THE STYLE OF WRITTEN ENGLISH

Practice 1. What is the difference between the first and second word in these pairs of words?

get/obtain Thanks/Thank you I’ll/I will job/occupation about/with reference to

turn down/decline

What is the formal equivalent of the following words?

need - urgency ask - inquire enough - acceptable can – make possible

now – at this moment try – approach send – post call - communicate

Practice 2. Match each phrase on the left with a phrase on the right.

Informal (spoken) language

Formal (written) language

1 Thanks for your letter. C 2 I've just seen your advert in ...A 3 Can you tell me about ... ? F 4 because B 5 Sorry, I can't make the meeting. E 6 Here are ... D 7 What exactly do you need? I 8 Just send the stuff back. We'lI pay.G 9 I've got some bad news. There's no more until next month. K 10 Good news! I've just heard that ... H 11 There isn't much left. You better move fast. L 12 If you'd like any more details, just let me know. J

a I am writing with reference to the advertisement in " b due to the fact that c Thank you for your letter dated 14 March. d Please find enclosed ". e I am afraid I will not be able to attend the meeting. f I would be grateful if you could send me some information about ". g Please return the goods at our expense. h We are pleased to inform you that ". i Please let me know your exact requirements. j If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. k k We regret to advise you that the goods you require are temporarily out of stock. l Please note that our stocks are limited. We advise customers to order promptly

Practice 3. The phrases below are typical of informal spoken English. Rewrite them as sentences for a business letter. Some words have been given to help you.

1 It's about that ad. we saw in Marketing Monthly. (writing/reference to/recent edition)

We are writing with reference to your advertisement placed in Marketing Monthly.

2 Can you send us something about what your company sells? (grateful//information/range)

We would be grateful for information about your products range.

3 Thanks for your letter of March 12 asking about what we sell. (dated/enquiring/products)

We are grateful for your letter dated March 12 with inquiry about our products.

4 I have some bad news. I'm afraid your order is going to be late. (regret/inform/delayed)

We regret to inform you that your order realisation will be delayed.

5 See you in Frankfurt next month! (look forward)

I look forward in Frankfurt next month.

Practice 4. The language in the text below is informal, spoken English. Rewrite it in a clear, simple, positive style appropriate for a business letter. Keep the basic meaning of the original, but change words and phrases freely.

Hi Sue

I got the letter you sent on 2nd of March. You want the artwork by the 20th? You must be joking! If you want a good job it's going to take at least three weeks. You'll be lucky to get anything from us until early April.

Anyway, you haven't even paid for the last artwork we sent you! We need that money right now. You're not getting anything else until you pay.

All the best

Dear Ms Sue

I have recivied the letter from you dated 2 March. I have to say that suggested by you term 20 March is highly inadequate. According to your requirements more realistic term exceeds three weeks. I must also notice lack of your payment for the last artwork that you recivied from us. Until the money will appear on our account, our cooperation is suspended.

Yours respectfully,

Practice 5. Repeat the previous activity. Rewrite the text below in a clear, simple, positive style appropriate for a business letter.

Thanks for your letter - sorry I didn't get in touch until now. Well, about your problem with the machine - it's not our fault. You obviously didn't follow the instructions - that's why it's broken.

You want to claim for it under your guarantee? No way! Don't you remember - you didn't renew your maintenance contract last year.

Anyway, someone from our Service Department will contact you some time to talk about when our engineers are coming.

I'll be here if you want a chat.

Practice 6. Repeat the previous activity. Rewrite the text below in a clear, simple, positive style appropriate for a business letter.

I got your letter about our Italian kitchen tiles. You want to buy some, right? Great! Just one problem, we haven't got any tiles to send you. The thing is, we're just getting so many orders. Things are going crazy around here, it's just tiles, tiles, tiles.

Look, don't worry. I'll get in touch as soon as we get some more. I'm sure it won't be long. Meanwhile, I'm gonna send you our latest brochure - you'll love it. It's full of great photos and you can see everything we sell.

Give me a call if you want to. Bye.

Practice 7. In the following sentences the word in italics is not very appropriate for formal correspondence. Choose a more suitable alternative from the list.

inform overdue request promptly sufficient elapsed

confidential acceptable competitive settle an account

1. Thank you for forwarding the documents so instantly.

2. We feel that acceptable amount of time has flew for you to obtain a payment.

3. I am writing to request open account facilities.

4. We remind you that this information is highly classified.

5. Your quarterly settlement is three weeks late.

6. We are pleased to tell you that the credit facilities you asked for are in good conditions.

7. Our prices are very flat.

Practice 8. The phrases below are typical of informal spoken English. Rewrite them as sentences for a business letter.

1. Your order is going to be late.

We regret that there will be delay in your order.

2. We have already waited too long for you to pay.

Regrettably we must cancel your order due to lack of payement.

3. You still owe us ₤3,000.

There is debt worth £3,000

4. Your invoice is wrong.

There seems that your invoice contains errors.

5. We want you to answer this letter immediately.

We would that the respond to be send immediately.

6. We can’t tell you about delivery date because we don’t know ourselves.

We are not yet in the posession of the informations about delivery date.

7. We’ve got none in stock.

We are …………………………………………………………………………………

8. Please don’t go to another supplier.

We trust that you will……………………………………………………………………

Practice 9. In English, verbs are frequently combined to make more complex expressions. To do this you need to know how to form the second verb. For example:

They refused to buy from us. They delayed buying from us.

We persuaded them to buy from us. I recommend you buy from us.

Complete the following sentences using the appropriate form of the second verb.

1. We can’t afford taking (take) any risk.

2. We risk lost (lose) everything if we fail.

3. We can’t really avoid involvement (involve) the shareholders.

4. I’d recommend concentrating (concentrate) on cashflow to begin with.

5. I tend agrement (agree) with you.

6. We used to work (work) in different departments, but now we work together.

7. Are you used to take (take) the initiative or do you wait to be told what to do?

8. I strongly advise you getting (get) professional advice.

9. Have you considered .................. (draw) up a provisional business plan?

10. I suggest we .................. (meet) at eleven.

11. We stopped at eleven .................. (have) a break.

12. Thankfully, they’ve stopped.................. (send) us their damned publicity leaflets.

13. Don’t forget.................. (do) that report.

14. I’ll never forget.................. (meet) them for the first time.

Practice 10. Decide on the connecting preposition and use the correct form of the verb.

1. Actually, I’m thinking .................. the company. (leave)

2. Thank you.................. to meet us at such short notice. (agree)

3. Fortunately, we succeeded .................. the deadline. (meet)

4. I don’t believe .................. too much notice of our competitors. (take)

5. Let’s just concentrate .................. what we do best. (do)

6. I don’t blame him .................. up on his own. (start)

7. I won’t prevent you ................... ahead if you want to. (go)

8. I warned you .................. on too much work too quickly. (take)

9. Success depends.................. in the right place at the right time. (be)

Practice 11. Reporting verbs help you to summarise later something you have already heard said. Match what was actually said to the later report.

What was said	Report
1. It’s absolutely vital that we expand	a. She raised the issue of expansion.
2. If you ask me, it’d be madness to expand.	b. He stressed the importance of expansion.
3. Can we look at the possibility of expanding?	c. She questioned the need for expansion.
4. So, just to sum up...	d. He outlined the proposed plans for expansion.
5. Very briefly, what we plan to do is this...	e. She argued that expansion would be disastrous.
6. Are you sure this expansion is absolutely necessary?	f. He recapped on the main points of the plan.

Match the following ways of reporting in a similar way.

7. Actually, it’s true that we’ve gone some way already.	g. He reaffirmed his position on expansion.
8. I’m afraid I’m still not convinced.	h. She demanded to know how far their plans had gone.
9. OK. OK. Nobody said it was going to be easy.	i. He confirmed that the programme was already under way.
10. Look, just how far have you gone with this?	j. She conceded that the plan was well-researched
11. You’ve done your homework. I’ll grant you that.	k. She still doubted whether any expansion was possible.
12. I can only repeat that expansion is essential.	l. He admitted that expansion would be difficult.

Practice 12. Report the following remarks made by the Finance Director (FD) or the Managing Director (MD) . Use the language given.

1. MD: It’s crucial that we form a strategic alliance with the Japanese. stress/importance. ..............................................................................................................................................

2. FD: Look, what I want to know is how the project is going to be financed? demand/know

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3. MD: Are you certain we need to raise extra capital? question\need

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4. FD: OK, I grant you it’s going to take an injection of cash at the outset. concede/injection of cash ....................................................................................................................................

5. MD: Let me say again how important it is that we team up with the Japanese. reaffirm/position ...................................................................................................................

6. MD: OK, I’ll just run through the main points. recap/main points

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Lidia Zielińska LCCI International Qualifications - English for Business Third Level Course