Sending an email to a colleague, to an acquaintance or a superior; all of these require a different grammatical style: informal or formal. Below are a few tips to help you effectively communicate via email in English.

Formal emails:

Use formal language and grammar, such as not using contractions or first names, when corresponding with people you do not know well (yet).
Adapt your salutation and closing as well:

Very formal

• Dear + Ms/Mr + surname,
• Best regards/Yours sincerely,

Formal

• Dear/Hello + Ms/Mr + surname,
• Kind regards,

Informal emails:

Use informal language and grammar, such as contractions and first names, when corresponding with people you know well or with those who address you informally.
Adapt your salutation and closing as well:

Informal

• Hello + first name,
• Kind regards/Regards,

Very informal

• Hi + first name,
• Regards,

 

 

 

More tips

• Emails: Frequently used sentenced in English
• Short Story: The Metro
• 5 Reading Tips to improve your English