In life or business it is the little things that can make a big difference. Most people like to hear that there work is appreciated by others. And saying thank you only takes a few minutes to do (especially if it is by email).
So, in what situations should you thank somebody by email? If you can, it is better in my opinion to do it face-to-face. But if that's difficult or impossible, then email is the perfect way to do it.
In this online exercise (with a quiz at the end) on thanking people, you'll see three examples of emails of thanks for different situations. In addition, you'll also learn formal and informal phrases that you should use when you want to thank somebody and see how to structure what you write in your own emails of thanks.
Although the following examples are business emails, you can also use the phrases and structure in non-business emails as well.
Click here to see more of our free online exercises on writing emails/letters
Exercise & Examples: Emails of thanks
Read the following three business emails of thanks. Each email is either thanking somebody or a group of people for different reasons. The first email is very formal, the second is neutral (less formal) and the last email is informal.
Email 1
Dear Mr Trotter,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for showing myself and my colleague around your factory on Monday. It was both a very informative and productive visit for both myself and my colleague. I really appreciate that you took time out of your busy work schedule to show us around and meet with us.
It was a pleasure to meet with you and your staff. All of whom treated us with the utmost kindness and respect during the whole of our visit. If you could pass our thanks onto your staff, it would be very much appreciated.
Once again, thank you for the visit.
Yours sincerely,
Eric Banner
Account Executive
Merlin Components plc
Email 2
Dear all,
I would just like to make you aware that our company has won the contract to supply photocopiers to the American government for the next 3 years.
I would like to thank you all for the hard work you have done over the last four months. The winning of this contract is a recognition of both all your hard work and the dedication that you have made over the years to make our company great. This wouldn't have been possible without you.
Thank you,
Ron Lowe
CEO
Runners Ink inc.
Email 3
Hi Peter,
Thanks a lot for sending me a copy of the report. It's really appreciated.
Regards,
Sally
10 ways to write better business emails/letters
Quiz:
Below is a definition/description of each of the words/phrases in bold from the above text. Now choose the word/phrase from the question's selection box which you believe answers each question. Only use one word/phrase once. Click on the "Check Answers" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.
When the answer is correct, this icon will appear next to the answer. Click on it to find extra information about the word/phrase (e.g. when, where and how to use etc...) and a translation in Spanish.
Practice
Now that you understand the new vocabulary, practise it by creating your own emails with the new words/phrases.
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