BUSINESS ENGLISH VOCABULARY

Writing Business Letters

General Guidelines
If writing a business letter takes you much longer than in your own language,
here are a few guidelines that you may find helpful.

Plan before you write.

Look up words you need before you start.

Note the points you want to make, and order them into logical paragraphs.

Tone

Names

Make sure you check the gender of the addressee (the recipient),
as well as the correct spelling of the person's name and title.

Use Ms. for women and Mr. for men.

You can use Mrs. for a woman if you are 100% sure that she is married.

Dates

Write as you would speak in a business conversation.

The tone should be friendly and polite.

To avoid any confusion, write the month instead of using numbers

(e.g. January 15th, 2012 or 15 January 2012).

Be concise and clear. The easier it is to read a letter the better.

Keep sentences and paragraphs short and simple.

Use straightforward vocabulary to avoid any misunderstanding.

Ask direct questions.

Rewrite any sentence that does not seem perfectly clear.

If the recipient is not a native English-speaker, it is preferable to avoid

words or expressions that are too technical or complicated.

Remember this word order principle

Subject

Who

Verb

Does

Object

What

Manner

How

Place

Where

Time

When

Example : Mr. Brown will travel by plane to London on Monday, June 5th.
A technician will install the equipment in your office on Tuesday.

Avoid old-fashioned words

Although they are used in legal documents and contracts, words like
'herewith', 'herein', 'aforementioned', etc. are rarely used in letters.
The following style of sentence is preferable :
"You will find more information on our products in the enclosed brochure."

Useful phrases and vocabulary for writing business letters

Salutation

Dear Mr. Brown

Dear Ms. White
Dear Sir
Dear Madam
Dear Sir or Madam
Gentlemen

Starting

We are writing
- to inform you that
- to confirm ...
- to request ...
- to enquire about ...
I am contacting you for the following reason...
I recently read/heard about....and would like to know
Having seen your advertisement in ..., I would like to
I would be interested in (obtaining / receiving) ...
I received your address from ____ and would like to

Referring to previous Thank you for your letter of March 15.

contact
Thank you for contacting us.
In reply to your request ...

 Thank you for your letter regarding ...

With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday...
Further to our meeting last week ...
It was a pleasure meeting you in London last month.
I enjoyed having lunch with you last week in Tokyo.
I would just like to confirm the main points we discussed on
Tuesday.

Making a request

Offering help

Giving good news

Giving bad news

Complaining

We would appreciate it if you would ...

I would be grateful if you could ...
Could you please send me ...
Could you possibly tell us / let us have ...
In addition, I would like to receive ...
It would be helpful if you could send us ...
I am interested in (obtaining / receiving) ...
I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
Please let me know what action you propose to take.
Would you like us to ...?
We would be happy to ...
We are quite willing to ...
Our company would be pleased to ...
We are pleased to announce that ...
I am delighted to inform you that ..
You will be pleased to learn that ...
We regret to inform you that ...
I'm afraid it would not be possible to ...
Unfortunately we cannot / we are unable to ...
After careful consideration we have decided (not) to ...
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ...
I am writing to complain about ...
Please note that the goods we ordered on ( date )
have not yet arrived.
We regret to inform you that our order n ----- is now
considerably overdue.
I would like to query the transport charges which seem
unusually high.

BUSINESS ENGLISH VOCABULARY

Marketing - Sales

Word

Meaning

after sales service Service that continues after the sale of a product
(maintenance, etc.)
agent

Person or company that acts for another and provides a

specified service.

B2B e-commerce

Business to business e-commerce: use of commercial

networks, online product catalogues and other online
resources to obtain better prices and reach new
customers.

B2C e-commerce

Business to consumer e-commerce:

online sale of goods and services directly to consumers.

benchmarking

Comparing one's products to those of competitors in

order to improve quality and performance.

buyer

1) Any person who makes a purchase.

2) A person employed to choose and buy stock for a
company.

cash refund offer

Offer to pay back part of the purchase price of a product

to customers who send a "proof of purchase" to the
manufacturer.

chain store

Two or more shops or outlets that have the same owner

and sell similar lines of merchandise.

client

A person who buys services or advice from a lawyer, an

accountant or other professional.

close

Finalize a sale or deal.

convenience store Small shop located near a residential area that opens
long hours, seven days a week.
coupon

Certificate that gives customers a saving when they

purchase a specific product.

deal

A business transaction.

department store A large shop or store that carries a wide variety of

product lines.
direct investment Entering a foreign market by setting up assembly or
manufacturing facilities in that country.
discount

A reduction in price.

e-commerce

Buying and selling by electronic means, primarily on the

internet.

e-marketing

Promotion of products and services over the internet.

extranet

Network that connects a company with its suppliers and

BUSINESS ENGLISH VOCABULARY

Money - Finance

Word

Meaning

A.T.M.

Automated Teller Machine; cash dispenser

banknote

Piece of paper money.

bitcoin

Digital currency which allows payments to be sent

from one party to another without going through a
financial institution.

borrow

Obtain money which must be returned.

broke (to be)

To have no money.

budget

Amount of money available or needed for a specific

use.

cash

Coins or bank notes (not cheques); actual money

paid, not credit.

cash dispenser

Automatic machine from which a bank customer can

withdraw money.

cashier

A person dealing with cash transactions in a bank,

shop, etc.

cheque / check

Written order to a pay the stated amount from one's

account.

coin

A piece of metal used as money.

currency

The money used in a country.

debt

Money owed by one person to another.

deposit

Sum or money payable as a first instalment on a

purchase;
Money placed in an account in a bank.

donate

Give money, especially to charity; make a donation.

exchange rate

The rate at which one currency can be exchanged for

another.

fee

Payment made to a professional person (doctor,

lawyer, etc.).

interest

Money paid for borrowing or investing money.

invest

To put money into a business, property, etc. in order

to earn interest or profit.

legal tender

Currency that cannot legally be refused as payment.

lend

Give or allow the use of money which must be

returned, usually with interest.

loan

Sum of money to be returned with interest.

BUSINESS ENGLISH VOCABULARY

Investments - Stock Market

Word

Meaning

Bid

The price a buyer is willing to offer for shares in a

company.

Blue Chip Stocks

Stocks of leading companies with a reputation for

stable growth and earnings.

Bond

Certificate issued by companies and governments to

their lenders.

Capital

Money and other property of companies used in

transacting the business.

Capital stock

All shares representing ownership of a company.

Commodities

Products such as agricultural products and natural

resources (wood, oil and metals) that are traded on a
separate, authorized commodities exchange.

Dividend

A portion of a companys earnings which is paid to

the shareholders/stockholders on a quarterly or
annual basis.

Equity

The value of stocks and shares; the net value of

mortgaged property. ( )

Equities

Stocks and shares which represent a portion of the

capital of a company. (
)

Futures

Contracts to buy or sell securities at a future date.

Insider

All those who have access to inside information

concerning the company.

Insider dealing /
trading

Buying or selling with the help of information known

only to those connected with the business.

IPO

Initial Public Offering - selling part of a company on

the stock market. ( )

Issue

Put into circulation a number of a company's shares

for sale.

Liabilities

The debts and obligations of a company/individual.

( )

Mortgage

Agreement by which a bank or building society lends

money for the purchase of property, such as a house
or apartment. The property is the security for the
loan.

Mutual fund

Savings fund that uses cash from a pool of savers to

buy securities such as stock, bonds or real estate.

Option

The right to buy and sell certain securities at a

BUSINESS ENGLISH VOCABULARY

Telephone
Useful telephone vocabulary and phrases in English.

Making contact :

Giving more
information:

Hello / Good morning / Good afternoon ...

This is John Brown speaking

Could I speak to ......... please?

I'd like to speak to ..... .....

I'm trying to contact ..........

I'm calling from Tokyo / Paris / New York / Sydney ...

I'm calling on behalf of Mr. X ...

X speaking.

Can I help you?

Who's calling please?

Who's speaking?

Where are you calling from?

Are you sure you have the right number / name?

Hold the line please.

Could you hold on please?

Just a moment please.

Taking a call :

Asking for a name /

information :

Asking the caller to

wait :

Connecting :

Giving negative
information :

Telephone
problems :

Leaving /
Taking a message :

Thank you for holding.

The line's free now ... I'll put you through.

I'll connect you now / I'm connecting you now.

I'm afraid the line's engaged. Could you call back later?

I'm afraid he's in a meeting at the moment.

I'm sorry. He's out of the office today. /

He isn't in at the moment.

I'm afraid we don't have a Mr./Mrs./Ms/Miss. ... here

I'm sorry. There's nobody here by that name.

Sorry. I think you've dialled the wrong number./

I'm afraid you've got the wrong number.

The line is very bad ... Could you speak up please?

Could you repeat that please?

I'm afraid I can't hear you.

Sorry. I didn't catch that. Could you say it again please?

Can I leave / take a message?

Would you like to leave a message?

Could you give him/her a message?

Could you ask him/her to call me back?

Could you tell him/her that I called?

Could you give me your name please?

Could you spell that please?

What's your number please?