67 Expressions for Quicker & Better English Emails
Do you take too long writing English emails at work?
Do you wish you could write emails in English quicker so that you can dedicate more time to other tasks?
Email has become an inevitable part of everyday life.
And for non-natives, writing English emails quickly and correctly can be challenging, due to time constraints and little margin for error.
English emails for work don’t always have to be formal, but they do have to be professional. Which means being objective, polite, and accurate with spelling and grammar.
In this article, we will explore the main challenges non-native speakers face with English emails, and how to overcome these challenges by taking advantage of stock expressions.
3 Challenges Non-Native Speakers Face When Writing English Emails
There are 3 common challenges non-native speakers face when writing English emails:
1. The introduction – taking too long to start the email and express the reason why you are writing.
2. Sentence structure – choosing the right expression for certain functions, (opening phrases, clarification, updates, closing phrase, etc), and structuring these phrases correctly.
3. Writing with the correct degree of formality – formal, semi-formal, or informal.
While there is no magic formula for writing quick and correct English emails, having a collection of stock expressions or templates speeds up the process and reduces mistakes.
I recommend saving a list of email expressions divided into topics and functions on your computer or in the Cloud, such as Google Drive.
When you have to write an English email, simply copy and paste the expressions aligned with what you want to say. Then adapt them to personalize your message.
Here’s an example:
Email with stock expressions:
Dear… (opening phrase)
I am writing in reference to…. (Expressing “reason for writing”)
As agreed, we will schedule the XYZ delivery between… (expression for “confirming”)
If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know. (Expression for “closing”)
Best regards, (Expression for “ending”)
Edited email:
Dear Andrew,
I am writing in reference to the delivery in Shanghai next month.
As agreed, we will schedule the iron ore delivery between 8 and 12 pm, on 5th June.
If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know.
Best regards,
Fernando
To help you start building your stock expressions, I’m giving you 67 expressions that you can copy, paste, and adapt to your emails.
67 Expressions for Quicker and Better English Emails
For better organization, you will find the 67 expressions categorized by topics. Topics are divided by the beginning, middle, and end sections of an email. Within each topic, the expressions are in order of formality (1st – more formal. Last – more informal).
All expressions are suitable to use in a work/business context.
Beginning Section
Opening the email
1. To whom it may concern: (Use a colon after this phrase. Not a comma.)
2. Dear Sir/Madam,
3. Dear John,
4. Hi John,
Thanking the recipient
5. Thank you for your prompt reply.
6. Thanks for your email.
7. Thanks for the update.
8. Thanks for getting back to me.
Reasons for writing
9. I am writing with regard… to my purchase of… / to the complaint you made yesterday.
10. I am writing to… apply for the position of… / to ask for further information about…
11. I am writing to inquire about… (note: “inquire” is more common in American English)
12. I am writing in reference to…
13. Just a quick note to tell you that…
14. I wanted to… let you know that… / tell you about… / ask you if…
Check out these other posts about improving your English:
5 Recommended Apps for English Learners with Intermediate to Advanced Levels
5 Phrases to Avoid for Confident Spoken English
6 ways to Use the Present Perfect Tense in Business Situations
Middle Section
Requesting information
15. I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide me with ABC as it will help me in the report I am writing for XYZ.
16. Could you kindly let me know whether you can send…?
17. This is just a friendly reminder to ask you to send…
18. Could you please send me…?
19. Could you send me…?
20. Is there any chance you could send me…?
Status updates
21. The purpose of this email is to update you on the status of the packaging for your product…
22. I am pleased to inform you that your order is ready.
23. I’m contacting you regarding the analyst position…
24. I’m writing to let you know about sales results for this quarter…
25. I wanted to update you on…
26. I have some information for you about…
Apologizing
27. We would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.
28. Please accept our apologies for…
29. We are extremely sorry for…
30. I’m afraid I will not be able to attend the opening day due to…
31. Apologies for taking a long time to get back to you.
32. I’m sorry for the delay.
33. I’m sorry, but I can’t make it to the meeting.
Asking for clarification
34. I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean by XYZ. Could you please provide more details?
35. Regarding the new proposal, are you saying that we should omit the free add-ons?
36. Thanks for the email, David. I understand ABC, but could you please clarify what you mean concerning XYZ?
37. Everything’s clear on ABC, but you’ve lost me on XYZ. Any additional information would be greatly appreciated.
Confirming
38. As agreed, we will schedule the XYZ delivery between 9 and 11 am.
39. I’m just writing to confirm the time of our meeting…
Praising Performance
40. Thank you very much for taking the initiative to find a solution to the problem.
41. You can take pride in the work you have put into this project.
42. You have made a great contribution to the project.
43. The design work you did for the site was outstanding.
Congratulating somebody on a new job or position
44. I hear congratulations are in order.
45. I just heard you got the Manager’s job. Congratulations on the new position.
46. Congratulations on getting the new Manager position.
47. Well done for getting promoted.
Good luck wishes
48. I’d like to wish you all the best for…
49. I hope everything goes well with…
50. Good luck with…
End Section
Closing remarks
51. I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
52. If you require any further information, feel free to contact me.
53. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know.
54. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
55. I look forward to meeting you again next week.
56. Please let me know if you have any questions.
57. Let me know if you need anything else.
Ending the email
58. Sincerely,
59. Regards,
60. Best regards,
61. Kind regards,
62. Warm regards,
63. Best wishes,
64. All the best,
65. Best,
66. Thank you,
67. Cheers, (Very informal)
3 Bonus Tips for Better English Emails
Tip #1 Use Grammarly
If you feel insecure about writing English emails, I recommend Grammarly. This is the world’s most accurate grammar checker. It’s an automated grammar editing tool that checks for 250+ types of common and advanced English grammar rules. Widely used by students of all levels, business professionals, writers/editors, teachers/educators, job seekers, and English language learners. Click here for a free account.
Tip #2 Store old emails
You probably write a large chunk of emails with a similar purpose. Therefore, it makes sense to store your emails in an organized way for future use. When you need to write a related email, just copy, paste, and adapt, which will save you time.
Tip #3 Keep on building your stock expressions
You will frequently come across new expressions, particularly when receiving emails from other people. If you see a phrase that you think you could use in the future, copy it to your stock list.
And if you’re saying to yourself…
“I want to actually know these common email expressions. I don’t want to just copy and paste them.”
Well, this is a fair point because you should be constantly improving your email writing.
Another advantage of using stock expressions is the more you see and use them, the more likely you will remember them.
Using stock expressions also helps you to avoid getting into bad writing habits. Often non-native speakers write similar kinds of emails, using the same incorrect phrases, without realizing they are writing in the wrong way. This is how bad writing habits are formed.
Conclusion
If you are looking to write more professional and faster emails, having a list of stock expressions will help you achieve this.
Take action now and start building your stock expressions today.
