribly/awfully sorry not to have written / been in touch for so long / such a long time / lately.
I’ve been preparing for my exams / out of email contact for a couple of weeks / up to my eyes in work.
I thought I’d better send you a message / write / drop you a line to let you know.
Thought it was time I dropped you a line...

Referring to a previous letter/email

I remember that you spoke about ...
Last time you wrote, you mentioned ...
You said in your letter that you want to ...
You know that friend of mine I told you about? Well, ...
Remember that course you said you had enrolled for?
You told me in your letter/email that you were thinking of taking up yoga.
Last time you wrote, you wanted to know where we were planning to go on holiday.

Giving advice
I think you need to bear in mind that ...
Why don’t you ... ? That way, you could ...
Have you thought about ... ? It’d be a wonderful / marvellous opportunity for you to ...
You’d get so much out of it.
Just think of (all the people you’d meet).
Just imagine how it would (improve your CV), not to mention (the money you could earn).
Do you really want to ... ? Somehow I don’t think so. You’d be much better off + gerund.
It’s (not) worth / There’s no/little point + gerund.
Whatever you do, make sure you ...

Inviting
Do you fancy getting together for a meal some time?
Why don’t we try meet up in the next couple of weeks?
I was wondering if you’d be into coming along to a class reunion at the end of next month?

Responding to an invitation
Thanks very much for inviting me to your farewell dinner. I can hardly wait.
I was absolutely thrilled to get your invitation but unfortunately it doesn’t look as if I’ll be able to make
it. As chance would have it, I’m going away that weekend.

Making a request
I was wondering if you happened to have time to meet a friend of mine who is planning to come to study
in your country.
If you’ve got a spare moment, do you think you could email me the information about the scholarship?

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Adding extra points
Besides, ... Also, ... Another thing (was that ...)
Apart from this/that, ...

Ending the letter

Keep in touch.
Best of luck with ...
Can’t wait to see you again.
I think that’s all for now. Write back soon and let me know how it goes.
I think that brings you up to date on what I’ve been up to. Do write soon and let me know what you’ve
been doing.
Looking forward to hearing from you. / Hope to hear from you soon. / Speak to you soon.
I’m really looking forward to seeing you on the eighteenth/in two weeks’ time in Barcelona.
Once again, thanks for contacting me / thanks so much for all your help and advice.
I hope my suggestions help you to ...
(Give my) love / regards to ...
Please say ‘hi’ to ... from me.

Signing off
acquaintances: Regards / Best regards / Kind regards, ...
friends: All the best / Best wishes / Bye for now, ...
close friends or relatives: Love / With love / Lots of love, ...

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