We write a letter to a friend in English. Writing a letter for a friend in English

Sample letters to a friend in English

All sample letters to a friend in en in English are divided into three groups - according to format - GIA-9 (State Final Certification of 9th grade graduates), Unified State Examination (Unified State Examination for high school graduates) and free format.

Sample letters on each topic can be found by clicking on the corresponding link.

Sample letters to a friend in English in GIA-9 format

First I went to a youth camp, which is located near Kaluga on the shore of a picturesque lake. We sunbathed a lot and swam in the lake, played football, danced in the evening, etc...

Our family was invited to visit our relatives, who have their own house in Spain in the suburbs of Barcelona. We spent almost a month traveling around this country...

I'm so glad to receive your letter. It's great that reading is your hobby!As for me, I love reading books and they play a very important role in my life...

Thank you for your letter. It's a great pleasure to have a true friend!As for me, my best friend is Elena. We study in the same class and spend a lot of time together. We often go to the cinema or to the park...

I was glad to get your letter. I was very interested to read your news!In your letter you ask me about my preferences related to cinema. Of course, I love films and often watch them in the cinema...

Thanks a lot. I was glad to get your letter. I was surprised that you could ride a horse.Of course, this is my hobby. I started playing this musical instrument when I was nine years old...

Thank you for your letter. You are writing about a very serious problem.In your letter you ask me about my friends and about my parents’ attitude towards them. I have many friends. Some of them love rock music...

Thank you for your letter. My congratulations to your grandmother on her birthday!It's wonderful that your family is very friendly! As for me, we also try to preserve family traditions. So, we usually have parties for our birthdays...

Thank you for your letter. I'm happy to receive it!You want to know what kind of music I prefer. I would like to tell you that music isthis is my hobby and I love pop music. I have a wonderful collection of CDs at home...

Thank you for your letter. It was interesting to read.Do you want to know more about the role of computers in my life. I agree with you that our life would be impossible without computers...

Thank you for your letter. Unfortunately, I didn't answer right away. I was very busy at Lately, because tomorrow is a very important day for me - my basketball team and I are participating in competitions...

Thank you for your letter. I am glad that you are taking part in the conference on Russia! It's so wonderful!The history of my native country is great! Russia is famous for its achievements and outstanding personalities...

It was so nice to receive your letter.I'm glad you have pets! I think it's very interesting to keep pets. They are funny and smart. Plus you can play fun games with them...

In your letter you asked me about exams. Well, I chose biology and chemistry. These are very interesting and informative topics. I prefer oral exams to written ones because I can easily learn the tickets by heart and recite them...

Sample letters to a friend in English in Unified State Exam format

As for me, I also had a wonderful holiday. At first I lived with my parents in the garden. The weather was hot and my friends and I swam a lot. We played football and rode bikes...

Thank you for your letter. I'm happy I received it.In your letter you ask me how I spent the summer.I think that most people spend their summer on the shores of bodies of water, swimming and sunbathing...

Thank you for your letter. I'm so glad to hear from you. It's great that you vacationed in Italy.You ask me how I spent the summer. I was relaxing at a youth camp on the shore of a lake...

You ask how I spent the summer. Anyway, it wasn't the best summer of my life. At first I caught a bad cold and was sick for two weeks. Because of this, I was unable to go to a youth camp and spent a whole month in a stuffy city...

My vacation is over. I had a very good time. I hung out with my friends, read a lot interesting books, watched TV, played computer games. I spent several weeks at the dacha with my grandparents...

It's always nice to receive your letters! I'm very glad that you had a good vacation. I think I love to travel, but I have never traveled abroad.I usually go to my summer garden house near Moscow...

Thank you for your letter. I don't think we are great travelers in our family. But sometimes we go for walkson open air,all together, or just with dad...

Great to hear from you! I'm really glad you passed your History test.
You asked me about hobbies that Russian teenagers like. Okay, a lot of teenagers are interested in music and playing computer games...

Thank you for your letter. You know that I live in a big family, so I have to share a room with my brother, and stay with my sister in the evening when our parents want to go to the theater or any other place...

It's great that you are going to come to Moscow. I look forward to meeting you and your friends. However, our capital has so many wonderful sights that it would be impossible to see them in one week...

Thank you for your letter.I wish I could have been at that party and had fun with you all! I usually have birthday parties. I invite some of my classmates and close friends...

Thank you for your letter. It's so nice to hear news about you and your family.As for me, I won our school tennis championship. You know, I've been playing tennis for nine years...

Thank you for your letter. I'm happy I received it.I agree with you that it is pleasant to turn the pages of a book in a bookstore when you choose it. In addition, you can read fragments of the book and look at photographs in it...

Thank you for your letter. Looks like you're having a good time! Unfortunately, I rarely go for walks. My exams are approaching and I am studying hard for them.And my favorite place is here in Kazan, I love the Kremlin in the city center with the famous Kul Sharif mosque and ancient cathedrals...

Thank you for your letter. It's great to hear from you!In your letter you write about your problem. It's really difficult: taking care of small children. You must be patient and kind...

Thank you for your letter! It was nice to hear from you so soon.You asked me to tell you about Moscow. Well, that's very beautiful city, especially in autumn, when all the trees turn different colors...

I'm glad to receive your letter! I wish you good luck in your championship!In your letter you are interested in my sports preferences. I play soccer...

Thank you for your letter. It's so nice to hear news about you and your family.It's great that you like rap because I love it too. I have a lot of CDs with foreign and Russian rappers...

I was glad to receive your letter. It's really great that your parents allow you to have a pet.If we talk about me, I have a kitten called Musick...

Thank you for your letter. It was wonderful to read about your new home.As for my new school, it is very big! It has three computer classes and wonderful sports facilities...

I go to school No. 497 in Moscow. The school is very big. We study from Monday to Saturday.In fact, it seems like a great place and I enjoy studying there...

I'm so glad you wrote! Congratulations on your car!
In Russia, some young people my age have their own cars. Sometimes when parents buy a new car, they give...

In your letter you asked me about my grades at school. Well, I think you can try talking to your parents. I'm sure they will understand...

My classmates and I go to museums about three or four times a year, which is not too often. My favorite museum is the Hermitage, which is...

You know, I can't say that I have specific responsibilities, but I try to help my parents as often as possible. For me, I hate cooking...

As for me, I have to clean my room regularly and also help my parents when they are tired. If I need to cook something, I make scrambled eggs or some kind of salad. You know I can do this...

I have several friends. But the best of them is Olga. She's younger than me. Olga is a very funny and interesting person.You can talk to her about various topics...

In your letter you talked about your family picnic and asked about ours. Well, we went on a picnic two days ago. It was so much fun, but the weather was rainy...

Sample letters to a friend in English in free format

I received your letter today. You you ask me to write about my favorite sports game.My favorite game is football. This game is full of life...

My summer vacation is over. I think you would like to know everything about my vacation. There are many countries that I have visited. Here are some of them - Poland, Germany and others.

This summer was unforgettable. In June, I went to a school camp. It was very interesting. There we prepared for the upcoming exams, went to the swimming pool, the library, showroom, visited the archive, which stores old letters, newspapers, magazines, books on the Great Patriotic War...

This summer was unforgettable for me. I was in Gelendzhik. In my opinion, there is nothing similar there to other Russian resorts. There were different kinds entertainment. To me most I liked the water scooters...

I found your letter from London very interesting. It reminded me of the time I was there a few years ago. I spend all my weekends at the beach...

How are you doing? I am writing to tell you about my summer. It really was fun. I went to a children's camp on the Black Sea. We swam and sunbathed there a lot. We played a lot of football.

How time flies quickly! Two months have passed since then you left. How are you doing? You getting used to the new environment in Texas? When will you be back ? You know we all we miss you very much...

Two of my friends from Germany arrived this morning. We're going on a picnic in Sergiev Posad July 10. We will go there by taxi. We'll start Our trip at 7 am and return until 9 pm...

This is just a short letter to let you know that I will be thinking about you. how do you travel By mysterious India. I'm sure you'll have a fabulous trip, but you should know that I miss you terribly...

Heard last news? Well, I just found out that the rock band Scorpions is coming to Yekaterinburg. Can you believe it?

I want to tell you about my best friend.I have several friends at school. But the best among them is Anton, my classmate.He's my age. But he's much taller than me...

I met my best friend in my class. When we came to our class, we were not friends. I love that she is so smart, kind and very funny. In our free time we walk together, go to a cafe or sometimes we can go to the cinema. We are never bored...

I have several friends. But the best of them is Yana.She is fifteen years old. She is my classmate. We have known each other for fifteen years.She is quite tall and slender. Has an oval face and straight dark hair. She has a straight nose. She has very beautiful brown eyes with thick eyelashes...

I got sick. I have a terrible headache and sore throat. Spring has already arrived in my country. Quite warm and really sunny all day long. But I can't go for a walk...

To start, dear readers, let's decide on the goals of our lesson. So, we must determine what a personal letter is and how it differs from a business letter, study its structure, and most importantly, learn how to independently write a letter to a friend in English using ready-made templates.

People use letters as a way to exchange information around the world. Letters can be written to friends, relatives, acquaintances or people with whom we are unfamiliar, for example, business partners. It is the person to whom your letter is addressed that determines whether it belongs to business or personal correspondence, and the form, structure and style of writing your letter depends on its affiliation. You could familiarize yourself with the rules for writing business letters in our previous article, letter in English, and now we will get acquainted with the features of writing personal letters in English.

So, friendly or personal letters are usually addressed to people you know personally (friends, relatives, loved ones). The language used to write such letters may be colloquial. For example, 1st and 2nd person pronouns (I, you) are used very often. It is possible to use dialect words, slang words, exclamations, interjections, vernacular, modal verbs, affectionate forms, etc. In personal letters, you can freely express your opinion, i.e., a subjective assessment of any situation is not prohibited. Personal letters can have a strong emotional overtones. As you can see, friendly correspondence does not have such strict stylistic restrictions as business correspondence.

As for the structure of a personal letter in English, its form is practically no different from a business letter; it’s just that some points can be neglected at your discretion. You can familiarize yourself with the structure of a letter in the article “Learning to write letters in English correctly.” If you have to write a personal letter to a friend in English, for example, during an exam, then of course the form of the letter cannot be neglected.

Step-by-step letter structure with template phrases

So, a personal letter to a friend in English must, according to all the rules, include 5 points:

The first point is the “header” of the letter, i.e. the sender’s address and date. (Heading: address and date)
The address is written in the upper right corner and has the following sequence: house number with the street name, separated by a comma, apartment number. The next line shows the city and postal code, and the next line shows the country. Do not put any commas or periods.

46 Riverview Park
New York 542 210
USA
15th February, 2008

On the next line or every other line immediately below the address, the date is written. Several spelling options are possible:

May 12, 2014
May 12th, 2014
May 12, 2014
May 12, 2014

The 2nd point is “appeal”. (salutation or greeting) The appeal is written on a new line on the left. After the address, as a rule, a comma is placed.
Very often the address begins with the word Dear + the name of the person to whom you are writing.

Dear Rima, Dear Karan
Dear Daddy, Dear Mammy
Dear Uncle Ray
Dear Mr. Green

Various options are possible. It all depends on who you are writing to.

My dear Jim
dearest
My darling
Or simply - Hello, my dear Olya

The 3rd point is “the main text of the letter”. (body/message)
The first paragraph of the main text is an introduction or an opening sentence, where you can thank your friend for the previous letter, tell him why you haven’t written for so long, or simply write that you were very glad to hear news from your friend. It roughly looks like this:

I’m writing to (thank/ tell/ ask/ congratulate/ apologize/ etc.) - I am writing to you to (thank, say, ask, congratulate, express regret, etc.)
I’m writing to thank you very much for the nice post card... - I’m writing to you to thank you for the wonderful postcard...
Many thanks for your letter... - Thank you very much for your letter...
I was very glad to get your letter... - I was very glad to receive your letter...
Thanks for your recent letter. It was good to hear from you... - Thank you for your last letter. I was glad to hear from you...
I've been meaning to write to you for ages but somehow just haven't been able to find the time I really should have written sooner…- I was going to write to you a long time ago, but somehow I never found the time, I really late with the answer...
I’m sorry I haven’t written for so long but I’ve been really busy with... - Sorry for not writing for so long, but I was really busy...
I must apologize for not writing earlier... - I must apologize for not writing earlier...
I’m sorry I’ve taken such a long time to reply to your last letter... - Sorry that it took me so long to answer your last letter...

In the second paragraph you can answer your friend's questions. If you are writing a letter to a friend in English as an assignment for an exam, the assignment will usually include questions that you must answer.

You are asking me about... I"ll do my best to answer your questions. - You asked me about... I will try to answer your questions.
That's about all I can tell you on this problem. - That's all I can tell you about this.

In the third and fourth paragraphs, you talk about events in your life, share news and ask your questions to a friend.

Nice is some news about... - I have news about...
I think you are studying hard now. Have you already chosen the university where you are going to apply? Will it be difficult to study there? “I think you’re studying hard now.” Have you already chosen the university you will attend? Will it be difficult to study there?
How has your summer been? - How was your summer?
What have you been up to? — What interesting happened to you?
Are you playing any sports? - Do you do any sports?
Have you been traveling? -Have you traveled?
I am preparing for entrance exams to the university. — I am preparing for the entrance exams to the university.
We are going to travel to Turkey. — We are going to go to Turkey.

The fifth paragraph is the closing sentence, where you bring your message to a close and can wish success, ask for something, or express hope for something. You can also write that you are in a hurry somewhere or it’s time for you to go somewhere.

Anyway, I must go and get on with my work. - In any case, I have to go to work further.
Well, got to go now. - Well, that's probably all.
I’ve got loads of homework to do tonight. — I have a whole bunch of homework for today.
I must finish my letter because it is very late and I must go to bed (because my Mum is calling me / because I have to do my homework). — I’m finishing my letter because it’s late and it’s time for me to sleep (because my mother is calling me / because I need to do my homework)
Hope to hear from you soon. “I hope to hear from you soon.”
Drop me a line when you are free. - Write me a few lines when you are free.
Looking forward to hearing from you. - I look forward to hearing from you.
Write soon. - Write as soon as possible.
See you soon! - See you soon!
Do keep in touch! - We'll be in touch!
Don't forget to write! - Don't forget to answer!
Looking forward to seeing you. - I'm looking forward to meeting you.
Write back to me soon. - Answer as soon as possible.
Let me know what happens. - Let me know what's going on.
I hope this advice is of some help to you. — I hope that my advice will be useful for you.

The 4th point is the final polite phrase (subscription/ closing). A comma must be placed after the final phrase.

Love,
Best wishes,
All the best,
Yours,

The 5th final point is your signature. You put your signature on the next line under the final phrase without a period.

So, as you noticed, a letter to a friend in English has the same structure as a business letter. The main difference lies in the style of the language. This is why template phrases for personal and business letters are completely different.

I want to give you a couple more tips for successfully writing a letter to a friend in English. To ensure that the text is complete and sounds good, use linking words and conjunctions: just now, and, at all, but, that's why, also, as for me, maybe, though, so, not only, to tell the truth, besides, now, first, also, finally, but, however, so that, such as, for example as, because, when, while, Well, Right… Use short forms of verbs: I've, there's, I'd...

If your English vocabulary is not that extensive, you can still easily cope with a task such as writing a letter to a friend in English. To do this, you will have to visually remember the structure of the letter and memorize a ready-made template, which will need to be supplemented with a couple of sentences.
You can create a template yourself using the phrases that we have selected for each item.

Letter template to a friend in English

46 Riverview Park
New York 542 210
USA

My dear Jim,
Thanks for your letter. I’m sorry I haven’t written for so long but I’ve been really busy with…
You are asking me about… I’ll do my best to answer your questions. (answer questions)
Nice is some news about... (telling the news)
What have you been up to... (ask your questions)
I must finish my letter because it is very late and I must go to bed. Hope to hear from you soon.
Love,
Mary

Here's how to easily write a letter to a friend in English using template phrases! All you have to do is add a couple of sentences and the letter is ready!

Study the following letters to a friend in English with translation in order to better understand the structure of such letters.

Examples letters in English with translation

46 Riverview Park
Glentown
Dublin 23

Dear Jim,
How are things in Wicklow? I have not seen you for ages so I decided to write and give you all the news from Glentown.
The football team is doing really well this season. We have reached the semi-final of the Cup. The new goalkeeper we got after you left is great. He has not let in a goal in the last three matches.
My sister, Sandra, Has just had a baby girl, so I am now an uncle. Maybe I will be able to make some money from baby- sitting and then I can come down on the train to visit you.
Write soon and let me know all the news.

Your friend,
Martin

46 Riverview Park
Glentown
Dublin 23

Dear Jim,
How are things in Wicklow? I haven't seen you for ages, so I decided to write to you and tell you all the news about Glentown.
The football team is really doing well this season. We have reached the semi-finals of the Cup. The new goalkeeper who joined us after you left is great. He hasn't conceded a single goal in his last three matches.
My sister, Sandra, just had a baby girl, so I'm now an uncle. Perhaps I can earn some money as a nanny and come by train to visit you.
Reply to me as soon as possible and tell me all the news.

Your friend,
Martin

12 Hill Drive
Navan
Co. Meath

Dear Susan,
I hope everything is well with you. It has been ages since we saw you here in Meath.
I am writing to ask you to come and stay with us the weekend of the 6th June. We are having a little get together because John is going to Australia for a year. It would be lovely for him to see you before he goes, you are his godmother after all. Let me know if you can make it, don’t worry if not, any weekend before then is fine.
We are all in good form here. Very busy trying to get John organised. I will miss him while he's away.
I do hope all the family are well.

12 Hill Drive
Navan
County Meath

Dear Susan,
I hope you are doing well. It's been forever since we've seen you here in Meath.
I am writing to ask you to come and stay with us on the weekend of June 6th. We're all getting together because John is going to Australia for a year. It would be great for him to see you before he leaves, after all, you are his godmother. Let me know if you manage to come, if not, don’t worry, you can come any weekend before he leaves.
We are fine. Constantly busy trying to get John ready for the trip. I will miss him very much when he leaves.
I really hope everything is okay with your family.

With love,
Mary

12 Hilly Drive
Navan
Co. Meath

Dear Susan,
I am writing to say thank you for the lovely flowers. I can’t believe you remembered my birthday! You are so thoughtful.
We are all in good form here. I do hope all the family are well. Paul is starting a new job next week. I hope to get down to Cork to visit you soon.
Thanks again.

12 Hill Drive
Navan
County Meath

Dear Susan,
I am writing to thank you for the beautiful flowers. I can't believe you remembered my birthday! You are so attentive.
We are fine. I hope everyone is doing well too. Paul starts a new job next week. I'm thinking of coming to visit you in Cork soon.
Thank you very much again.

With love,
Mary

46 Riverview Park
New York 542 210
USA

Hi Sophie,
I’m writing this from the cutest little café in New York! Mum’s been making sure we don’t miss one sight in the whole city, so we’ve been walking almost all day. So far we’ve seen Times Square, Broadway, Central Park and The Plaza. I caught a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty but we’re going to go and see it properly tomorrow!
The streets are super busy here and everyone looks amazing in their winter coats and hats. I had to buy mittens today! I miss being able to feel my fingers!
Hope you're enjoying your holidays.
Miss you times a million, see you back in Adelaide on the 20th!

Love,
Ashley

PS: I’m bringing you back a souvenir!

46 Riverview Park
NY
USA

Hi Sophie,
I'm writing to you now from the cutest little cafe in New York! Mom does everything possible to ensure that we never miss anything interesting in the city, so we spent almost the entire day on our feet. So far we have already seen Times Square, Broadway, Central Park and the Square. I caught a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, but we're going to explore it properly tomorrow!
The streets here are super busy and everyone looks amazing in their winter coats and hats. Today I had to buy mittens! I'm losing the ability to feel my fingers!
I hope you enjoy your holiday.
Miss you like crazy, see you again in Adelaide on the 20th!

With love,
Ashley

PS: I'll bring you a souvenir!

12 Tulip Road
Flowertown
Dublin 20

Dear Sally,
How are you settling down in your new school in Cork? Our class is quite different since you left. It’s much quitter for a start. All the teachers are remarking on it!
We had an English test yesterday. WhenMrs. Byrne came in today with the results she was so mad there was nearly smoke coming out of her ears!
Phil Martin and Sandra Byrne have split up. Phil is really down in the dumps. But otherwise everyone is in great form. We are all going down to the club in the Sports Center on Friday night. It’s a pity you won’t be with us.
Write soon and tell us all about Cork. Goodbye for now.

12 Tulip Road
Flowertown
Dublin 20

Dear Sally,
How have you settled into your new school in Cork? Our class has changed a lot since you left. Many people have become lazy. All teachers notice this!
Yesterday we had an English test. When Ms Byrne came in with the results today, she was so angry she thought she was about to have smoke coming out of her ears!
Phil Martin and Sandra Byrne fled. Phil is now walking around like he's lost. But in all other respects we are fine. We're going to the club at the Sports Center on Friday night. It's a pity that you won't be with us.
Write as soon as possible and tell us about Cork. Well, bye.

With love,
Joe

2 West Road
Violetville
Cork

Dear Joe
Greetings from Cork! Now that we have settled in our new house I am having a house- warming party to celebrate.
I am inviting some of the gang from Dublin and some of my new school friends from Cork.
The fun begins at 9 pm on Saturday, 3rd March. Why not come down on Friday night and stay for the weekend? I have asked Sandra and Brian to stay over also.
The train leaves Dublin at 4.15 pm and arrives in Cork at 7.30 pm.

A letter in English to a friend is an example of informal written communication. Despite the fact that paper letters are almost a thing of the past, the same rules apply for letters over the Internet in English as for paper letters in an informal style. And isn’t it nice to be able to write letters in English to a friend from rainy England or even faraway Australia?

The British are particularly meticulous when it comes to letter style. Combining elements of an informal letter in one message is a grave mistake. Below we will look at which ones you can use in a letter to a friend.

• 5 pillars of writing in English

Unlike Russian, in English other information about the recipient and sender is written inseparably from the text of the letter itself.

The first block is just the heading in the upper right corner, which includes sender's address. It is written from the particular to the general; in other words, the house, street, city are indicated first, then the country, and not as in our letters, where the name of the country comes first. Therefore, the email header might look like this:

21, Dostoyevskogo str.,
Kiev region,
Kiev
Ukraine

Under this part it is written date. The format can be either “December 21, 2015” or “December 27, 2015”.

Next comes greetings. If you are writing a letter to a relative, then you can use any of the options before his name: “Dear” or “My Dear”. A friend's name is always preceded by “Dear”. This, by the way, is not such a trifle as it might seem at first glance. A letter to a friend in English will differ from a letter to a relative in such seemingly insignificant details.

Key message or the body of the letter also consists of several parts: the first opening sentence, the message itself and the closing sentence. Below we will consider and translate several possible options opening sentence for informal writing.

The main text of the letter sets out its main essence, the message itself. Sentences do not have to be long and formal. Here you can and should use slang, phrasal verbs, idioms and intensifying constructions, including changing the standard word order to highlight a specific word.

The final part of the main text expresses your attitude towards your friend and your future expectations. For example:

It is the first part of the signature, written taking into account the relationship between you and the addressee of the letter. The options can be very different: Yours, Love, Best wishes and so on. This part is traditionally written on the left under the text of the letter. But sometimes there are spelling variations on the right side. Under this part is the signature and name of the addressee of the letter, that is, its sender.

• Letter to a friend in English: example

I"ve just received a letter from you! I am so glad to hear that you have entered the university you wanted! Congratulations to you and to your family. As for me, I've started yoga classes two weeks ago. Yoga turned out to be really cool! Of course I can"t do all the asanas that our instructor does but I try, I really try to do my best. If I improve enough, the coach would take me to India to attend authentic yoga courses. By the way, how are your training sessions going? I"ve seen the pics – you are the one true champion! I’m sure you’re up to winning lots of medals this season!

Give my best regards to your mom,

Dear Olga!

I just received your letter! I'm so glad you got into the university you wanted. My congratulations to you and your family. As for me, I started doing yoga two weeks ago. Yoga, it turns out, is very cool! Of course, I cannot perform all the asanas that our instructor can do, but I try, I try very hard. If I progress enough, the trainer can take me to India to attend an authentic yoga course. By the way, how are your workouts going? I saw the photos - you are a real champion! I'm sure you'll earn a lot of medals this season!

Say warm regards to your mom,

Always yours,
Kate

Letter to a friend about visiting London

Dear William,
How are you? I am in the capital of England - in . My parents and I always dreamed about seeing this nice city.

There are a lot of beautiful old buildings. We have alredy seen Westminster Abbey, Big Ben (now it called Elizabeth’s Tower), The Houses of Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge, The Tower of London and The Waxworks Madame Tussaunds Museum. There are the models of famous people from pop stars to prime ministers made from wax in this museum. They look like real. It's so interesting.

My parents and I are walking on Trafalgar Square now. There is Nelson’s Column in its center which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. By the way, I sent you this postcard with a picture of Trafalgar Square.

The weather is not fine today, it’s foggy and rainy. But it doesn’t spoil our walking. We took a lot of photos. Next week we will be at home and I’ll show you to them.

Best wishes,
Jessica

[ translation ]

Dear William,
How are you? I'm in the capital of England - London. My parents and I have always dreamed of visiting this beautiful city.

There are many beautiful old buildings here. We have already visited Westminster Abbey, Big Ben (now called the Elizabeth Tower), the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge, Tower of London and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. This museum has wax figures of famous people from pop stars to prime ministers. They look real. It's so interesting.

My parents and I are walking around Trafalgar Square now. In its center stands Nelson's Column, guarded at its base by four lion statues. By the way, I sent you this postcard with a picture of Trafalgar Square.

The weather today is not very good, foggy and rainy. But this does not spoil our walk. We took a lot of photos. Next week we'll be home and I'll show them to you.

Don't miss the opportunity to visit England and London.

Best wishes,
Jessica

Nowadays, email is rarely used for friendly correspondence, let alone paper mail. We correspond with friends in in social networks, via SMS or using messenger programs like WhatsApp or Telegram. But sometimes an email is a more appropriate choice, for example, when you need to write a long message or talk about something in detail. Email is also often used for communication between penpals - pen pals who practice foreign languages.

This article is written primarily for those who speak English. You will learn what elements a letter consists of, what useful phrases there are for correspondence, and I will also give examples of informal letters: a letter to a friend, a letter to a relative and a love letter.

What does a friendly letter include?

When you write a letter to a friend in English, there is no need to follow any strict structure. There is no need for formalities. However, common sense dictates that the letter should still contain certain elements:

• Subject of the letter– a friend will open and read your email anyway, but it will be better if you indicate what the message is about. It is better to indicate the topic briefly and clearly.
• Greetings– in chats and instant messengers it is usually not considered rude to write something without “Hello”, especially if it is something urgent. Letters always begin with a greeting.
• The main content of the letter.
• Farewell, wishes– the letter traditionally ends with a farewell and the name of the sender.

What does a paper letter include?

I doubt very much that you will communicate with pen pals using paper mail, but what if you want to send a postcard or just be original?

A paper letter does not have a subject line, like an e-mail, but there is a header in the upper right corner, in which only the date is usually written. The date format can be any, for example:

• May 4, 2016.
• 2016, May 4.
• 5/04/16.

Don't forget that in the USA dates are written in the format “Month/Day/Year”, and not “Day/Month/Year”, as in Russia or the UK. That is, in the USA, 04/03/11 is the fourth of March, not the third of April.

In the USA, the address on the envelope is not written as we are used to, but vice versa: first the name of the recipient, then the address, city, state.

Chloe Price (recipient's name)

44 Cedar ave. (house number, street name)

Arcadia Bay (city)

Oregon 97141 (state, zip code)

Greetings and farewells in a letter to a friend

Between colleagues, it is considered normal to start a letter with just a name, for example:

I just wanted to inform you that...

Especially if this is not the first letter in the correspondence, that is, in the first letter, having started discussing the issue, you wrote “Hello Alex”, and then, clarifying the details, you simply write “Alex”. In a friendly letter, calling by name without “hello” or other greeting will look strange, especially in paper.

Here are the standard greetings:

• Dear Alex– the word “dear” is more often used in business correspondence, it is something like our “respected / respected”. But it may also be appropriate in a friendly letter, a letter to a relative, in which case the meaning is closer to “dear/darling.”
• Hello Alex– the greeting “hello” is the most universal. It is suitable for any occasion except very strict business letters.
• Hi Alex- an analogue of our “hello”. This way you can contact your work colleagues, close friends, and pen pal.
• Hey Alex– also “hello”, but with a slightly more friendly, informal tone. Something like our “great”. It is so appropriate to contact a friend, a pen pal, or colleagues with whom you are on short terms. By the way, the greeting “hey” in films is often translated incorrectly as “hey”, and not as “hello”. It turns out to be complete nonsense: two friends met, said “hey” to each other and went their separate ways.

Please note that there is no romantic connotation in the word “dear” at the beginning of a letter, but “dearest” or “my dear” are written to lovers or family members (for example, parents to children).

The letter ends with a farewell word or wish and the name of the sender, for example:

Here are the standard farewell options:

• Bye– “bye”, the easiest way to say goodbye.
• Best wishes- "best wishes". This is what they write in both business and friendly letters.
• Kind regards– similar to “best wishes”. Often they simply write “regards”.

You can also write to lovers, relatives, close friends:

• Love- “I love”, “with love”.
• Kiss- "kiss".
• Hug- “hugs.”

Sometimes letters end with these strange abbreviations:

• X– kiss.
• XO– hug and kiss.
• XOXO– hugs and kisses.

There are different versions of the origin of the X at the end of the letter meaning “kiss”. One of them says that in the Middle Ages a cross (a Christian symbol) was depicted on letters as a sign of sincerity and honesty of the letter. And having drawn a cross, you had to kiss it. According to another version, the letter X, which is read as simply consonant with “a kiss”. Why the letter O symbolizes hugs is a mystery shrouded in darkness.

Useful phrases for a friendly letter

In informal correspondence, you can express thoughts as conveniently as possible, using abbreviations, slang, and colloquial expressions. Here are some templates that may be useful in correspondence.

Examples of letters to a friend in English with translation

I will give three examples: a letter to a pen pal, a letter to a relative, a love letter.

Example 1: A typical letter to a foreign pen pal.

Example 2: letter to a relative.

Letter from the game “Life is Strange”

Example 3: love letter.

This letter is taken from the movie “The Notebook”. The translation of the letter is taken from the film in Russian dubbing.