Writing business emails can be time-consuming, but learning some useful phrases will save you lots of time. In this post, you will find over 150 useful email phrases to help you make your emails more varied and rich. We've divided them into three main categories: opening lines to start your email, body lines to convey the message, and closing lines to finish off.
You can also download our free guide How to write professional emails in English, for more phrases, psychology-backed tips and strategies to get more responses to your emails, templates to save time, and examples to avoid miscommunication at work.
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#1 Opening Lines |
#2 Body Lines |
#3 Closing Lines |
Before we start, below is a quick template you can use for your professional emails. Following a stantardinzed email template and a few easy email tips will help your readers follow your message easier. Business email messages should be structured and to the point. The easier it is for your reader to understand your email, the likely they will be to act on it. Here's a simple email writing format you can steal:
#1 Opening Lines
If you are looking for ideas for your email opening and email greetings, here you have different types of opening sentences.
1.a Being social
An email starting line will help you sound more friendly and social. "I hope this email finds you well' should be the opening phrase in emails... But not always. Here are some alternative email greeting lines:
- I hope this email finds you well.
- I hope you had a good weekend.
- I hope you had a great trip.
- Hope you had a nice break.
- I hope you are well.
- I hope all is well.
- Hope you're enjoying your holiday.
- I hope you enjoyed the event.
- I'm glad we had a chance to chat at the convention.
- It was great to see you on Thursday.
- It was a pleasure to meet you yesterday.
1.b Reason of the email
Tell them why you're writing this email.
- I am writing to you about our last meeting/your presentation yesterday/our next event.
- I am writing to you with regards to/regarding/concerning/in connection with...
- I am writing to ask/enquire/let you know/confirm/check/invite you to/to update you on/ask for a favor...
- I am writing you to follow up on...
- I am contacting you to inform...
- I am reaching out because...
- This is just a quick note to...
- This is just a quick reminder...
- I wanted to let you know that...
- Might I take a moment of your time to... (very formal)
- It's [Your Name] from [Your Company].
- This email is just to let you know that...
1.c Replying
- I just got your request for...
- I just read your email about...
- As we discussed, I would like to send you...
- Thank you for your email about...
- Thanks for your email this morning/yesterday/on Wednesday/last month...
- Thanks for your feedback on/your invitation/your suggestion
- Thanks for sending/asking about/attending
- Thanks for your quick reply.
- Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
- Thank you for reaching out (to me).
1.d Apologizing
- Sorry for my late reply.
- Sorry that it took me so long to get back to you.
- I apologize for the late response.
- Sorry it’s been so long since my last email.
- I was sorry to hear about...
- Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Keep reading: How To Start An Email - 45 Great Ways To Do It
#2 Body Lines
2.a Attachments and information
- I’ve attached…
- Please find [file] attached.
- I'm enclosing [file].
- Please see the information below for more details about...
- The parts in bold/in red/in blue are my comments/are the changes we made.
- Here's the document that you asked for,
- I’ve attached [file] for your review.
- I'm sending you [file] as a pdf file.
- The attached file contains...
- Could you please sign the attached form and send it back to us by [date]?
- Here’s the [document] we discussed.
- [file] is attached.
- Please take a look at the attached file.
- Take a look at the [file] I've attached to this email.
- I've attached [file].
- More information is available at www.talaera.com.
- Please note that...
1.b Requests and inquiries
- Could you please...?
- Could you possibly tell me...?
- Can you please fill out this form?
- I'd really appreciate it if you could...
- I'd be very grateful if you could...
- It would be very helpful if you could send us/me...
- I was wondering if you could/if you would be able to...
- If possible, I'd like to know (more) about...
- Please find my two main questions below.
2.c Asking for clarifications
- I didn't/don't fully understand [something]. Could you please explain that again?
- I didn't quite get your point about [something]. Could you be more specific?
- Could you repeat what you said about...?
- Could you give us some more details on...?
- If you could please shed some light on this topic, I would really appreciate it.
- Could you please clarify [something]?
- Could you please clarify when you would like us to finish this?
- When exactly are you expecting to have this feature?
- Here are the details on...
- Could you please clarify what you would like us to do about...?
- If I understood you correctly, you would like me to...
- What exactly do you mean by [something]?
- Could you explain what you mean by [something]?
- In other words, would you like us to...
2.d Sharing information
Use these helpful phrases when need to give or receive some information (or when you already did).
- Thank you for letting me know.
- Thank you for the heads up.
- Thank you for the notice.
- Please note...
- Quick reminder...
- Just a quick/friendly reminder that...
- Thank you for sharing.
- I'd like to inform you that...
- Just a quick heads up -
- Thanks for keeping me in the loop.
- Please keep me informed/posted/updated/in the loop.
2.e Getting and giving approval
If you're looking for a few please let me know synonyms, this section will help.
- Please let me know if this is OK with you.
- Please let me know what you think.
- What are your thoughts (on this)?
- What do you think?
- We just need the thumbs up/the green light. (=we're waiting for approval)
- You (totally) have the green light!
- Please guide me in this regard.
- He approved of it, so you can go ahead with the project.
2.f Scheduling
- I'd like to schedule a meeting on [day] if you are available/free then.
- I am available on [day], if that's convenient for you.
- Would you be available on [day]? If so, I'll send you an invite shortly.
- Can you make it on [day]? If so, I'll book accordingly.
- I'm afraid I can't make it on [day]. How about...?
- (Due to...) I'm afraid we need to reschedule/delay/postpone/put back/cancel/call off/move/rearrange our meeting.
- We are sorry to inform you that the interview/meeting scheduled for [day] will have to be rescheduled.
2.g Giving bad news
- Unfortunately, ...
- Unfortunately, we cannot/we are unable to ...
- I'm afraid it will not be possible to...
- Unfortunately, I have to tell you that...
- I'm afraid that we can't...
- We regret to inform you that...
- I regret to inform you that (due to...) ...
- After careful consideration, we have decided (not) to ...
- Due to [reason], it won't be possible to...
- It's against company policy to...
- I tried my best, but...
- Despite my best efforts, ...
- I can't see how...
- I'm sorry but it's out of my hands.
- I'm afraid I won't be able to...
- I'm sorry to tell you that...
#3 Closing Lines
3.a When something is expected
Do you need a reply? Are you asking for a favor or you are meeting soon? These sentences are perfect for those moments!
- Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
- I look forward to hearing from you soon.
- Please let me know if this works/if you are available/if that sounds good/if you can/if you can help/if you need to reschedule...
- I look forward to seeing/meeting you.
- See you on Thursday/next week.
- Thanks.
- Thank you in advance.
- Thank you for everything.
- Cheers.
- Any feedback you can give me on this would be greatly/highly/much appreciated.
- If you could have it ready by tomorrow/the end of next week, I would really appreciate it.
- I would appreciate your help in this matter.
3.b Offering help or information
- I hope you find this helpful.
- I hope it's clearer now.
- I hope that answers all your questions.
- If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know.
- Let me know if you need any help.
- For further details...
- If you have any (more) questions (about)...
- In the meantime, if you need any more information,
- If you need more information/more info/further information,
- I know that's a lot to take in, so let me know if anything I've said doesn't make sense.
- ... please do not hesitate to contact me.
- ... please feel free to contact me/to get in touch.
- ... please let me know.
- ... drop me an email/drop me a line.
3.c Apologizing (again!)
- Thank you for your understanding/for your patience.
- Thanks again for your understanding/for your patience.
- Once again, please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused/for the inconvenience caused/for the delay/for the misunderstanding.
- I hope this is okay with you.
- I really hope we can find a solution soon.
- I hope you can understand.
- Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
3.d Friendly ways to say 'bye'
- Best regards,
- All the best,
- Best wishes,
- Cheers, (*common in the UK and Australia, informal in other countries)
- Have a great weekend!
- Have a wonderful day!
Keep Improving Your Business Emails
Continue improving your communication skills for professional situations and enrich your mail conversations - get in touch with Talaera. If you wish to take your professional English communication skills to the next level, explore our free resources.
- 'Stay safe' - How to Send Actually Genuine Emails During the Pandemic
- 8 Great Idioms To Enhance Your Professional Emails
- 5 Easy Tips To Improve Your Writing Skills - Start With Your Business Emails
- How To Write Clear Emails With These 4 Practical Concise Writing Tips
- 100 Business Abbreviations That Will Make You Look Like An Expert
- 12 Relatable Tweets That Sum Up How We Feel About Professional Emails
- The Anatomy of Excellent Business Storytelling
- 32 Important Best Practices To Streamline Your Slack Communication
- The Best Comprehensive Guide To Time and Dates in English
For any additional information or questions, you can also reach out at hello@talaera.com. Interested in getting the best offers and receiving free content on Business English communication? Subscribe to our newsletter and we will keep you in the loop with offers, free events, and development materials!
[Article originally posted in December 2018 and updated to ensure you read relevant content.]
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