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FCE - 2

INFORMAL LETTERS

 Paragraph 1: Introduction - the following are some useful phrases for introductions
to informal letters.
 Paragraph 2: The reason for your letter. Suggest a suitable date, how to get to
your house (an invitation), etc.
 Paragraph 3: Additional information - here give some any news about yourself and
what you have been doing.
 Paragraph 4: Conclusion - the following are some useful phrases for conclusions to
informal letters.
 Ending.

GREETING AND ENDINGS

* Dear (Sally), love / best wishes / regards. (Jack)

START THE LETTER - INTRODUCTION

- Thank you very much for your last letter.

- Sorry I haven´t written before but ...............
- It was great to get your letter.
- Sorry I haven´t written earlier / for so long but ..............
- I received your letter this morning and I had to ............
- I was very sorry to hear that .........
- Thanks for your long letter. It was lovely to hear all your news and get up to date.
Please forgive me for not writing before but I have been terribly busy at work.
- How are you?
- I´m sorry I haven´t written for so long / ages, but ..............
- It´s been a long time since I last heard from you.
- I thought I´d drop you a line to see how you are getting on.
- As I haven´t heard from you for ages, I thought I´d write to see how you are.
- Thanks for your letter. It was interesting / good to hear that ..........
- I got your letter yesterday, and decided to write back straightaway.
- Thank you for writing such a long and funny letter. I always enjoy reading what you
´ve been doing.

INTRODUCE A NEW TOPIC

- By the way .....

- Did you know that ...................?
- Have you heard ...................?
- But, between you and me ..........
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GIVING ADVICE

- Why don´t you ...........?

- Have you thought of .....(ing)?
- I would recommend ......
- My advice is to .........
- It would be a good idea to ...........
- Don´t forget to .........
- If you want to……………………………., try …………………..
, don´t forget to…………….
, you should ………………….
- You should / shouldn’t …………………., because ………………………………
- If I were you, I´d …………………………, as / because ………………………

CLOSE THE LETTER / CONCLUSIONS

- Well, that seems to be all my news at the moment. I´m going to try and catch the
last post, so I´ll stop now.
- Well, that´s enough for now.
- Give my regards / love to .....
- Anyway, I´d better stop now.
- Best wishes.
- Say hello to ......
- Love from ......
- Well, I must stop now and catch the post.
- Well, I think that´s all the news.
- I´ll stop now as it´s getting late.
- Write soon.
- Look after yourself.
- Get better soon.
- I´ll write again as soon as I have a spare moment.
- Don´t forget to call me / write to me.
- I´m going to try and catch the last post, so I´ll stop now.

DESCRIBING OBJECTS

* The general rule for the order of adjectives is:

(1 ) general description or opinion words / (2) size / (3) age / (4) colour / (5) origin
+ NOUN + with (features)
* We do not normally write more than 3 adjectives before the noun.
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MAKING CONTACT AND GIVING NEWS (1)

Dear Anna,

How are you? I´m sorry I haven't written for so long, but I was very busy getting
ready to come to England for My Summer English course.

I arrived last week, and I'm really enjoying myself, because the school is so well
organised and friendly. The teachers are encouraging and the lessons are great fun! I
also really like my classmates, who are from all over the world, and i t 's really interesting
learning about their countries.

Unfortunately, not everything is good. The worst thing is that the classrooms are
very cramped and dark, so they're rather depressing. The chairs are very uncomfortable,
too! I t doesn't really matter, though, because I enjoy practising my English and being in
a foreign country.

I would really like you to visit me this Summer. Write to me and tell me your plans.

Love,
Olga

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GIVING ADVICE (1)

Dear Rachel,

Thanks for your letter! It was great to hear all your news. I was very happy to read
that you wanted to visit Potugal this summer.

If you want to have a relaxing holiday by the sea, I would recommend my favourite
place, Lagos. It´s a traditional fishing village on the south coast, and not many tourists
go there. It has many reasonably-priced hotels, and excellent beaches nearby. The sea
is very clean and wonderful for diving and snorkeling.

You asked me about what clothes and equipment to bring. If I were you, I would
pack very little – a swimsuit, and some T-shirts and shorts for the beach. It may get a
little cool at night, so bring a sweater, too. Don´t forget your snorkel and mask for
diving and a ball for playing with on the beach. My advice is to travel light, so you can fill
your suitcase with souvenirs to remind you of Portugal!

I hope that you´ll enjoy yourself in Lagos. If you want to know anything else, just
drop me a line.

Best wishes,
José

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GIVING ADVICE (2)

Dear Jason,

It was great to hear that you're coming over.

You can travel by plane or ferry. Why not contact a few travel agents? They
sometimes offer cheap flights.

Whatever you do, don't book a great on a scheduled flight, because it's very
expensive. If I were you, I'd take the ferry. It's very cheap and reasonably fast.

It would be worth bringing another form of identification, like an ID card, because

you won't want to carry your passport round all the time. You ought to bring a little
English currency with you, in case the banks are shut when you arrive. However it's a
good idea to have mainly traveller's cheques, as they're much safer. By the way, you'll
probably find it's well worth getting a student card -you'll be able to get all sorts of
discounts, particularly when it comes to travelling around.

There's just one other thing - you'd better remember to get in touch with us when
you're over here, or we'll be very upset!

Love,

Martha

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GIVING ADVICE (3)

Dear Michael,

Thanks very much for your letter. It was lovely to hear from you specially because
you want to learn my language, which is a great idea.

Here you are some advice on how to learn it quickly. First of all, you should buy a
grammar book in Spanish. This kind of books will teach you the different tenses in
Spanish and when and how to use each of them.

It would be worth reading short stories in Spanish as well. They let you practise and
improve your pronunciation. You ought to watch films because you can learn habitual
words and phrases, which let you communicate easily.

Also, If I were you, I would be in touch with people who speak Spanish. It is a good
idea to have other friends or partners you can speak Spanish with. There is just one
other thing - you had better write to me more often so that I can help you. I can tell you
what mistakes you make and why.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Bye by now,

Claudio
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DESCRIBING AN OBJECT (1)

Dear Sarah,

Thanks for your letter. I´m sorry I haven't written before, but because I have been doing a
lot of Studying recently, I haven't had time for anything else!

Now for my news. I finally decided on a new computer rather than a stereo. It also makes
writing assignments a such shorter task, as I can easily change anything I write. I went on a
short trip to visit my grandmother last week. I always enjoy seeing her because we spend
hours chatting and gossiping. When I got home, I found that my parents had bought me some
new bedroom furniture, so I spent Saturday rearranging my room. The computer was a real
bargain and i t has made such a difference to my life!

I t 's a. portable, compact notebook which weighs only two kilos; as a result, I can
work just about anywhere! I also went to a great beach party, where we had a barbecue and
went swimming at midnight!

That´s all for now. Write soon, and tell me everything you´ve been up to recently.

Love,
Nadia

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LETTER TO A FRIEND (1)

Dear William,

Many thanks for your last letter. I´m sorry I haven´t written for so long, but as you
can probably imagine, I´ve been pretty busy with the new job.

Anyway, the reason I´m writing is that I saw Stuart the other day and he asked
after you. He´s just got back from Nairobi, and he´s here for the next few months. He
wants to get in touch with everyone again, so do drop him a line if you feel like this. His
address is 6, Marsden Crescent, London NEID. Apparently he had a really good time out
there, but no doubt he´ll tell you all about it.

By the way, I´m having a drink party here on the 25 th . I´m not sure yet who´s
coming, but there´ll be some people from the office plus a few others. Do let me know if
you can make it.

I´m looking forward to seeing you again.

Yours,
Yames
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LETTER TO A FRIEND (2)

Dear Pat,

Thank you very much for your long letter. It was lovely to hear all your news and
get up to date.

Please forgive me for not writing sooner, but I have been terribly busy at work. I
worked overtime all last week. I was sorry to hear about your illness. I hope you are
getting a proper treatment.

We are having our ups and downs here, too. Jack is still a Production Manager at
Western. He is working extremely hard at the moment on an important order for France.
He always seems tired when he comes home at night.

Unfortunately, things are not going too well at Western. There are a lot of troubles
over wages claims and Jack thinks that there is probably going to be a strike. Jack has
mixed feeling about the situation, but between you and me, I think he is getting tired of
it all. In fact, he is thinking of putting in an application to join the project which Western
is setting up on the Continent. It is in Paris, do you remember we went there when we
were children?. We are still discussing whether to go or not. In a way I don´t really want
to move away from all my friends here, but I realised that we ought to think seriously
about it.

Barbara isn´t living at home anymore. She has got a flat on her own. Her shop is
doing well and she travels abroad a lot. She is away in Italy at the moment. She has got
a boyfriend who works at Western with Jack. He is very nice but I don´t think it´s a very
serious relationship. You know what Barbara is like. She has never been keen to settle
down.

Well, that seems to be all my news at the moment. I´m going to try and catch the
last post, so I´ll stop now.

Love,
Jane
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