You wanted some information about… You need to know these things… I’m writing to give you some extra information.. In your letter you also asked about…, In addition to this…, Well, a
Trang 1WRITING STORIES Time Linking Words A few minutes later
Afterwards All of a sudden All the while As
As soon as
At first
At last
At that moment Before
Before long
By the time During
Eventually Finally For Immediately (after that)
In no time at all
In the beginning
In the end
In the meantime Just
Just as Later
On the spur of the moment Since
Sometime later Soon
Still Suddenly The moment that The next moment Then
Until When While Concession - Contrast Although
Even though
In spite of Despite However
No matter how/what Whatever
But While Whereas Nevertheless Regardless of
Trang 2Such…that Therefore So
Otherwise
For this reason Under the circumstances Consequently As a consequence As a result Cause-Reason Because (of) As Since Due to Owing to Emphasis In fact As a matter of fact Actually To tell you the truth Strangely enough Expressions/Phrases It was too good to be true It happened out of the blue
The next thing I knew was…
Before I knew it… Without any warning…
I was taken by surprise… To my surprise…
(Un) fortunately…
To make matters worse…
Without any doubt… Beyond any doubt Beyond a shadow of a doubt
Without thinking…
It was a sight for sore eyes
I couldn’t believe my eyes/ears/luck
As luck would have it…
(Un) luckily…
I breathed a sigh of relief
I was out of breath
It was a narrow escape
My heart sank
My heart was beating furiously
It made me jump
I burst out laughing / into tears
It was a real shock My hair stood on end
I was as white as a sheet
It was getting on my nerves
It was the best/worst ever I was in a good/bad mood I was left speechless
Trang 3WRITING INFORMAL LETTERS
Greeting Dear Maria,
Dearest Maria,
Hi Maria!
Hello Maria!
Opening Paragraph It was great to hear from you
I’m glad that you’re well
I’m sorry (to hear) that you’re not well
I really enjoyed getting your letter
Hi! What’s new?
What have you been up to?
I haven’t heard from you for ages
I was very happy to get your letter
Sorry I haven’t written for so long
It’s taken me ages to reply but I have been busy
I’m been meaning to write back but I was busy
Just thought to drop you a line
I was on cloud nine having read your letter Giving Information As for …
Regarding …
As you know…
You see…
I must say…
Here is the information you require
You wanted some information about…
You need to know these things…
I’m writing to give you some extra information
The first thing I should write about is…
As far as… is/are concerned,…
Now, something else
In your letter you also asked about…,
In addition to this…,
Well, about the…
I hope the information I’ve given you will help you
I hope I’ve been of some help
If you have any other questions…
Write if you need more details
Let me know if you need anything else Making arrangements How about meeting at…?
Why don’t we…?
…would be the best place to meet, because…
We can meet… if you like
I’ll meet you…
I suggest we meet…
Can you make it on…?
Is… OK for you?
Which date/time do you prefer?
Can you let me know if these arrangements suit you/are OK with you? Asking for Information Do you know if/whether…?
I’d like to know if/whether…
I’d like to find out if/whether…
I was wondering if
I would appreciate it if …
It would be great if…
Please let me know…
Trang 4Referring to an
advertisement or letter The announcement / advertisement / letter says / mentions / states…
Linking Ideas To begin with, …
Regarding the…
As to the…
As far as the… is/are concerned, …
In the meantime… Moreover, … Furthermore,…
Once again, … Giving Advice My advice is that you (do)…
I would advise you to (do)…
If I were you, I would (do)…
If I were in your position/shoes, I would…
I think the best thing would be to…
I’m sure you will/can…
I suggest that you (should) do…
In my opinion you should/could/might (do) …
You needn’t (do)…
I strongly advise you to…
It would be a good idea to…
I think you’d better do…
One thing you can do is to…
What I always find helpful is…
Why not consider doing…?
Why don’t you do…?
The way I see it, you can…
How/What about doing…?
Well, that’s what I think you should do
I hope I’ve been of some help to you
I really hope everything goes well Inviting I’d love it if you joined me for / came to…
I thought we might…
I hope you can…
We could…
How about going to / joining me for…?
Would you like to…?
I have some suggestions about how we could spend the afternoon/evening/morning Closing Paragraph That’s about it for me
That’s (all) my news
I look forward to hearing from / seeing you soon
Well, I think that’s about it
Well, that’s all for now
Well, I’d better finish off here
I must go now
Write soon
Waiting for your letter/reply
See you soon
Keep in touch
Say hello to everyone
Give my love/regards to everyone
Drop me a line and let me know
Closing Remarks Love, Best wishes, Yours, Your friend, All my love,
All the best, Lots of kisses, Take care, Bye for now, (your first name)
WRITING FORMAL LETTERS
Trang 5Greeting Dear Mr./Ms/Miss/Mrs…
Dear Sir or Madam,
Letter of Complaint I am writing to complain about…
I am writing to make a complaint about…
I am writing to you regarding / in connection with / on account of…
I regret that I am obliged to complain about… I feel I must complain about…
Your advertisement states/claims/says that…
Your advertisement/brochure was misleading in this respect In your advertisement/brochure you state otherwise
You failed to mention that…
You led me to believe that…
You advertised that…
According to your advertisement…
It was completely different from…
I feel it is absolutely unacceptable…
I am dissatisfied with…
Unfortunately, it was nothing like what I expected
The problem is…
I must mention/point out…
To make matters worse…
As if that was not bad enough…
I was shocked/surprised/disappointed…
To my amazement/surprise…
Considering all the above, I believe I am entitles to a partial / full refund
I demand a full refund / immediate action / a replacement
I expect to be compensated / all expenses to be paid
I would be grateful if you would deal / you dealt with this matter immediately
I would appreciate it if we could sort this matter out as soon as possible
I feel sure / am confident that this matter will receive your prompt attention
I hope that you will give this matter your attention
I am afraid that if this matter is not dealt with immediately, I will…
It would be a good idea to…
You should consider…
I hope you will… Asking Information – Making a Request I am writing to you in connection with…
I am writing with regard to / in regard to / with reference to…
I am writing to ask if you could inform me about…
I am writing to enquire about…
I am writing for more information about…
I was interested in your advertisement in…
I would appreciate some further information about…
Referring to your advertisement published in… Applying for a Job I am writing to apply for…
Regarding/Concerning/As regards my qualifications…
If you wish to interview me…
Thank you for considering…
I hope to hear from you…
I am looking forward to hearing from you
I am looking forward to receiving your reply Declining an Initiation I would like to thank you for the invitation
Thank you again for the invitation
Trang 6I’m afraid that / Unfortunately I will not be able to attend to… I’m
terribly sorry…
I would appreciate it if you could send me some photographs of the event Referring to an advertisement or letter The announcement / advertisement / letter says / mentions / states… Linking Ideas To begin with, …
Regarding the…
As to the…
As far as the… is/are concerned, …
In the meantime…
Moreover, What is more, Furthermore, In addition
Once again, …
Although, However, Nonetheless
First, Second, Then, Finally
Therefore Expressing an Opinion I am writing with regard / in response to the article in your newspaper/magazine about…
I felt I should write to you to express my opinion
I am writing to express my opinion about an article that I read in your newspaper/magazine about…
I am writing to express my personal opinion in regards to the advertisement about
First and foremost, I would like to point out that
I am in complete agreement with
I firmly believe that
In reference to the reasons why
Keep in mind that
As for the results which show that , my opinion is that
As far as I am concerned, I believe that
Bear in mind that
All in all, I honestly believe that
I am sure that…
For these reasons, …
Clearly, this would …
In my opinion,…
I think it would be an excellent idea to…
Speaking from personal experience
Personally speaking,
This seems to be the best solution…
On one hand I think that…, but on the other hand… Closing Paragraphs Thank you for considering…
I would be very grateful if you would/could reply as soon as possible
Thanking you for your time and assistance Thanking you in advance for your assistance / co-operation
I would like to thank you in advance
I look forward to your reply at your earliest convenience
I hope to hear from you soon
I am looking forward to hearing from you
I am looking forward to receiving your reply.
Closing Remarks Yours Sincerely, (your full name) – when you know the name of the
person you’re writing to Yours Faithfully, (your full name) – when you don’t know the name of the person you’re writing to
Trang 7WRITING DISCURSIVE COMPOSITIONS, ARTICLES & ESSAYS
Stating arguments People in favour claim that…
Supporters argue that… Those against this idea believe that… Say = argue, claim, believe, agree, disagree
Expressing Contrasting
Ideas On the one hand…On the other hand…, however, Although, Even though, In spite of, Despite,
No matter how/what, Whatever, But, While, Whereas, Nevertheless, Regardless of, Contrary to, In contrast Adding Information In fact, For example, For instance, In addition (to this),
Furthermore, Moreover, Apart from, Except for, Besides, What is more, As well as, not only…but also, Another point worth mentioning is the fact that , Another important point worth taking into consideration/account is the fact that , Another significant point I wish to bring to your attention is that
Expressing Opinion In my opinion…, In my view…, Personally I believe that…,
The way I see it…, From my point of view…, I am in favour of…,
I am against…, My belief is that…, I believe…, Personally, I agree that…, Personally, I disagree with the idea that…,
I feel very strongly that…
Listing points Initially, First (of all), At first, To begin with, To start with,
Second, Secondly, Then, Next, Finally, Eventually, Lastly, Last but not least, To conclude, In conclusion
Emphasizing In fact, As a matter of fact, No matter how, However
(+adjective), Even, Indeed, Actually, Instead, Apparently, Obviously, To be honest
Giving examples For example, For instance, Such as, Like
Expressing Result -
Consequence So…that, Such…that, Therefore, So, Otherwise, For this reason, Under the circumstances, Consequently, As a consequence,
As a result, In this case, Or Expressing Cause-Reason Because (of), As, Since, Due to, Owing to
Expressing purpose In order to, So as to, So that, in case, For, To
Clarifying meaning Specifically, To be more specific/precise, In other words,
That is to say Summarising To sum up, To summarise, All in all, On the whole, In short,
In conclusion, Taking everything into account
Trang 8WRITING BUSINESS LETTERS
Starting We are writing to inform you that
to confirm
to request
Referring to
previous contact Thank you for your letter of March 15 … With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday
Further to our meeting last week
Making a request We would appreciate it if you would
I would be grateful if you could… Could you possibly
It would be helpful to us if
Offering help We would be happy to
Would you like us to
We are quite willing to
Giving good news We are pleased to announce that
I am delighted to inform you that You will be pleased to learn that
Giving bad news We regret to inform you that
I'm afraid it would not be possible to
Unfortunately we cannot/we are unable to
Apologising We are sorry for the delay in replying
I regret any inconvenience caused… I would like to apologise for
Enclosing documents I am enclosing Please
find enclosed You will find enclosed
Closing remarks If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know
If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me Thank you for your help.
Referring to future
contact I look forward to seeing you next week Looking forward to hearing from you
Looking forward to receiving your comments
I look forward to meeting you on the 15th.
Ending Sincerely / Yours sincerely (for all customers/clients) Regards (for those you already know and have a working
relationship with)
WRITING REPORTS Don’t forget to use HEADINGS and TOPIC SENTENCES!!
Report on… by… (full name)
The aim/purpose of this report is to…
This report describes / deals with…
It is considered… It seems… It appears…
I would recommend / suggest… It would be a good idea to…
Trang 9FREQUENTLY FOUND STRUCTURES
A great many buildings / people…
A summit conference
According to sb
An alternative to
As / So long as
As a result of
As far as sth is concerned
As to / Considering / Regarding
At all costs / Without fail
At the expense of
But for the fact that / If it hadn’t been for the fact that
By all accounts
For fear of…ing
From the very beginning
I can personally vouch for the fact that
I object to…ing
I would (far) sooner…BI
I would have been better off…ing
If I had been / were in your shoes
In addition to…ing
In preference to
In proportion to
In terms of…noun
In the light of (this information) / In view of
It didn’t occur to me that
It is common knowledge that
It is worth…ing
It seems / looks / appears as if/though
It serves / served / will serve you right
It was / is alleged that
It was the first time…past perfect
It would be in your own / best interest to
It’s (high) time…simple past
It’s doubtful if / that
It’s no good…ing
It’s no use…ing
It’s the first time…present perfect
Known as…
Let alone (the fact that)
Much as = Although = Even though = Though
No reference was made to / Make reference to
On my first / second attempt
On sb’s arrival / departure
On second thoughts / On reflection
On the condition that
On the grounds that = Because of
Other than / Apart from / Except for…ing / noun
Rather than
Regardless of
Sth serves its purpose
Sth tipped the scales in his favour
Trang 10The answer to / The key to / The solution to
The prospects of…ing sth
The small hours = After midnight early in the morning
There can be little / no doubt over sth
There is little / no likelihood that
There’s a demand for
There’s a good chance that
There’s a reduction / an increase in
There’s a risk that
There’s heavy / severe / harsh criticism of
There’s no excuse for sb…ing sth
There’s no guarantee that
There’s no point in…ing
To acquaint myself with (the rules)
To an / some extent / To such an extent that…
To be at a loose end
To be at a loss
To be at fault
To be bound to / To be certain to
To be cut out for …ing sth
To be cut out to be a (profession)
To be hard on sb
To be in mourning for sb
To be in need of…ing
To be in possession of
To be in the habit of…ing sth
To be in the hope of…ing
To be intent / determined on…ing
To be laid off (workers, clerks…) = To be made redundant
To be left speechless
To be on good / bad / equal terms with sb
To be on the dole
To be released on bail
To be resigned to the fact of…ing
To be susceptible to / prone to
To be taken aback by = To be taken by surprise
To be taken completely by surprise
To be under construction
To be under pressure
To bear a great / striking resemblance to
To break an engagement off
To cast doubt on sth / To cast an eye on sb (cast-cast-cast)
To cater for
To chair a meeting
To clash with (timing)
To commit myself to…ing sth
To comply with / to abide by / to conform to
To discourage sb from…ing sth
To distance myself from (another point of view)
To end up in…(prison)
To familiarise myself with
To focus attention on
To form an opinion