your address

greeting the date

Dear ...............,

- Thanks for your last letter. It was interesting reading it/ I really enjoyed reading it.
- It was great to hear from you/ It was great to hear all your news.
introductio - I miss you quite a lot.
n - Sorry I haven't written for so long as I have been very busy (preparing for the
'saying 'hello - exams).
something - - Thanks so much for...........................
about the last - How are you? I hope ............................. is going well.
.letter - I was happy/delighted/surprised/disappointed/sorry to hear
a few personal- that/about......................
questions
- Congratulations/Congrats on.........................................
chatty -
comments - Have you decided where to go on holiday?

- I'm writing to..................... invite you to.....................

thank you for...................
apologise for..................
body
suggest

- I think it would be a great idea if..................................

reason for( - Why don't you............................
)writing - How about..............................
say where you - - We could..............................
are, what you are - I think you'd enjoy............................
doing, news
about the people
...there
tell what - - Today I want to tell you about......................................
happened - Here's some news for you about......................................
suggest, advise, - - I should also inform you that......................................
invite,
..,,apologise
give your -
opinion

- I really must/have to go now. ( My maths lesson is about to begin).

an excuse - I'd better sign off now. (I've got a big history test tomorrow).
to stop - Well, I must finish because................................................................
- Must dash/rush now, ........................................................................
writing

- See you soon

- Write back soon
signing off - Please, write soon
saying - - Looking forward to seeing you
''goodbye - I can't wait to hear from you
wishes - - Lots of love
- Love
- Best wishes
- Regards
- Take care
- Be well

Signature
sign your
name
 7 May 2005 4 May 2006

Dear Kelly, Dear Jody,

Thank you very much for your last letter. It was interesting to read Thanks for your letter, which I received two weeks ago. Sorry for writing back that

about your holidays in Greece. late, but unfortunately I’ve been extremely busy recently because of all the work for
university. There is so much to do and the new semester has only started!
I've also been on vacation recently. Perhaps you remember that I spent my
last summer in New York to improve my English, and so I decided to visit my But enough about me. How are you? Are you still working together with this nice
friends over there. We had a great time; however, on the last day something
unpleasant happened to me. As I drove through Queens on Ocean Boulevard, group of students? I’m talking about the English writing class you told me about in
suddenly there was an enormous bang in the back and the car began to veer. For a the summer break. You really liked the class a lot, didn’t you?
couple of seconds, which appeared like hours to me, I lost control over the
automobile, but finally I was able to stop the car just a few inches in front of a
hydrant. After having taken a deep breath I got out of the vehicle and saw that my By the way, I looked through my old course books yesterday and I found your
back wheel had exploded. As you can imagine, I wasn't very pleased because the
book In Writing again. Although there were many mistakes in it (I can clearly
car was only rented. Fortunately a handsome young man on a bike came by,
stopped and offered to help me. He changed the wheel, which was very kind of remember how we had to correct them!), I must admit that the book is still useful. If I
him. To thank him I invited him for a cup of coffee at Star Bucks, my favourite want to look up some basic rules about writing again, I’ll probably come back to your
coffee shop. What can I say, it was very nice…
By the way he's going to visit me next month, so you can also get to know book in the future.
him. Anyway, it was the sweetest puncture of my whole life.
I can also imagine now why you like working with your students so much. It must
Well, that's all for now. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. be really amusing when you listen to them discuss the right grammatical rules,
Love, punctuation, register and form in such a funny way. Since you told me they hardly
make any mistakes, I can understand that you’re very pleased with them. And if you

Susanne are pleased with your students, you can enjoy your job. Therefore you must enjoy
your job more than your holidays, I suppose.

Well, enough for today. I should start doing my homework now. I have to hand in
a writing assignment next week, so I've got to get going. As I know, you especially
8 August 2000 like this kind of homework, don’t you?

Dear Aunt Susan, Write back soon.

Thanks very much for your last letter and the wonderful present you sent me. Take care,
I’ve just moved into my new apartment and so the food processor is really useful because
the old one was broken. Andrea

I can’t find the words to tell you how awful the last few weeks have been. I had
to find a new place to live. You won’t believe how hard it is to find an acceptable apartment if
you’re not filthy rich. But fortunately my search was successful and now I‘m making myself
comfortable in my cosy home close to the University Koblenz- Landau, which is situated
right near the River Rhine. Now I don’t have to get up as early in the morning as I used to
and I’m still in time for my first classes. You know how lazy I am. Since the weather is so
beautiful right now, I love relaxing with my fellow students on the river bank trying to forget
June 2008 16
the past few weeks. And I think I’m really making progress. ,Dear Mark
It seems hard to believe that I've been here in Ireland for a whole
week now! I promised to write and tell you how I was getting on – so here
I can’t wait to come visit you in Sydney over Christmas. I guess it’s going to be !goes
pretty funny wearing a bathing suit in December. I’m really looking forward to seeing you When I first got here, I just couldn't get used to the slow pace of life!
Now, though, I'm learning to take things easy – and I'm beginning to feel
again. Don’t forget to give Uncle Ben a big hug and best wishes to the rest of the family.
really at home. My first impression of the Irish is that they really, really
!friendly and helpful – and they certainly know how to enjoy life
Love, I've managed to rent a little cottage here in Castlebar. the countryside
round about is marvelous – and very green because it rains a lot! I've already
done some fishing and sailing have made friends with some of the young
Ruth people in the village. We spent most evenings in the local club which has a
!wonderful atmosphere and great music – and good food too, of course
Sorry this letter is so short but you know how bad I am at writing
.letters! Do write back when you have a spare minute. Take care

,With love
Tom
 2 August 2003 9 August 2003

Dear Elaine Dearest Angela,

Thank you very much for your kind letter of sympathy. Your support means so much
It was with a great sense of loss when we heard of Johne's death. to me at this time.

I wanted to let you know that you have our greatest sympathy, and our hearts are John's was such a long illness, we had plenty of warning. Still this has been a terrible
truly saddened. shock. The house does seem very empty. We are trying to pull ourselves together a
little. The children are a great help.

John was more than just a wonderful person; he was always so kind and considerate With thanks and very best wishes from us all,
to us that we always welcomed seeing him at every opportunity.
Love,
And, we know that his passing will not only leave a void in our lives, but in the hearts
Elaine
of all those who knew him.

John will always remain within our hearts, and we have included John and you in our
daily prayers. May God give you strength.

If there is anything that we can do to help you in anyway, please do not hesitate to ,Isle of Skye
call us at anytime. You can phone us even if it is only to talk. .Scotland
5th August
,Hi Timothy
Our sincere thoughts and prayers are with you. How are you? I hope the summer job is going well. Have you decided where
?to go on holiday? That skiing break sounds the best, doesn't it
With our deepest sympathy,
Anyway, we're camping here on the Isle of Skye. We're staying on a
campsite in the middle of nowhere. We've been here for five days but it feels
Angela longer. It's rained every single day – can you believe it? Everything's wet –
!our shoes, our sleeping bags, all our clothes

We go walking every day and yesterday saw some seals. We've all tried
sailing and windsurfing, but we're not very good. This afternoon I fell into
!the sea five times

Here's some news for you about the group. Tom complains about everything.
Colin spends all the time trying to be funny. And Roger gets lost every 5
!minutes! But then I'm sure you can imagine all that
27th July,
Well, I must finish – it's my turn to cook tonight. write back soon – I'll be
2007
!home on Monday (15th). You can tell me all your news
Dear Susan,
,All the best
It feels like such a long time since the last time I saw you. I know it's only Jonathan
been several weeks since I saw you. So far my summer has been great!
.P.S. Brian phones before I left – he wants you to get in touch
I spend my all my weekends at the beach. I am getting a nice tan and you
can no longer say I am paler than you. I have been playing lots of volleyball,
surfing and building a nice collection of sea shells. Just this past weekend I
took second place in a sandcastle building contest!

On the weekdays I work. I drive an ice cream truck around and sell ice
cream to the kids. It is so cool. It is a combination of the two things I love 2nd July 2007
most, ice cream and kids. The pay isn't too great but I love the job so much.
,Dear Muhammed
I hope the summer's been going well for you too. There's only a month and a
?How are things with you
half left in summer vacation and after that it's back to school. Would you like
Last week we had lunch on the beach because it was so hot and we didn't
to meet up some time to before school starts?
want to eat indoors. we started late so that Don, my older brother, could
.come. he had a class at the university. we also invited our new neighbours
Your friend !Guess what? They used to live in a suburb of Cairo

First we swam and sunbathed for a while, but it was really too hot for
Linda
sunbathing. Then we cooked lunch on the beach. When we had finished, we
.sat around and talked
P.S. John Austin says hi.
In the afternoon we played volleyball. My team lost every game! It was
fun, though. Don and the boy next door went surfing. Later the rest of us had
.another swim, and then we went home

?What do you do when you go out with your family

,With best wishes

Brendan
 25th , Nov, 2002 29th , Nov, 2002

Dear Fadel, Dear Charles,

I found your address in "All The World" magazine. So I write to you hoping I I was very happy to receive your kind letter and thank you very much
to know everything about Algeria because I heard it is a fascinating country. for your polite words concerning my country Algeria. I would like to tell
But first I must tell you about myself. you about my country and myself. Algeria is situated in the North of
My name is Charles Anderson. I am 18 years old. I am rather tall. I have blue Africa at the South coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
eyes and curly brown hair. Most of the inhabitants live in the North, because the Sahara covers a
I live with my parents and my younger sister in the countryside. I like riding wide area of the country and expands to the far south.
horses very much as we have a flock of sheep and a small farm. The house The weather is moderate except in winter when it gets very cold in the
where I live is located at the top of a hill and overlooks an open rural and North.
pastoral area. Thousands of tourists come to Algeria in winter to enjoy the warmth of
My hobbies are collecting stamps and reading books. I would like to write to the Sahara and the sunshine every year.
people all over the world. I can write in English and French, but I prefer to As for me I live with my family in the north-east of Algeria. My father
write to you in English to improve my language. runs a shop and I help him when I come back from school which is not
Looking forward to hearing from you soon very far from our house.
Yours very sincerely Our area is a rural one just like yours, people here bring up horses as
Charles they bring up their own children, because they are part of our traditions.
every year people come from various towns to see the races of the horses.
I will send you a group of stamps from my country.
Please tell my best wishes to your family.

,wehtaM raeD Yours very sincerely

m ecudortni em teL Fadel
y fo nisuoc a m'I
eretni fo dnik m'I
uof ev'I .hcraeser
nehW .s0391 eht
emos s'ereh ,lleW
owt dna )lyrehC(
!ereh rehtegotla
.thgir raf eht no
c( nisuoc ,yawynA
oy fo otohp a em P.O. Box 4912
y tuoba evah uoy Jeddah
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
orf raeh ot epoh I 27th , Dec, 2001
,sruoY Dear
yhpruM kcirtaP I got your name and address from the International Penfriend Club. I
would like to be your pen friend. My name is Faisal Al-Majed. I am
thirteen years old and I live in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
I have one brother, Khaled, who is sixteen and one sister, Noor, who is
.tS ekoorbrehS 532-107 eight.
4L1 C3H CQ ,laertnoM I go to the Red Sea School. I am in the 2nd class. My favourite subjects
8002 ,11 yraunaJ are science and geography. I don't like maths! My hobbies are drawing,
,knarF raeD reading, watching T.V and computer games. What are your hobbies?
I like sports. I play football and tennis. Our family has two horses – their
oy ot tseb eht llA names are Fahd and Sultan.
um I ?nuS gnisiR I like music, too. My favourite stars are Akon and 2Pac. Would you like
hemoS .ynapmoc to be my pen friend? Please write to me and tell me about you and your
hguorht ereh tuo family. Can you send me a snapshot?
Best Wishes
t hguorht draeh I Faisal
era syug uoy taht
miS 057-M na rof
aerg eht pu peeK

oba raeh uoy diD

saw tI ?dne-raey
N .enog saw dna 2991 ,tpeS , 14
uf dna tsaf gniylf
nu enog won sah
,anoM raeD
cnis taht ot hturt
etirw ot em rof hcum oot si ti yllaer tub ,eveileb ot drah ti dnif lliw uoY
ssap saw ehs oga
.em fo trap era uoy esuaceb flesym ot
detsop uoy peek
lleweraf yas ot dah I nehw tropria eht ta tnemom taht tegrof reven lliw I
.traeh ym ot eno tseraen eht ot
ma I ,em rof sA
ruoy kcab dloh ot drah gniyrt uoy was I nehw gnihca saw traeh yM
sahP gniretne era
eht ni taht deciton I tub ,meht ees ot em tnaw t'ndid uoy esuaceb sraet
reldnihcS knarF
dnimer ot ekil t'ndluow I .sdnah koohs ew nehw sdnah ruoy fo gnilbmert
etsyS deddebmE
teem ew nehw tnemom eht fo kniht ot uoy tnaw I tub tnemom taht fo uoy
aey eerht ni yaw
.shtnom wef a retfa niaga
.enuJ txen eb lliw maxe lanif dna seiduts ym ni llew yrev no gnitteg na I
won og ot evah I
noos os uoy morf gniraeh ot drawrof gnikool eb lliw I
na krowemoh sih
ht gnilevart syug
ylerecnis yrev sruoY
imaS
detsop em peeK
liated eht gnitteg
,sehsiw tseB
evaD
 7th January 28th April

!Hi Albert
,Dear Stephen
I suppose you know yet. I will marry next summer. Of
I didn’t know about you for a long time. How are you? Here we had .course that you are on the list, I will send you an invitation early
?a great time. Jack and Lora are going to be parents, do you believe it She’s fantastic, you’ll love it (but it’s mine!) She’s
I miss you a lot, all weekends I think about you and all things that handsome, but that isn’t important (well…maybe), the better is that
we did together. Last weekend we went to the beach, it was a sunny day. We enjoy she’s very intelligent and funny, always is making jokes and……..HAS
it a lot, but Lora was a little bit ill and we had to leave early. What about you? !A LOT OF MONEY
Something interesting in this few months? We are planning a package holidays, I'm not pulling your leg, her father is an important member of the
maybe Berlin or Austria, are you interested in this? I really hope it. Tell me about community, and she’s a lawyer. Is perfect for me. I decided to ask her
.your family, I didn’t see your mother since you leave de city !father for her hand a month ago. I want to marry now
Well, I really hope you are OK. I’m looking forward to hearing from I hope you can come to the wedding, and the most
.you .important, I hope you think that Martha is ideal for me

Waiting for your answer

.Best wishes
.Alexis
.Alexis

1st May
3rd May
,Dear Aunt Mary
.Thanks for your last letter, which I received yesterday
Dear Jessica,
It was nice to hear from you. I hope Uncle Tom is feeling
.better and has recovered from his flu
You asked me to tell you about my trip to Spain. So here Thank you for your interesting letter. I also enjoyed the four weeks we spent
we go: as you already know from my postcard, I’ve been to Alicante, together in Australia. All my other friends are so jealous when I show them the pictures.
which is in the South-East of Spain. I stayed with five friends in the I’ll never forget those days, especially our fascinating trip to Ayers Rock. I wish I could
youth hostel La Costa Blanca. From our room we had a lovely view over be there now.
the ocean and we could get there in only five minutes. In fact we spent
most of the time at the beach playing volleyball, going swimming and Back at university, it seems as if again nothing has changed: because the rooms
even surfing - imagine me on a surfboard! You can’t believe how hard it are too small, the lecturers only allow students who are at least in their 4th semester to
is to surf. It looked so easy when I first watched the other surfers
attend the courses. So I (3rd semester) have been kicked out of 6 courses so far.
practising on their boards but doing it yourself is much harder. Well, to
.be honest I fell off a lot
There aren’t enough rooms either. No wonder, if you think of the fact that the
Being that sporty all day long we were pretty tired in the
university in Koblenz was constructed for about 1,600 students and there are actually as
evenings but that didn’t stop us from exploring Alicante’s amazing
many as 4,800 students. The problems have been the same every semester since we
.nightlife
Don’t forget to give Uncle Tom a big hug and best wishes to moved to the new campus. I’m so fed up with this situation.

.Lisa and Charley

One reason for this disaster is money, as always. Why isn’t there enough money?
,Love
What do they do with all the money? Isn’t education one of the most important things in
Susan life? If the people in charge don’t know how to spend the money correctly, they should
ask us. For example, they had to have this stupid, ridiculous and unnecessary fountain.
This silly thing even works when it’s raining. Instead they could have built another
floor.

15 June 2008 By the way, you’ve just started college. Do you have the same problems in Great
Dear Simon, Britain? If you don’t, you’re especially lucky. I mean, I hope that you don’t have to

Thanks for your letter and the photos of the carnival last month. experience all these bloody things but the situation can’t be so much better in Britain,
I've found out that I'll be in London for a business meeting on can it? I’m truly sorry to bother you with all this stuff but I think that you can
Wednesday. It would be great if you could meet me for lunch!
The meeting was only arranged today, so I couldn't tell you understand the way I’m feeling at the moment.
sooner. I do hope you can make it. It seems ages since we last
met up and I've lots of news to give you. Please, feel free to bring
David along if he has the time. Maybe we could meet during our week off at Whitsun. It would be great to see
Let me know as soon as you can and I'll book a table at our you again and just get out of this. Please call or write back a.s.a.p.!
usual restaurant. Ring me tonight if you can!
Must dash now. Hope to hear from you soon.
Andrea
Love
Damian

Love,