Top 20 Essential Expressions for Work Emails in English
Sabrena Doherty 
FREE DOWNLOADS: BUSINESS EMAIL EXPRESSIONS & SPANISH TRANSLATION LIST.
Nowadays in work, we have to write emails all the time - to colleagues and clients. If you have to write emails in English and it isn´t your first language, it can be very difficult to do it without making mistakes. This can be a problem, especially if you need to make a good impression on clients. So how can you make sure you are writing good emails?
First and foremost (first and most important), you need to check, check, check! So often people forget to check what they have written before pressing send (myself included!).
We also recommend installing Grammarly, a free tool that tells you your mistakes.
Watch this video to avoid the most common mistakes:
In addition to these tips, we like to use DeepL and Linguee as translation tools - DeepL for the translation, and Linguee to help you decide which translation is best for your needs.
However, you can also do more to improve your emails.
Sometimes you cannot be sure of a translation you find online, so we advise you to have a ´cheatsheet´ - a document with notes to help your memory - at least until you know the expressions by heart (know them without thinking about it).
What we mean is you should write the expressions you usually need when writing emails and keep them somewhere handy (close to you), for example on your desktop. This way you can be sure that you are writing the correct expression, and writing it correctly. Also, in the end, you will know these expressions automatically.
In this article, we are going to give you the TOP TWENTY EXPRESSIONS you need to know.
Click HERE to download a list of essential email expressions with Spanish translation.
These expressions are modern-day.
It is rare these days that we need to write emails beginning with sir/madam, and we are becoming more casual in how we speak, even by email, so this list of expressions reflects that.
However, there are still occasions when we need to be more formal. For this reason, we have divided the list into 2 parts - formal and informal.
It is also important to note that you should pay attention to cultural differences.
In my case, my native language is English but I live and work in Spain, so I often need to write emails in Spanish.
These emails are usually more direct than in English (see this video for more about cultural differences in English) and use more exclamation marks.
You may also end an email here by saying hugs or kisses which in English is not usual (unless you are writing to your mother or a lover!). Basically, try to be conscious of cultural differences when you are writing.
Now to the expressions:
Formale.g. Someone you have not written to before, or only once or twice A client or customer A person who is very high up in your company | Informale.g. Colleagues and direct bosses People you are used to writing to often |
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Of course, there are many variations of these expressions, but if you learned these - or made a cheat sheet to use, you will already make your emails sound more natural.
To learn about these expressions and more, watch the video HERE.
To summarise, when writing emails in English:
- Check, check and check again!
- Use apps like Grammarly, DeepL, and Linguee to help
- Keep a cheatsheet of expressions close by to use:download your free translation list of English email expressions, with translation in Spanish.
Categories: : Business English