FORMAL LETTER EXPRESSIONS

• Dear Mr. / Ms. + family name

• Dear Sir,
Salutation • Dear Madam,
• Dear Sir or Madam,
• To whom it may concern,
•  I am writing 
- to inform you that ...
- to confirm ...
- to request ...
Starting - to enquire about ...
• I recently read/heard about ..... and would like to know ....
• Having seen your advertisement in ..., I would like to ...
• I would be interested in (obtaining / receiving) ...
• I received your address from ... and would like to ...
• Thank you for your letter of + date.
• Thank you for contacting us.
• In reply to (your request, ...)
• Thank you for your letter regarding ...
Referring to previous
• With reference to (our telephone conversation yesterday...)
contact
• Further to (our meeting last week ...)
• It was a pleasure (meeting you in London last month.)
• I would just like to confirm (the main points we discussed
 on Tuesday.)
• I would appreciate it if you would ...
• I would be grateful if you could ... 
• Could you please... 
Making a request
• Could you possibly... 
• It would be helpful if you could send us ...
• I am interested in (obtaining / receiving) ...
• I would be happy to ...
Offering help • I am quite willing to ...
• Our company would be pleased to ...
• I am pleased to announce that ...
Giving good news • I am delighted to inform you that ..
• You will be pleased to learn that ...
• I regret to inform you that ...
• I'm afraid it would not be possible to ...
Giving bad news 
• Unfortunately we cannot / we are unable to ...
• After careful consideration we have decided (not) to ...
• I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ...
Complaining  • I am writing to complain about ...
• I regret to inform you that ...
 I regret any inconvenience caused (by) ...
Apologising
 I would like to apologise for the (delay, inconvenience)...
(US: Apologizing)
 Once again, please accept my apologies for ...
Orders  We are pleased to place an order with your company for..
 We would like to cancel our order n° .....
 Please confirm receipt of our order.
  I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your order n° .....
 Your order will be processed as quickly as possible.
 It will take about (two/three) weeks to process your order.
 We can guarantee you delivery before ...(date)
 Unfortunately these articles are no longer available / 
are out of stock.
 Please send us your price list.
 You will find enclosed our most recent catalogue and price list.
 Please note that our prices are subject to change 
Prices
without notice.
 We have pleasure in enclosing a detailed quotation.
 We can make you a firm offer of ...
 Our terms of payment are as follows  ...
 Our records show that we have not yet received 
payment of ...
Referring to payment
 According to our records ...
 Please send payment as soon as possible.
 You will receive a credit note for the sum of ...
 I am enclosing ...
Enclosing documents  Please find enclosed ...
 You will find enclosed ...
 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.
 If you require more information ...
Closing remarks  For further details ...
 Thank you for taking this into consideration.
 Thank you for your help.
 We hope you are happy with this arrangement.
 We hope you can settle this matter to our satisfaction.
 We look forward to a successful working relationship in the
future.
Referring to future
 We would be (very) pleased to do business with your company.
business
 I would be happy to have an opportunity to work with 
your firm.
 I look forward to seeing you next week.
 Looking forward to hearing from you, ...
Referring to future  Looking forward to receiving your comments,
contact  I look forward to meeting you on the (date).
 I would appreciate a reply at your earliest convenience.
 An early reply would be appreciated.
 Yours sincerely,
Ending business letters
 Yours faithfully,