How to write an email to a friend you haven't contacted in a long time exercise

A funny thing happened to:
(phrase) Unless an email is giving some type of bad news (e.g. illness, a death etc...), an email to a friend shouldn't just be about giving them news about yourself (although that is important). It should also contain parts that are entertaining for them to read. One of the best ways to do this, is to tell them a funny story. And this is what the phrase 'a funny thing happened to' is used to introduce.

For the funny story, I would recommend that you choose one about something that went wrong (but not seriously wrong). You could for example tell them about a time when you said something inappropriate or did something stupid.

For example:

'A funny thing happened to me last week. I was waiting for the bus when I suddenly realised I had...'

We really should meet up some time:
(phrase) In an email sent to a friend where there has been no contact in a long time, you should (if you live near them) make a suggestion to meet with them at the end of the email. This is what 'we really should meet up some time' is used to do.

After you use this phrase, suggest where you could meet or an activity (e.g. 'how about going for a meal?', 'do you fancy going to the pub?'). When you make this suggestion, don't specify a date and/or time to do it, let them suggest it.

Although not necessary, you can ask them to confirm if they are interested in doing it by writing 'let me know if you'd like to' at the end.

For example:

'We really should meet up some time. How about going for a drink? Let me know if you'd like to.'

Are you still working:
(phrase) It is important when you write an email to a friend that you show that you remember things about their life. By doing this, it shows that the person is important to you (which if they are a friend they should be). In addition to this, you should also ask them questions about their life. This shows that you are interested in finding out things about them.

There are ways that in which you can do both at the same time. An example of this is the with phrase/question 'are you still'. By asking a question in this way, it shows that you both remember what they were doing before and that you are interested in knowing if they are doing it still.

You can use 'are you still' when you want to ask them if they are continuing doing any type of activity (e.g. playing golf, seeing Sue, working at, living in etc...).

For example:

'Are you still living in Paris?'

If you want to ask them a question about something they were planning to do, you would write 'I remember you telling me that' instead.

Sorry, I haven't been in contact recently:
(phrase) In an email to a friend where there has been no contact in a long time, it is polite to apologise for not contacting sooner at the beginning. This is what 'sorry, I haven't been in contact recently' is to do.

When you apologise, don't give an excuse like you've been busy (it sounds false). Blame yourself for being lazy. You can also say that you had the intention or writing before, but you didn't.

For example:

'Sorry, I haven't been in contact recently. I've been meaning to write to you for the last couple of months, but I just haven't got round to doing it. Sorry for my laziness.'

I would recommend that you write this apology after you have asked them how they are. Then follow it by asking them some more specific questions (e.g. 'are you still playing golf?' etc...).

Anyway:
(adverb) This is a very commonly used word that is used when you want to change the subject or topic in either a conversation or an email. In emails or letters, it is mainly used to tell the person reading it that the email is going to end.

After 'anyway' you place a comma and then give a reason why you are stopping. Normally, the reason you give is that you have to go somewhere else (e.g. 'I have to go to the supermarket') or you have to do something else (e.g. 'I have to finish a report for tomorrow').

For example:

'Anyway, I have to pick up Sally from work'.

I don't know if you've heard:
(phrase) This phrase is used to introduce some news about yourself (or somebody else) to the person reading the email. Normally, you would only use 'I don't know if you've heard' to introduce some important news (e.g. you've got a new job, bought a new house, passed important exams etc...). As this should only be used when introducing important news, don't use it more than two times in an email.

This phrase is always followed by a comma, then 'but'. After this, you would tell them what the news is (e.g. 'we're moving to Australia in June' etc...). You would then follow this by giving more details about the news.

For example: 'I don't know if you've heard, but I've started my own business. I decided to leave my job and set up a...'

I remember you telling me that:
(phrase) It is important when you write an email to a friend that you show that you remember things about their life. By doing this, it shows that the person is important to you (which if they are a friend they should be). In addition to this, you should also ask them questions about their life. This shows that you are interested in finding out things about them.

These are ways that in which you can do both at the same time. An example of this is with the phrase 'I remember you telling me that'. It is used when you want to ask the person a question about something they told you they were planning to do the last time you had contact.

To use 'I remember you telling me that' to ask a question, you would follow it by 'you were planning/thinking about', then by what they were planning to do (e.g. moving to Australia, going to university etc...). Then you would ask them if they did it.

For example:

'I remember you telling me that you were planning to leave your job. Did you end up doing it?'

If you want to ask them a question whether they are continuing doing something, you would write 'are you still' instead.

P.S.:
(abbreviation) This means 'postscript', although it always shortened in email or letter writing to 'P.S.'. It is always used at the end of emails (after you write your name). It is used to introduce a new topic in the email that you've not written about in the rest of the email.

Although you can write about anything here (as long as you haven't spoken about it before in the email), in emails to friends you normally use this part of the email to give a greeting from somebody else to the person you're are writing it to. Normally, the greeting would say 'somebody gives their love' or 'somebody says hi'.

For example:

'P.S. Peter says hi.'

A phrase which is used in a similar way to 'P.S.' is 'by the way'.

It's been ages since we last spoke:
(phrase) In an email sent to a friend where there has been no contact in a long time, you need to say that there has been no contact at the beginning of the email. Normally, you would say this in the first sentence, just after asking them how they are.

The phrases 'it's been ages since we last spoke' or 'it's been long time since we last spoke' are used to do this.

Because you should always apologise for not contacting them in the email (in the second paragraph you write), writing 'it's been ages since we last spoke' may not be necessary (because you basically say the same thing in the apology). So it is your choice if you choose to write it or not.

Do you remember:
(phrase) In an email to a friend you haven't spoken to in a long time, one of the easiest things to write about is experiences and situations that you both know about or did in the past. A good way to introduce the topic is by asking them a question if they remember the situation. And this is what 'do you remember' is used to do.

When you use 'do you remember', you follow it by saying what the experience or situation was (e.g. 'when we went with Tim to the beach in 2010?', 'when we used to play tennis in the park?' etc...). You would then follow it by writing some funny comments about it (e.g. 'how we tried to buy alcohol by wearing false moustaches').

For example:

'Do you remember when we used to go to that expensive bar in Leeds? How we tried to impress people by saying we were French.'

Another phrase that you can use to do the same thing is 'I was thinking the other about'. For example, 'I was thinking the other about when we went with Tim to the beach in 2010'.

Apart from that, nothing much has changed:
(phrase) Although when telling your friend news about yourself you want to focus more on things which have changed, you also want to tell them about things which are still the same.

A good way to do this after you've written about the things that have changed is to use the phrase 'apart from that, nothing much has changed'. After this you would very quickly tell them what things are still the same.

For example:

'Apart from that, nothing much has changed. I'm still living in Moseley and playing football at the weekends.'

Have you heard anything from:
(phrase) In an email to a friend you haven't spoken to in a long time, you can also ask them questions about a mutual friend (somebody you both know) who you've lost contact with. This is what 'have you heard anything from' is used to do.

Obviously, you would follow this phrase with the name of the person (e.g. Ruth). You can then ask questions about what they are doing (e.g. 'what's she doing at the moment?, 'is she still working at BMW? etc...). Or you can use it to talk about an experience or situation you all shared.

For example:

'Have you heard anything from John? I was thinking the other day when we all went to see Blur in concert...'