Formal and informal vocabulary are used differently in letters depending on whether they are being sent to acquaintances or professionals. Formal letters, such as requests or inquiries, use respectful language and focus on structured topics like recalling past discussions or proposing next steps. Informal letters between friends or family have a casual, friendly tone and suggest meeting up or discuss personal news rather than professional matters.

1. FORMAL vs INFORMAL VOCABULARY
Formal and informal vocabulary in writing letters.
Formal letters are requests, applications, enquiries etc. sent to people or
organisations.
The tone is respectful and the letter is structured.
Informal letters are sent to friends and relatives. The tone is casual and
friendly.
FORMAL INFORMAL
Beginning
Ending
▪Dear Sir/Madam / Dear Mr/Ms
Brown
▪Yours faithfully / Yours sincerely
▪Dear Mark/Laura
▪Best/kind regards
Reason for
writing
▪I am writing
-with regard to …
-to request
-to enquire about …
-to inform you that…
-in response to …
▪This is a short note
-to thank you
-to apologise
-to mention
▪I thought you might like to
know that …
Recalling
facts
▪As you may recall, we recently
discussed the possibility of …
▪As you know, our company is
interested in …
▪As you know, we talked
about…
▪You probably remember our
recent conversation about ...
What you
propose
▪In order to develop this idea
▪To allow us to take the matter
further, may I suggest that..
▪To enable us to move forward on
this, we would like to propose …
▪I/we/our firm would be pleased to …
▪If you agree, we could …
▪It might be a good idea to
…
▪What I suggest is …
▪One /another possibility
would be to …
Further
contact
▪Please do not hesitate to contact us if
you require further details / more
information.
▪We would be happy to provide more
detailed information.
▪Feel free to contact me at
any time for more details.
▪Let me know how you feel
about my suggestion.
Signing off ▪We would be pleased to have an
opportunity to work with your firm.
▪I look forward to hearing from you.
▪We could discuss this over
lunch one day.
▪Hope to hear from you soon.