Asking for Information & Bussiness Letter

Asking for information

Sometimes you want to ask English people for information. In English it is not very polite to start a conversation with a direct question. For this reason we have a number of phras

Ten Expressions to Use In Speaking And Writing

1.    Can you tell me...?

2.    Could you tell me...?

3.    I'd like to know...

4.    D'you know...

5.    (Got / Have you) any idea...?

6.    Could anyone tell me...?

7.    (Do / Would) you happen to know...?

8.    I don't suppose you (would) know...?

9.    I wonder if you could tell me...?

10. I wonder if someone could tell me...?

How To Use These Phrases In Your English

1.    Phrases 1 - 10 are all followed by indirect questions. So 'What's the time?' becomes 'Can you tell me what the time is?'.

2.    Phrase 2 is a little more formal and polite than phrase 1.

3.    Phrases 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are polite and are good to use if you are asking a stranger or you are asking at a public information desk.

4.    Phrase 4 is more informal.

5.    Phrases 5 and 7 are more informal if you say them with out the part in () brackets.

6.    Phrases 9 and 10 are very formal and in an informal situation some people may react strangely if they think that you are being sarcastic.

7.    By using phrases 1 to 10, we make it easier for the listener to say 'Sorry I don't know'.

Giving personal information in English

Sometimes people ask you for personal details, such as name, address and date of birth. Here are some typical questions and ways you can answer.
Question words
Who (asks for a name or person)
Whose (asks about the owner)
Why (asks for a reason)
Where (asks for a place)
What (asks about a thing or a concept)
Which (asks about a thing)
When (asks for a time)
How (asks about the way something happens)
(Also "how much" / "how many" to ask about quantity; "how long" to ask about duration; "how often" to ask about frequency.)
Remember the word order of questions:
(1. Question word – optional)
2. Auxiliary do / does; verb to be
3. Subject
4. Verb + complement
(1)Where (2)do (2)you (4)live?
(1)What (2)is (3)your name?
(2)Do (3)you (4)like reading?
If there is no question word, the question starts with the auxiliary. The answer to a question like this is "yes" or "no".

Typical questions

1. What's your name?
(Give your first name then surname: "My name's Susan Harris" or "I'm Susan Harris".)
What's your first name?
– Susan
What's your surname / family name / second name?
– Harris
On a form, you can often see abbreviations before your surname.
Mr (for a man)
Mrs / Miss / Ms (for a woman: Mrs shows you are married, Miss shows you are single, Ms is if you'd prefer not to show your marital status – the female equivalent of Mr)
Dr (to show the person is a medical doctor or has a PhD)
2. What's your date of birth?
It's (day – month – year: "It's the second of July, 1980".)
Or:
When were you born?
("On the second of July, 1980".)
You can write 2 July 1980 or July 2, 1980. But when you say the date, use ordinal numbers:
1 – the first
2 – the second
3 – the third
4 – the fourth
5 – the fifth
6 – the sixth
7 – the seventh
8 – the eighth
9 – the ninth
10 – the tenth
11 – the eleventh
12 – the twelfth
…
20 – the twentieth
21 – the twenty-first
…
Either "the second of July, 1980" or "July the second, 1980".
3. What's your marital status?
I'm married / single / divorced / widowed
Or:
Are you married?
4. What's your address?
Or:
Where do you live?
(Give the full address)
Name of the house (if there is one)
Street number and name
Town or city
County and Postcode
Country
For example:

Rose Cottage
20, London Road
St Albans
Herts AL9 2RS
England

BUSSINESS LETTERS

Business Letter Formats

There are certain standards for formatting a business letter, though some variations are acceptable (for example between European and North American business letters). Here are some basic guidelines:

• Use A4 (European) or 8.5 x 11 inch (North American) paper or letterhead
• Use 2.5 cm or 1 inch margins on all four sides
• Use a simple font such as Times New Roman or Arial
• Use 10 to 12 point font
• Use a comma after the salutation (Dear Mr Bond,)
• Lay out the letter so that it fits the paper appropriately
• Single space within paragraphs
• Double space between paragraphs
• Double space between last sentence and closing (Sincerely, Best wishes)
• Leave three to fives spaces for a handwritten signature
• cc: (meaning "copies to") comes after the typed name (if necessary)
• enc: (meaning "enclosure") comes next (if necessary)
• Fold in three (horizontally) before placing in the envelope
• Use right ragged formatting (not justified on right side)

Formatting Business Letters

Block format is the most common format used in business today. With this format, nothing is centred. The sender's address, the recipient's address, the date and all new paragraphs begin at the left margin, like this:

Wicked Wax Co. Ltd 22 Charlton Way London, SE10 8QY	SENDER'S ADDRESS may be printed company logo and address
11th January, 2016	DATE
Ms. Maggie Jones Angel Cosmetics Inc. 110 East 25th Street New York, NY, 10021 USA	RECIPIENT'S ADDRESS
Your ref: 123 Our ref: abc	RECIPIENT'S REFERENCE (IF ANY) SENDER'S REFERENCE (IF ANY)
Dear Ms. Jones,	SALUTATION
Forthcoming Exhibition	SUBJECT
First paragraph... Second para... Third para...	BODY OF LETTER
Yours sincerely,	CLOSING
Morris Howard	SIGNATURE (HAND-WRITTEN)
Morris Howard, President	NAME (TYPED), TITLE
cc: Brian Waldorf	COPY TO
Enc: catalogue	ENCLOSURE

This are other, slightly different ways of formatting a business letter, where for example paragraphs are indented or the date is typed on the right hand side. You can see examples of these in the sample letters.

Formatting Envelopes for Business Letters

It is best to type an envelope for a business letter. Most word document programs contain an envelope labelling function to help you. All you need to do is indicate the size of envelope you are using and type the correct information in the appropriate fields, for example:

Postage
stamp

Ms. Maggie Jones
Angel Cosmetics Inc.
110 East 25th Street
New York
NY 10021
USA

Formatting Business Memos

Memos are short internal business letters, sent to other staff within the same company. A memo (or memorandum) may also be posted somewhere inside a company for all to see. Memos are becoming less common as electronic mail becomes more common. In contrast to letters, memos do not usually contain salutations or closings, and may be typed or hand-written. The text portion of the memo is generally in block format. Memos should include "From", "To", "Date", "Subject" and the message itself, like this:

Company logo

MEMORANDUM

From: [name or initials]


To: [name or initials]


Date:


Subject: [short description]


Message starts here...

• often
• with
• bullet
• points

Formatting Business Email

When using email in business, most of the guidelines for standard formatting in business letters apply. Here are a few differences:

• Choose a subject line that is simple and straightforward. Refrain from using key words that might cause an email to go into another person's trash box.
• Repeat the subject line in the body of the email, beneath the salutation (as with a letter).
• Use the "cc" address line to copy more than one person with your correspondence.
• You can request a receipt for important letters. The system will automatically let you know when someone has opened your email.
• Instead of a signature, include your typed name, and below it include your email address, business name and address, phone and fax number, and website if appropriate.
• Remember that people often print out emails, so your own email address and the subject line would be lost if you had not included them in the body of the email.
• Internal electronic mail may be formatted more like a memo than a formal letter.

Business letter: the beginning

A. Your company name followed by all contact details (including address, telephone, fax, company url and email).

B. Recipient’s address (including their name and title if you know it).

C. Date on the right- or left-hand side of the page.

D. If required, add the file references, both yours and the recipient’s (use ‘Ref’as an abbreviation for ‘reference’).

Business letter : the content

E. The greeting.

Casual: Dear [first name and surname]
Formal: Dear Mr [surname], for a man, or Dear Ms [surname] for a woman. If you don’t know the name of the recipient, use Dear Sir or Madam or Dear Sir/Madam.

F. Stating the subject of the letter using Re (used as an abbreviation for regarding).

G. Here are some options for starting your letter:

I would like to enquire about (or whether) …
I am writing regarding …
I am writing in response to …
I am writing to inform you that/of …
I am writing to complain about …
Further to my letter of 15th May…

H. The details of the letter are to be added at this point.

Business letter: the end

I. Here are expressions you can use to end a business letter.

Please let me know if …
I look forward to receiving your reply.
Thank you in advance for your help.
I would be most grateful if you could inform me …

J. For a casual ending, use Regards or Best wishes. A formal ending (if you know the recipient), use Sincerely or Yours sincerely. A formal ending (if you don’t know the recipient): Yours truly orYours faithfully.

K.
pp: indicates the letter was signed on behalf of someone else
cc: these people have received a copy of the letter
enc: documents are enclosed with this letter