Business Letter Basics

The Start 

• Dear Senior Director, 
• Dear Sir or Madam,   

 (use if you don't know who you are writing to) 

• Dear Dr, Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms Smith: 

(use if you know the person and have a formal relationship with - IMPORTANT use Ms for women unless asked to use Mrs or Miss)

•  Dear Frank: (use if the person is a close business contact or friend) 

The Reference 

• With reference to your advertisement in the Times, your letter of 3rd March
• Regarding your phone call today, 
• Thank you for your mail of March 5th. 

The Reason for Writing 

• I am writing to inquire about... 
• I am writing apologize for... 
• I am writing to confirm... 

  

Requests

• Could you possibly.....? 
• I would be grateful if you could.....
• Would it be possible to ......?

Agreeing to Requests 

•  I would be delighted to... 
• It would be my pleasure to... 

Giving Bad News 

• Unfortunately.... 
• I am afraid that... 

Enclosing/attaching Documents 

•  I am enclosing... 
• Please find enclosed... 
• Enclosed you will find... 

Closing Remarks 

• Thank you for your help. 
• Please contact us(me) again.... 
• If we(I) can help in any way. ....If/should there are any problems. ....
• If/should you have any questions, 

Reference to Future Contact 

• I look forward to ... 

         ...hearing from you soon. 

        ...meeting you next Tuesday. 

        ...seeing you next Thursday. 

The Finish 

• Yours faithfully, (If you don't know the name of the person you're writing to) 
• Yours sincerely, (If you know the name of the person you're writing to) 
• Best wishes, 
• Kind regards, (If the person is a close business contact or friend)

Sample Letter

March 16, 2022

From:

Tom's Beer Box 

Calanda 34

7000 Chur Switzerland 

Tel:+41 81 445 5671 

Email: tom@box.com 

 

To:

James Dudeness 

Sales Manager 

Beer Specialists Inc. 

210 Swanson Road 

Oldsville, Florida 67850

Dear Mr Dudeness,

With reference to our telephone conversation today, I am writing to confirm your order for 1200 cartons Churbock Beer in 10 pack cans (item no. 7644). 

The order will be shipped within three days via DHL and should arrive at your store in approximately 10 days. 

In attachment please find the confirmation, reference number and tracking code, 

Please contact us again if we can help in any way. It is a pleasure to do business with your company.

Sincerely, 

Thomas Guzzman 

Director of Tom's Beer Box, Inc.

Much and Many - jedes Mal richtig!

When to use much and when to use many can be confusing.
Some help for German speaking learners.

Begin here


Special thanks to business English trainer

Swiss News and Info

Click here to get Switzerland's news -in English- updated daily.

You can change the language choice and re-read the articles to make sure you have understood, or open two windows at the same time, one in English and the other in your mother language.

swissinfo.ch is a branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation

Vocabulary Building!

Feel like working on your vocabulary?

Here is a great place to do just that!

Matching Words

Have fun and improve your English by playing these matching games online.

Choose any of the games below and try to find the matching pairs. 'Game 1' is the easiest and 'Game 10' is the most difficult.


Begin here

Building Vocabulary:

Using Context Clues to Learn Word Meaning

When authors write, they often include context clues to the meaning of words they use but think that some of their readers may not know. The context clue is usually presented in the sentence or paragraph in which the word occurs. Sometimes a visual such as a picture is provided.

Here are six types of context clues used by authors to help the reader understand the meanings of words. An example is provided for each.

1. Definition context clue
The author includes a definition to help the reader understand the meaning of a word. In the following example, "tainted" is defined as having a disease.

The people of the town were warned not to eat the tainted fish. The local newspaper published a bulletin in which readers were clearly told that eating fish that had a disease could be very dangerous. This was especially true for fish caught in Lake Jean.

2. Synonym context clue
The author includes a synonym to help the reader understand the meaning of a word. A synonym is a word that means the same as or nearly the same as another word. In the following example, the synonym "pity" helps the reader understand the meaning of "compassion."

After seeing the picture of the starving children, we all felt compassion or pity for their suffering.

3. Antonym context clue
The author includes an antonym to help the reader understand the meaning of a word. An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word. In the following example, the antonym "eager" helps the reader understand the meaning of "reluctant."

Joe was reluctant to take on the position of captain of the basketball team. He was afraid that the time it would take would hurt his grades. On the other hand, Billy was eager for the chance to be captain. He thought that being captain of the team would make him very popular in school.
4. Description context clue
The author includes one or more descriptions to help the reader understand the meaning of a word. In the following example, descriptions of President Kennedy as having charm, enthusiasm, and a magnetic personality help the reader understand the meaning of "charismatic."

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, our 35th president, improved human rights and equal rights for all people. He was a very charismatic president. People were attracted to his charm and enthusiasm. His personality was described as magnetic.
5. Summary context clue
The author makes a number of statements that help the reader understand the meaning of a word. In the following example, statements about being rude, showing no respect, having poor manners, and being impolite help the reader understand the meaning of "impertinent."

Andrea was a very impertinent young lady. She was so rude that she talked while her teacher was explaining a lesson. She showed no respect for other students. Her manners were very poor. Even her parents thought that Andrea was impolite.


6. Visual context clue
The author includes a picture, drawing, chart, graph, or other type of visual to help the reader understand the meaning of a word. In the following example, the picture and its caption that is close to the sentence helps the reader understand that "exultant" means great joy.

Peggy had an exultant look on her face.
Using the context clues provided by authors can help you learn the meaning of many new words.

Memory

Have you ever left your desk to get some paper and come back with a dictionary, only to have to go back a second time and get the paper?

The good news, however, is that everyone can take steps to improve their memory, and with time and practice most people can gain the ability to memorize seemingly impossible amounts of information, which includes by the way your English skills.

These tips really got me excited. I am going to start using them today.

If I don't forget.

1
Exercise your brain. Regularly "exercising" the brain keeps it growing and spurs the development of new nerve connections that can help improve memory. By developing new mental skills -- especially complex ones such as learning a new language or learning to play a new musical instrument -- challenge your brain with puzzles and games, you can keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning. Try some fun puzzle exercises everyday such as crosswords, Sudoku, and other games which are easy enough to for anyone.

2
Exercise daily. Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body -- including the brain -- and can help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental "pictures".

3
Reduce stress. Chronic stress does in fact physically damage the brain, it can make remembering much more difficult. After prolonged stress, the brain will start to become affected and deteriorate. Stressful situations are recognized by the hypothalamus, which in turn signals the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland then secretes adrenocorticotropic hormones (ACTH) which influences the adrenal glands to secrete adrenaline and later, cortisol (corticosteroids). The corticosteroids can weaken the blood-brain barrier and damage the hippocampus (the memory center). Ironically, the hippocampus controls the secretion of the hormone released by the hypothalamus through a process of negative feedback. After chronic stress, it will begin to deteriorate and will not be as efficient in regulating the degenerative corticosteroids, impairing memory. Neurogenesis (formation of new neurons) indeed exists in the hippocampus, but stress inhibits it.

Realistically speaking, stress may never be completely eliminated from one's life, but it definitely can be controlled. Even temporary stresses can make it more difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things. Try to relax, regularly practice yoga or other stretching exercises, and see a doctor if you have severe chronic stress as soon as possible.

4
Eat well and eat right. There are a lot of herbal supplements on the market that claim to improve memory, but none have yet been shown to be effective in clinical tests (although small studies have shown some promising results for ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine). A healthy diet, however, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants -- broccoli, blueberries, spinach, and berries, for example -- and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Feed your brain with such supplements as Thiamine, Niacin and Vitamin B-6.

Grazing, or eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain. Make sure it's healthy stuff.

5
Take better pictures. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don’t really learn people’s names at first because we aren’t really concentrating on remembering them. You’ll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you’ll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph. Try closing your eyes and picturing the photo in your mind. Use a new photograph each time you try this exercise, and with regular practice you will find you’re able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.

6
Give yourself time to form a memory. Memories are very fragile in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories before you can even form them is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things, so when you’re trying to remember something, avoid distractions and complicated tasks for a few minutes.

7
Sleep well. The amount of sleep we get affects the brain's ability to recall recently learned information. Getting a good night's sleep -- a minimum of seven hours a night -- may improve your short-term memory and long-term relational memory, according to recent studies conducted at the Harvard Medical School.

8
Build your memorization arsenal. Memory pegs, memory palaces, and the Dominic System are just some techniques which form the foundation for mnemonic techniques, and which can visibly improve your memory. Memory pegs involve visualization methods in which you make use of various familiar landmarks, associating the to be learnt information to these various popular landmarks. This helps to trigger and enhance the memory process.

9
Venture out and learn from your mistakes. Go ahead and take a stab at memorizing the first one hundred digits of pi, or, if you've done that already, the first one thousand. Memorize the monarchs of England through your memory palaces, or your grocery list through visualization. Through diligent effort you will eventually master the art of memorization.

taken from http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Memory

Becoming a Flexible Reader

To become a flexible reader, you need to know how to select and use a reading style that is consistent with your purpose for reading. There are three important reading styles you should learn to use. Each has its own purpose. Knowing when and how to use these three reading styles will make you a flexible reader. Read to learn about the three reading styles used by flexible readers.

Study Reading is the reading style used by flexible readers when their purpose is to read difficult material at a high level of comprehension. When using the Study Reading style, you should read at a rate that is slower than your normal reading rate. Further, as you read you must challenge yourself to understand the material. Study Reading will often require you to read material more than once to achieve a high level of comprehension. Sometimes, reading the material aloud will also help you improve your comprehension.

Skimming is the reading style used by flexible readers when their purpose is to quickly obtain a general idea about the reading material. The Skimming style is most useful when you have to read a large amount of material in a short amount of time. When using the Skimming style, you should identify the main ideas in each paragraph and ignore the details in supportive sentences. Because you are looking only for the main idea in each paragraph you read, a lower level of comprehension is to be expected than when using the Study Reading style.


Scanning is the reading style used by flexible readers when their purpose is to quickly locate a specific piece of information within reading material. The piece of information to be located may be contained in a list of names, words, numbers, short statements, and sometimes even in a paragraph. Since you know exactly what you are looking for, move your eyes quickly over the reading material until you locate the specific piece of information you need to find.

Before you begin your next reading assignment, identify your purpose for reading. Decide if you are reading for a high level of comprehension, trying to get a general idea about what you are reading, or looking for specific information. Then use the reading style that is appropriate for your reading purpose.

Good Listening in Class

It is important for you to be a good listener in class. Much of what you will have to learn will be presented verbally by your teachers. Just hearing what your teachers say is not the same as listening to what they say. Listening is a cognitive act that requires you to pay attention and think about and mentally process what you hear.

Here are some things you should do to be a good listener in class.


•Be Ready to Listen When You Come to Class. Make sure you complete all assigned work and readings. Review your notes from previous class sessions. Think about what you know about the topic that will be covered in class that day.

•Be Emotionally Ready to Listen When You Come to Class. Your attitude is important. Make a conscious choice to find the topic useful and interesting. Be committed to learning all that you can.

•Listen with a Purpose. Identify what you expect and hope to learn from the class session. Listen for these things as your teacher talks.

•Listen with an Open Mind. Be receptive to what your teacher says. It is good to question what is said as long as you remain open to points of view other than your own.

•Be Attentive. Focus on what your teacher is saying. Try not to daydream and let your mind wander to other things. It helps to sit in the front and center of the class and to maintain eye contact with your teacher.

•Be an Active Listener. You can think faster than your teacher can speak. Use this to your advantage by evaluating what is being said and trying to anticipate what will be said next. Take good written notes about what your teacher says. While you can think faster than your teacher can speak, you cannot write faster than your teacher can speak. Taking notes requires you to make decisions about what to write, and you have to be an active listener to do this.

•Meet the Challenge. Don't give up and stop listening when you find the information being presented difficult to understand. Listen even more carefully at these times and work hard to understand what is being said. Don't be reluctant to ask questions.

•Triumph Over the Environment. The classroom may be too noisy, too hot, too cold, too bright, or too dark. Don't give in to these inconveniences.


Stay focused on the big picture - LEARNING.

How to be Smarter

Change your life! Read this!

Dear Sir/Madam or Dear Madam/Sir?

That is the question!
It is actually a bit of a controversy.
After some in depth research I shall in the future recommend:
Dear Sir or Madam
....being the American I am.


Read this conversation/argument string:

Business English Terminology

-for German Speakers

Click Here for exercises

CORE VOCABULARY

as agreed - wie vereinbart

as far as I'm concerned - was mich betrifft

as far as the payment is concerned - soweit es die Bezahlung betrifft

as listed below - wie unten aufgelistet

as per agreement - vertragsgemäß

as per your offer - wie in Ihrem Angebot

as requested - wunschgemäß

as soon as possible - so bald wie möglich

at your earliest convenience - umgehend, sobald es Ihnen möglich ist

at your expense - zu Ihren Kosten

awaiting your reply - in der Erwartung Ihrer Antwort

circular letter - Rundschreiben, Serienbrief

must correspond to the sample - muss dem Muster entsprechen

covering letter - das Begleitschreiben, das Anschreiben

enclosure / attachment - die Beilage

following your instructions - Ihren Anweisungen folgend

half-price - halber Preis

is still open - ist noch offen

letter of complaint - der Beschwerdebrief

on arrival of the goods - bei Ankunft der Ware

on condition that - unter der Bedingung, dass

on request - auf Anfrage

on short notice - kurzfristig

payable in advance - im Voraus bezahlbar, im Voraus zahlbar

please send us - bitte senden Sie uns

please let us have your shipping instructions - bitten um Versandanweisung

provided that - vorausgesetzt, dass; unter der Bedingung, dass

sender address - Anschrift des Absenders

short-term - kurzzeitig, kurzfristig

the following items - folgende Ware

to act on behalf of another person - in fremdem Namen handeln

to agree with - der gleichen Ansicht sein wie

to be confident of - zuversichtlich sein

to be in financial difficulty - finanziell in Schwierigkeiten sein

to be interested in - sich interessieren

to be late - sich verspäten

to be prepared to do sth. - zu etw. bereit sein

to come to a decision - eine Entscheidung treffen

to come to an agreement - sich einigen

to correspond with something - mit etw. übereinstimmen

to fix an appointment - einen Termin vereinbaren

to reach an agreement - eine Vereinbarung treffen

under separate cover - mit getrennter Post

Affect Versus Effect

(Many thanks to Grammar Girl)

What Is the Difference Between Affect and Effect?

The majority of the time you use affect with an a
as a verb and effect with an e as a noun.

Here is a cartoon to help you remember:

"But why Aardvark?" you ask. Because there's also an example to help you remember. It's "The arrows affected Aardvark. The effect was eye-popping."
It should be easy to remember that affect with an a goes with the a-words, arrow and aardvark, and that effect with an e goes with the e-word, eye-popping. If you can visualize the sentences, "The arrows affected the aardvark. The effect was eye-popping," it's pretty easy to see that affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun.

When Should You Use Affect?
Affect with an a means "to influence," as in, "The arrows affected Ardvark," or "The rain affected Amy's hairdo." Affect can also mean, roughly, "to act in a way that you don't feel," as in, "She affected an air of superiority."

When Should You Use Effect?
Effect with an e has a lot of subtle meanings as a noun, but to me the meaning "a result" seems to be at the core of all the definitions. For example, you can say, "The effect was eye-popping," or "The sound effects were amazing," or "The rain had no effect on Amy's hairdo."
Common Uses of Affect and Effect
Most of the time affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun. First, the mnemonic involves a very easy noun to help you remember: aardvark. Yes, if you can remember aardvark -- a very easy noun -- you'll always remember that affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun. Why? Because the first letters of "a very easy noun" are the same first letters as "affect verb effect noun!" That's a very easy noun. Affect (with an a) verb effect (with an e) noun.

Relative Clauses

Read about San Francisco and practice your relative clauses!

The Golden Gate Bridge connects the city of San Francisco and San Francisco (Halbinsel) Peninsula. It spans the Golden Gate, a (Meerenge) strait between the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay–that’s where the name Golden Gate Bridge comes from.

Construction on the bridge began in 1933 and was completed in 1937. The bridge rises 230 m above the water. With its total length of 1970 meters it was the longest (Hängebrücke) suspension bridge in the world until 1964. The bridge is part of the United States Highway 101, has six (Fahrspuren) lanes and a footpath on each side.

Thanks to Ego4U.com

Grammar Challenge

Reported speech

If someone tells you something and you want to tell another person, you can use 'direct speech' or 'reported speech'. Find out the differences in this programme.

Grammar Challenge

so and such

Some people find this week's grammar point so tricky they give up trying to work out the rule! Luckily, Grammar Challenge is on hand to give such a clear explanation that everyone's doubts should be cleared up.

How do others see you?

Try this questionaire.

Prepositions and Phrasal Verbs

Everybody hates the fact that we sometimes have to memorize these. A great place to practice some of these expressions is HERE.

Passive

Here is an example of a story
written in the passive voice.

A DRIVER has been sent to jail for 90 days for driving with excess alcohol.
Graham Smith, 29, of North Street, Barton, was stopped by police officers near his home last November and was found to have drunk almost twice the legal limit for drivers, Didcot magistrates heard on Thursday. Twelve months earlier Smith had been disqualified from driving for three years for drink-driving. He was disqualified for twelve months in 1986 for a similar offence. Mr Peter Jones, defending, said Smith had used the car to visit a sick friend. He said Smith was depressed after the visit, and went to a pub and drank five or six pints before driving home. He was caught by police during a routine speed check in Wantage Road, Barton.
______________________________________________

Shall we practice a bit?
Choose the best way of continuing after each sentence.

1. He lives in a small house.
a. Somebody built it 40 years ago.
b. It was built 40 years ago.

2. English is worth learning.
a. People speak it in a lot of countries.
b. It is spoken in a lot of countries.

3. My nephew is an artist.
a. He has just painted another picture.
b. Another picture has just been painted by him.

________________________________________

Choose the best sentence from each pair
to build a continuous text.
a. HOW PEOPLE MAKE BOOKS

b. HOW BOOKS ARE MADE

a. First of all, printers print big sheets of paper.
b. First of all, big sheets of paper are printed.

a. Each sheet contains the text of a number of pages.
b. The text of a number of pages is contained in each sheet.

a. People fold and cut the sheets to produce sections of the book.
b. The sheets are folded and cut to produce sections of the book.

a. These sections are called signatures.
b. We call these sections signatures.
________________________________________

Think about this:What makes one sentence better than the other?

a.That she had not written to her parents for over two years surprised me.
I was surprised that she had not written to her parents …..

b.That Mary wanted to tell everybody what to do annoyed me.
I was annoyed that Mary wanted to tell….

c.The fact that he looked completely different from the last time we had met confused me. I was confused by the fact that he looked…

________________________________________


Complete the text with expressions:
had been given
had been told
had never been taught
was given (2x)
was offered
was promised
was sent
was shown
wasn’t being paid


I’ll never forget my first day at that office. I ___________ to arrive at 8:30, but when I got there the whole place seemed to be empty. I didn’t know what to do because I ______________no information about the building or where I was going to work, so I just waited around until some of the secretaries began to turn up. Finally I _______________ a dirty little office on the fifth floor, where I __________________a desk in a corner. Nothing happened for an hour, then I _________________ some letters to type on a computer by one of the senior secretaries. This wasn’t very successful because I had never been taught how to use a computer. (In the letter I _______________ when I _______________ the job, I _________________computer training, but they’d obviously forgotten about this.) By lunchtime things hadn’t got any better, and I decided that _________________to put up with this nonsense, so I walked out and didn’t go back.


____________________________________

A – Structure with introductory it:
It is thought/believed that.. ------- e.g. It is thought that he will resign.

B – Subject + passive verb + infinitive ------- e.g. He is believed to be in Wales.

C – Structure with there is: There is thought / said to be…
------- e.g. There were said to be ghosts in the house, But I never saw one!
___________________________________________

Can you change these sentences to the passive? Good luck! and if you aren't sure, then feel free to print them out and bring them to me and we will work it out together!
a. People think the government will fall.
b. We appointed Mr Evans secretary.
c. The villagers called her a witch.
d. People believed that fresh air was bad for sick people.
e. Some people say that there are wolves in the mountains.
f. Police think the man holding the hostages is heavily armed.
g. They say he is in an agitated state.
h. Everybody considered her strange.
i. We expect the rate of inflation will rise.
j. They say that he is somewhere in Germany.
k. Somebody saw Harry leave the plane in New York.
l. People think that she died in a plane crash.
m. People believed that the earth was the centre of the universe.
n. They say that there is oil off the coast of Portugal.
o. They made me give them details of my bank accounts.

Wireless Technology

The article below is about one of the latest developments in the world of telecommunications.
Look at the following statements.
Now read quickly through the article once and choose the best way to complete each statement.

Wireless world
In the space of a few years mobile telecommunications technology – the technology that allows you to connect with people and get information while you’re on the move – has advanced at an amazing pace. With talk of WAPs, WML and wireless LANs, it’s getting hard just to remember what all the acronyms stand for, let alone understand the technology. One such development that’s causing some excitement is the much talked about Wi Fi technology.

Wi Fi - which in case you didn’t know stands for Wireless Fidelity – is a way to access the Internet without the need to connect your computer to a phone line. This means you can send e-mails and surf the net from your own laptop computer and not have to worry about finding a phone jack or having wires trailing all over the place.

However, it doesn’t mean you can connect from anywhere – not yet anyway. You have to be close to an access point, where your computer can communicate with a special receiver. In truth, there aren’t that many access points around at the moment, but more and more are appearing daily, and you might be surprised by the kinds of places which are already Wi Fi connected.

A couple of major airlines have set up wireless access points onboard their aeroplanes, allowing time-pressed business travellers to connect with their offices from 36.000 feet in the air. A group of enthusiasts in Brighton have set one up on the beach there, so you can surf the net as well as the waves. A team of teachers has created one in the middle of a wood in southern England as part of a project to help children learn about the environment. And in some British pubs you can even access the Web whilst downing a pint of beer. The possibilities, it seems, are endless.

But Wi Fi isn’t only for busy business tycoons or people looking for fun at their local pub; it’s not just another hi tech toy for spoilt Westerners. One of the system’s great advantages is that it is bringing the Internet to some of the world’s poorest regions, and helping to narrow the ‘digital divide’ between the West and the Developing World. Some remote villages in Bangladesh, for example, where costly telephone lines have never reached, now have schools with wireless Internet access. Here Wi Fi is giving a new generation of school children a window on the word and educational opportunities never dreamt of by their parents. And that is something to get excited about.

Now read the text again and decide whether these statements are true or false.

Thanks to the British Council and S. Schneiter.