Informal Letters Giving News Informal (friendly) letters are normally written to relatives, friends or other people we know

w very well. A good informal letter should be divided into paragraphs. Each paragraph should deal with one aspect of the subject and start with a topic sentence with gives the main idea of the paragraph. Structure Introduction Paragraph 1: reason(s) for writing Main body Paragraphs 2-3: development Conclusion Final paragraph: closing remarks First name

Useful language Opening expressions Thanks for your letter It was great to hear from you Sorry for not writing earlier / that I havent been in touch for a while I hope you and your family are well Responding to news Sorry to hear about your exam results/ Glad to hear that youre all well Good luck with the new job Hope you feel better soon Closing expressions Anyway, / Well, thats all for now Hope to hear from you soon / Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Give my regards / love to Take care / Best wishes / Regards / (Lots of ) love from P.S Please send me the photos you promised 1. Read the following letter and correct the mistakes. Dear Jenny, How are you? I hope youre very well. Ive so many to tell you that I dont know where to begin! Visitting Kenya was fantastic so far! The beaches are absolutely wonderfully. The sea is like glass and the white sand is as soft like powder. Ive collected loads of shells already and yesterday I have ridden on an elephant. The local people also are very friendly and almost every night we had the oportunity to watch traditional dancing. Youd love africa. The most excited part of the holiday was the hot-air baloon safari last week. It was amazing! We floated quietly above all these teams of wild animals. The scenery absolutely was breathtaking! I have never seen nothing like it before. As soon as I will get back, Ill phone you and tell you all about it. Till then, take care.

Love, Fiona

2. Read the letter below and put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense Dear Gemma, Remember I (tell) you that as part of my college course I would have to spend some time on a farm? Well, I (arrive) here two days ago and have been spending my time learning lots of new things. Yesterday I (learn) to milk a cow. I (sit) down, (put) the bucket under the cow and (fill) it with milk, then (watch) as the cow (kick) the bucket over. I bet the farmer (see) that happen plenty of times to the students he (teach)! Another thing I (learn) to do is drive a tractor, which I (find) really easy its just like driving a car. This morning I (get) up at 6.00 a.m and (feed) all the animals. I also (collect) fresh eggs from the hen house. Staying on the farm is a wonderful experience, and I (enjoy) every minute of it, though being a farmer is certainly a much harder job than I (think) it was! Fancy joining me next time I come? Love, Sue 3. Read the following letter and replace the underlined formal phrases with more appropriate informal ones Dear Mum, I felt obliged to write to inform you how everything is going here in Spain since I started university. Please accept my sincere apologies for not writing sooner but Ive been so busy I really havent had a suitable opportunity. I managed to find a nice place to live. Its a small flat just around the corner from the university. Im sharing the flat with a girl called Anita who seems really nice and has been here for a year. I have become familiar with my surroundings and have been practising my Spanish, which is improving considerably every day. I hope to return home for Christmas once the examinations are over. It will be wonderful to see everyone again. I do get homesick, you know. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours sincerely, Julie 4. Write these letters in the appropriate style A. Last week your colleagues at the office threw a surprise party to celebrate your promotion. Write a letter to a friend telling him/her about the party. B. You have been on holiday abroad for a week. Write a letter your parents describing your holiday so far.

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