Usful English Phrases

BUSINESS LETTERS

When replying to a letter

• Thank you for your letter of [date] concerning [subject].

• In reply to your letter of [date] I wish to inform you that …

• Thank you very much for your letter in which you asked about …

When writing from your own initiative

• I am writing to inform you that …

• I am pleased to notify you that …

• I wish to inform you that …

• I would be grateful if you could send me some information about …

When giving good/bad information

• I am pleased to inform you that …

• It gives me great pleasure to inform you that …

• I regret to inform you that …

• It is with great regret that I have to write to you about …

When apologizing for a delay in answering a letter

• I am sorry it has taken me so long to reply to your letter of [date] but …

• Please accept my apologies for the delay in answering your letter …

• Please forgive the delay in replying but my only excuse is …

Concluding lines

• I am looking forward to hearing from you.

• I would appreciate a prompt reply.

• I will be grateful if you could reply as soon as possible.

Introducing your firm

• We are a major exporter/importer of [name of the product] and are interested in expanding our business in [country]

• As you may already be aware, [name of the company] is a trading company based in [place]. We specialize in [activity].

• For over ten years we have manufactured and exported [name of the product] to many countries. As we are expanding our business we are interested in establishing trade contracts with you.

• We are Polish producer of [name of the product] located close to [place].

Presenting goods/services

• the high quality of our goods is well known

• we feel that our products will find customers in your country

• if you are not satisfied with [the name of the product] you can return it