Situation: You recently had a party at your house and your next-door neighbour rang up in the middle to complain about the noise. Write a letter of apology.
Dear Mr and Mrs Smith,
My name is Sean Brown and I am your next-door neighbour. I am writing to apologise to you for disturbing your sleep last night.
My friends from Germany visited me because I had birthday yesterday. They arrived in the evening so the party started very late. I know that we could have listened to the music more quiet but we were dancing and we did not have the sense of time. We did not notice it was the middle of night till you rang me up and complained about the noise.
I am very sorry about the trouble I caused, I assure you that it will never happen again.
Yours sincerely,
Sean Brown
2. Dear Sir or Madam,
Recently I went to the exhibition titled "Art in our Town" and I must say I really enjoyed it. However, I have a few suggestions which would make the next one better organised.
First I want to say that it was a great idea to make it an annual event. I am sure I will go there next year. I had an opportunity to admire different works of art, mainly sculptures, some of which were breathtaking. I was pleased to see that everything was for sale at reasonable prices. It was brilliant and I bought a few paintings.
The £3.00 entrance admission fee was too much. More people would have come if admission had been free. It was also a bad choice to have the exhibition at the Town Hall because there was too little space for people. Also I cannot agree with one statement given in the announcement: that over 250 works of art were excellent. Unfortunately some of them were quite mundane.
I hope my suggestions will be considered by you and the organisation of the Exhibition will be much better next year.
Yours faithfully,
John Brown
3. Situation: You had a very bad meal at a restaurant recently. Write a letter complaining about the food and the service.
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to complain about the food and the service in your restaurant.
Last Friday my friends and I came to your restaurant. We checked the menu and wanted to eat salmon. The waiter told us that there were no salmons and that we should order something else. At last we decided to eat chicken shashliks with potato chips, some sauces and cola to drink. The waiter said we would have to wait about half an hour for our meals. Unfortunately, we waited for nearly an hour as the waiter forgot about our order. Moreover, the waiter misunderstood and instead of chicken he gave us beef shashliks which we did not like at all. What is more, the beef and potato chips were quite cold and underdone. We did not eat it but had to pay. We promised not to come back to that restaurant and so did our friends. It was very unsatisfying as we have often eaten there before and your service and food was excellent.
I suggest that you return to that excellent service and food. I also think that returning our money would be the best way to solve this problem.
Jan Kowalski
4Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to you to clarify one important matter. I hope you will understand me and that you will be able to cancel my punishment, which I am going to write about now.
Last Monday on 7th November, me and my friend were coming back from the University. Since she had some books in her hands, I took her ticket to punch it. I also had my ticket in the other hand. We were talking while getting on the bus and I only punched her ticket and gave it to her, but I forgot to punch mine. I realized that when I saw ticket inspectors at the bus stop. I wanted to punch my ticket but unfortunately it was too late because all the ticket punchers had already been blocked. The ticket inspector considered me as a fare dodger so he wrote down my personal information and fined me.
As you can see, I was going to punch my ticket but I made a mistake and forgot about it. I hope that the above clarifies all points so I would be very grateful if you could cancel that penalty procedure.
I look forward to hearing from you and I would appreciate an early reply. Should any further questions arise, please contact me on 0-12-34-56.
Jan Nowak
5. I am writing in response to the notice I saw at my college last week. I am interested in working on the mentioned project, however I have some questions regarding it.
First, what interests me the most is the place I will stay at. I do not want to be far away from my family town as I need to visit my parents. Is it possible to choose the city? If not, where exactly will I live and for how long? I would also like to know whether I could work with my friends or not and how much pocket money I would get.
I can offer help in organizing trips on vacation for poor children as I am already experienced in such activities. I worked with young people last year. I will be available anytime for the whole of July. Nonetheless, please let me know about the working hours since I would like to plan my vacation as soon as possible.
Should you have any questions, contact me on 5-12-34-56. I would appreciate an early reply.
6. I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction about the report concerning the last performance of the Black Knight Medieval Society. Its aim is to criticize the display in general as well as exaggerate all negative details of it. However, the author omitted the reason of the failure he focused on.
Firstly, one of such information is that there were few watchers from which majority were fussy about most activities. What denies such a statement are lots of e-mails from people who were satisfied with it and called it a great day. Unfortunately, not everyone had enough space to park so they left. The report also informs that the younger generation was weary during the display of archery practice, while they found it highly absorbing.
Another point is an untrue message about the lack safety measures. The author of this text must have not acquainted with our advertisement which notifies about being a member of NAHS and meeting safety requirements.
The last matter concerns writing that the dancing display did not attract visitors and that a few people complained about too little number of demonstrations of traditional cookery and craft skills. I cannot agree with that as people writing e-mails were fascinated about the music and dancing. Besides, there was too little space to display all exhibitions we planned.
Considering all issues above, it would be highly appreciated if you could print amended article with accurate information. Should you have any more questions, please call me at 5-12-34-56.
I look forward to your reply.
Yours Faithfully,
Black Knight Society
7.
I am writing in response to your advertisement in Tuesday's edition of "Gazeta Olsztyńska". I read about your need for a receptionist at your language school and I would like to apply for that position.
As a graduate student of English at University of Warmia and Mazury, I am fluent in both spoken and written language, what can also be proved by passing CPE last month. I specialize in translations, however I have also had the opportunity to teach children. Additionally, during the gap year I was employed in a restaurant and a hotel in Wales what helped me improve my English. Friendly relationships with others, mostly as a hotel receptionist, will come in useful in that job as well.
I am confident that the proper qualifications and employment background I possess are appropriate for the post you offer. Thanks to my previous occupations I am adept at dealing with difficult customers and used to working under pressure. I am an industrious person who is a perfectionist in every situation. I also acquire the necessary IT skills as I have been working on computers for the last few years. My knowledge of Microsoft Office is advanced and I am still developing my practical skills.
Should my application interest you, my enclosed resume will provide you in further information. I am available for interview at any time convenient to you since the beginning of August.
I appreciate your time and consideration of my request and I look forward to hearing from you.
Joanna Kowalska
8. W lewym górnym rogu, kilka linijek pod Twoim adresem, wpisz adres odbiorcy. (Nie jest to konieczne)
Pisząc datę użyj formatu: 15th January, 2005 (albo January 15th, 2005).
W przypadku listów formalnych należy wyjątkowo dbać o odpowiedni styl.
Rozpocznij list słowami w stylu: Dear Sir/Madam - wybierz odpowiednią formę albo napisz całość, jeśli nie wiesz jakiej płci jest adresat.
Wytłumacz w jakiej sprawie piszesz.
Nie używaj form ściągniętych, np. "I'm" zamiast "I am".
Nie używaj phrasal verbs, ponieważ są one stosowane w języku potocznym.
W przypadku pytań należy pamiętać o formie grzecznościowej, zaczynając np. od "Could you please...?" (Czy mógłby Pan...?).
Listy formalne pisane są w różnych sytuacjach. Może to być prośba, skarga czy podanie o pracę. W każdym przypadku stosowane są odpowiednie wyrażenia.
Na początku możesz użyć zwrotów w stylu: I am writing to complain about (Piszę aby złożyć skargę w sprawie), We are sorry to have to inform you that (Przykro nam poinformować Pana, że), I am sorry to inform you that (Przykro mi informować, że), I would be grateful if you could (Byłbym wdzięczny gdybyś), I would like to have further information about (Chciałbym dowiedzieć się szczegółowych informacji o) itp.
Na zakończenie możesz użyć zwrotów w stylu: I would appreciate an early reply (Byłbym wdzięczny za szybką odpowiedź), Yours sincerely (Z poważaniem), With kindest regards (Łączę najserdeczniejsze pozdrowienia) itp.
Podpis powinien znajdować się bezpośrednio pod zwrotem pożegnalnym.
9. Situation: An English friend of yours is going to take an important examination soon. Write a letter wishing your friend good luck and offering any advice you can.
My dearest Magda,
I was glad to read the news about you in your last letter. Finally I have time to reply to it, sorry that you had to wait for it for such a long time.
From your letter I know that you'll take an important examination in geography next month. I'm sure you'll get an A as I already know that it's one of your favourite subjects. You also told me once that you have very good notes so there's no possibility that you'll fail. Cheer up and don't worry. However, if you have some problems in geography, you can be sure that I'll give you any advice you want. You can always rely on me.
That's all for now. I wish you good luck on that exam and I hope that you'll let me know about the results as soon as possible.
Best wishes,
Marta
10. What's up! Thanks for your last letter and your Sunday's call. It was really nice to hear you after such a long time.
You wanted to know how I'm getting on... Well, there's nothing new besides one thing. You already know I'm defending my master's thesis in June but you know what else? I'm having an FCE exam at nearly the same time! However, I wish I would be able to defend master's thesis on the first possible date, and from what I've heard today, it's fixed on 10th June. OK, let's leave me for a moment.
What about you? Do you enjoy your new life in Cardiff? Do you still have the same job or maybe you've found a better one? I hope we'll meet when you come to Olsztyn in May so that you could tell me all the details about your job, new friends, that city etc. We'll also have to talk over my visit at your place on holidays. I can't wait to see London and Cardiff, I've always dreamt of that trip.
That's all for now. I hope to see you soon, so let me know when exactly you are coming to Poland. Hit me back when you have some free time.
Love,
11. Situation: An English friend of yours is planning to spend a week touring your country and has asked for your advice on what to see and do. Write a letter giving your friend practical information which you think will be helpful.
Dear Alex,
At first I want to thank you for your last letter and for the marvelous news that you're going to tour Poland. I'm very sorry for the delay in answering but I've had a hectic time preparing to some exams.
You asked me what is worth seeing in Poland. I'd enjoy the time spending with you and I'd show you the Old Town and the Castle in my city. We'd go play bowling or billiards and then go shopping. The next day we'd visit some towns like Gietrzwałd or Święta Lipka. I'd show you some interesting monuments and beautiful landscapes. If there is enough time, we'd also go to Toruń which is gorgeous. There is a big planetarium so we'd see the demonstration.
Well, that's all for now. Let me know in you next letter what you've decided.
12. Dear Anna,
Thank you for the postcard. I was so glad to hear you had a wonderful time in Italy. I've been there few times so I know it's a wonderful place. I'm sorry I haven't written to you for such a long time but I went to the Czech Republic for a week. Before that I had had a hectic time planning my trip which was very spontaneous, as it was planned in the very last moment.
To start with, we were driving to Prague for one day. After arrival to Luna Hotel in the morning and taking some rest, we visited Karlove Vary. We have seen countless of interesting places and I don't even remember all names. One of the most interesting buildings was the Cathedral of St. Barbara. The architectural beauty was seen from outside as well as from inside. I was worn out after the whole day of sightseeing so I went to bed at once.
The next day we visited Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. It is one of the most interesting places I have ever been to. I loved the architecture of the buildings, which were decorated with many patterns. It just looked glorious to me. I expected Prague to look much different and I saw that this is a very rich city. However, you can find there some restaurants where you don't have to pay much for dinner.
The third day we visited one of the districts of Prague, Hradczany. The weather was very gloomy that day but I had an umbrella in case of rain so it didn't disturb me much. We had a chance to see the change of the guard and some more beautiful cathedrals. Then we had some free time in Prague so finally we could go shopping. Unfortunately the prices of clothes were too high for me so I only bought gifts for my family. We had a meeting at 7 p.m. and we set out to Poland. I was at home the next day at about 4 p.m. It was worth seeing Prague and I would like to come back there any time.
If you ever have opportunity to visit Prague, do not even think it over too long and just go there. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
P.S. I'm sending you some pictures as attachments, I bet you'll like it.
Komentarze
13. ear Gosia,
Thanks for your last letter. It was nice to hear from you and to read what you've already planned for our meeting. But you know, I have a few more questions about it.
You've written that it's not too expensive to find me a place to study, but how much would it be approximately? I can't wait for the trips you've mentioned. My bags will probably be full of clothes, so maybe you could suggest what I should pack. After all, you're the one experienced in such trips. Do I need to bring any equipment with me to go sailing and camping? I'm afraid I don't have any.
As for the foods, don't trouble your mum to prepare anything special for me. I'll eat whatever she'll make. But anyway, there's one more thing. We haven't exchanged our photos yet so why don't we do it now? It would be difficult to recognize each other only having a description of our appearance. You'll find my photo in the envelope and I'm waiting for yours.
I can't wait to see you. Write back when you have time.
Lots of love,
Nashea2