Informal letters

• Start the letter with Dear and the person’s first name.
• We sometimes start the letter be asking how the person is.
• Divide the letter into short paragraphs, each with its own topic.
• We can use colloquial words and phrases.
• We can use contractions.
• We can end the letter with an expression like Write soon, Best wishes, or Take care, and your first name. if we know the person well, we can use Love, Lots of love or With love from.
• Use P.S. to add extra information or ask a question at the end of the letter.

Dear Clare,

How are the things? It was great to see you during the holidays and thanks for showing me all the sights of York. I had a fantastic time.

I started university in Prague last week. There’s so much information and so many new people to meet. I think the course is going to be really interesting and I’m sure I’ll have a lot of fun here.

How is your new job? Are you enjoying it? It must be really nice to be earning some money. I’m going to try to get a part-time job while I’m studying here. A bit of extra cash will be really useful. There’s a bookshop in the city centre that’s advertising for staff so I might go there and have a chat with them.

Well, I’ve got to get back to the books. Write soon.

Best wishes,

Kuba

P.S. Are you going to come and visit me next year?

Dear John,

Thanks for your letter. It was great to hear from you and to hear about your skiing trip. I’m glad you had a good time!

I’ve taken so long to write back because I’ve been busy studying for my exams. They are over now, and I think I’ve passed everything, except physics, of course.

How about you? Have you finished your exams yet? Perhaps we can get together when school finishes. If you want to come down to Bristol for a weekend in July, it would be great to see you. Tell me what you think.

The only other news is that my brother Andrew has got a new girlfriend. She’s quite nice actually, and I think we’re going to get on really well.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Please write me soon and tell when you can come and visit.

Best wishes,

Jane

P.S. If you can’t come to Bristol, I don’t mind travelling up to Manchester.