Informal Letter

 WRITING AN  INFORMAL LETTER

Dear Ben/ Hi Ben,

INTRODUCTION

How are you? I hope you are well.
Thanks  for your (recent/last) letter / postcard.
It was good / nice / great to hear from you again.
I was so surprised to hear that...
I’m sorry I haven’t written / haven't been in touch for such a long time.
It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. I hope you're well / you and your family are well.
How are things? / How are you? / How’s it going?

MAIN BODY 

Referring to news
Great news about …
Glad to hear that … 
Sorry to hear about …..

Giving news
Listen, did I tell you about …?                    
You’ll never believe what …
Oh, and another thing … This is just to let you know that …
I thought you might be interested to hear about / know that …
By the way, have you heard about / did you know that …? 

Apologies

I’m writing to apologize for missing your party but I’m afraid I was with flu.
I’m really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with my new job.


Invitations

I’m / We’re having a party on Friday 19th and I / we hope you’ll be able to come.
Would you like to come / go to see ‘Room with a View’ with me at the weekend?
I was wondering if you’d like to go to the theatre / come on holiday with us.
Could you let me / us know if you can come / you’d like to join us?

Thank you very much for your invitation. I’d love to come.
Thank you for asking / inviting me to … but I’m afraid I won’t be able to …

Requests
I’m writing to ask for your help / you (if you could do me) a favour.
I wonder if / I was wondering if you could help me / do me a favour.
I hope you don’t mind me asking but could you (possibly) …?
I’d be very / really / terribly grateful if you could …

Thank you / Congratulations / Good Luck



I’m writing to thank you for your hospitality / the wonderful present.
It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you.
I really appreciated all your help / advice.





I wish you good luck / Good luck in / with your exams / your driving test / your interview.
Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do well / pass.
Do be on time, won’t you, and don’t forget to …

Congratulations on passing your exams / your excellent exam results!

Making suggestions and recommendations
Why don’t you …? / Maybe you could …? / How about …?
You can’t leave New York without (...doing sth)
I’m sure you will enjoy (...doing sth). If you like, we can …
Do visit ... / Don’t forget to ...

CLOSING

Anyway, I must go and get on with my work! / I guess it's time I got on with that studying.
Give my love / regards to... / Say hello to... 
Anyway, don't forget to let me know the dates of the party. / I'll try and phone you at the weekend to check the times. / We must try and meet up soon. / 
I can't wait to hear from you / Look forward to seeing you again / Hope to hear from you soon / See you soon / Write soon

Love/ Lots of love/All the best/Take care/Best wishes, 
                                                                               George