Writing emails in English: greetings, sign-offs and templates

How is an email in English structured?

A business email in English has seven parts: the subject line, the greeting, an opening that states the reason in one sentence, the body with one idea per paragraph, a closing that sets out the next step, the sign-off and your signature. Once you have internalised this pattern, you will write faster and with more confidence.

1. Subject line: short, specific, stating the reason
2. Greeting: Dear, Hello or Hi, depending on the relationship
3. Opening: the context or reason in one sentence
4. Body: one idea per paragraph
5. Closing: the next step and an offer to answer questions
6. Sign-off: Kind regards, Best wishes and so on
7. Signature: name, job title, company, contact details

Compared with German business letters, English emails are usually shorter, more personal in tone and more focused on the next step. If you work in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, you will notice that German correspondence often opens with formulas such as „Bezug nehmend auf unser Telefonat vom …“ (with reference to our phone call of …); carried over into English, openings like this quickly sound stiff.

In our courses we often see that writing practice pays off, because understanding English emails well does not automatically mean writing them with the same confidence. If you want to work on these differences systematically, our Business English courses include writing training with feedback on your real emails.

Greetings in English emails: Dear, Hello or Hi?

Whether Dear, Hello or Hi is right depends on how well you know the person and how formal the context is. Dear Ms Jones is formal, while Dear Sarah is considered neutral and professional in British English. Hello is neutral to relaxed, and Hi suits contacts you know. For women, Ms is the safe default.

In its LearnEnglish unit on starting and finishing emails, the British Council distinguishes between phrases that work in both formal and informal emails (such as “Dear Tim”), purely formal ones (“Dear Mr Piper”, “Dear Sir or Madam”) and purely informal ones (“Hi Tim”).

Mr, Mrs, Ms: which is right?

• Ms is the safe default for women because it says nothing about marital status. Only use “Mrs” if the person prefers it.
• In British English, Mr and Ms are usually written without a full stop; in American English with one (Mr., Ms.).
• Never combine the title with a first name: Dear Mr Thomas is only correct if Thomas is the surname.
• Academic titles are used more sparingly in English than in German-speaking countries. “Dear Dr Müller” is fine, but “Dear Herr Dr. Müller” looks out of place in an English email, even if your German colleagues would use both titles in German.

After the greeting, the first line in English starts with a capital letter. This is different from German, where the text after „Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,“ continues in lower case.

Sign-offs in English: Kind regards, Best regards and Yours sincerely

In everyday business, two or three sign-offs are all you need: Kind regards is the neutral standard for most business emails, and Best regards is very common internationally. Yours sincerely (name known) and Yours faithfully (name unknown) are very formal and today are mainly used for official letters, job applications and complaints.

The classic rule: faithfully or sincerely

The British rule of thumb is this: if you do not know the name, write “Yours faithfully”; if you do, write “Yours sincerely”. The British Council lists both as purely formal endings. In emails they are now used mainly for official letters, applications and complaints. In day-to-day business, “Kind regards” dominates.

Punctuation

In English, the sign-off is usually followed by a comma, with your name on the next line. In German this comma is left out, so you may see both styles in a German company. Be careful with a bare “Regards”: it is correct but can sound cool if the rest of your email is warmer.

Writing the subject line and opening in English

A good subject line in English states the reason and the response you expect, for example Rescheduling Thursday’s meeting to 3 pm rather than just Meeting, or Quotation for 500 units: please confirm by 20 May rather than Offer. The opening gives the reason in one sentence, such as Thank you for your email of 3 May.

Avoid vague subject lines such as “Question” or “Info”.

Tried-and-tested opening lines

• Thank you for your email of 3 May. A polite way to refer to previous correspondence.
• I’m writing to enquire about … Neutral and suitable for a first contact.
• Following our phone call this morning, … Links the email to an earlier conversation.
• I hope you’re well. Common between people who know each other, but not essential.
• I’m contacting you on behalf of … Useful when you write for a manager, team or client.

You will find many more useful phrases, including for phone calls and meetings, in our collection of Business English phrases.

English email templates: enquiry, reminder, refusal

Short patterns are enough for enquiries, reminders and refusals. An enquiry names your company, your need and asks for a quotation; a reminder refers politely to your earlier email and gives a deadline; a refusal says thank you, makes a clear decision and leaves the door open for future projects. The templates below are deliberately neutral and easy to adapt.

Template 1: enquiry to a new supplier

Subject: Enquiry about packaging materials

Dear Ms Taylor,

I’m writing on behalf of Huber Maschinenbau in Erlangen. We are currently looking for a supplier of recyclable packaging materials and came across your company at the trade fair in Nuremberg.

Could you please send us a quotation for 2,000 units of your standard box, including delivery to Germany? We would also be grateful for information on lead times.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Daniel Huber

Template 2: a friendly reminder

Subject: Reminder: feedback on the draft contract

Hi James,

I hope you’re well. I just wanted to follow up on my email of 12 June about the draft contract. Would you be able to send us your comments by the end of this week? That would help us keep to the agreed timeline.

Many thanks,

Laura

Template 3: a polite refusal

Subject: Your proposal for the IT support contract

Dear Mr Patel,

Thank you for your detailed proposal and for taking the time to present it to us last week. After careful consideration, we have decided to go with another provider on this occasion.

We were impressed by your team’s expertise and would be happy to keep your details on file for future projects.

Kind regards,

Martina Gruber

For abbreviations such as “FYI”, “ASAP” or “EOD” that you will come across in replies, there is a separate overview: abbreviations in English emails. Vocabulary and phrases around deliveries and shipping are covered in our article on English for logistics.

Formal or informal? Finding the right tone in English emails

Whether you write formally or informally depends on your relationship with the reader. Neutral wording such as Could you please …? suits most business emails, formal wording such as We would be grateful if you could … suits official letters, and informal Can you …? works between close colleagues. Stick to one tone within an email.

Being too direct is the most common tone mistake

German business correspondence is matter-of-fact and clear, and that is a strength. Carried over into English, however, the same clarity can quickly sound demanding. “Please send me the document until tomorrow” sounds like an order, while “Could you send me the document by tomorrow?” sounds like a request between partners. If you work with German-speaking colleagues, it also helps to know that their directness is rarely meant as rudeness. You can read more about cultural differences like these in our article on intercultural communication at work.

Common mistakes in English emails

Common mistakes in English emails from German-speaking offices are literal translations such as With friendly greetings instead of Kind regards, Dear Mrs. instead of Dear Ms, I look forward to hear instead of hearing from you, and the present perfect with a specific time. Thank you in advance can also feel like pressure.

A word on dates: in British style, write “3 May” or “3 May 2024”. Purely numerical dates such as 03/05 are read as 5 March in the US, while colleagues in Germany may write 03.05. Spelling the month out avoids confusion. If tenses are a weak spot, our article on present perfect or simple past (in German) explains the rules.

Checklist: review your English email before you send it

Before you click send, check five points above all: does the subject line give the reason and the deadline? Does the greeting match the sign-off? Is the reason in the first sentence? Are deadlines given with by rather than until, and are dates unambiguous (3 May, not 03/05)? Is the attachment really attached? The full checklist:

• Does the subject line say what the email is about and by when?
• Does the greeting match the sign-off (Dear Mr Smith … Yours sincerely, Dear Sarah … Kind regards)?
• Is the reason in the first sentence?
• Is every request phrased as a question or with “please”?
• Have you given deadlines with “by” rather than “until”?
• Is the date unambiguous (3 May rather than 03/05)?
• Is the attachment really attached?
• Do you stick to one style throughout: British or American, formal or neutral?

Writing training with feedback

If you write in English regularly, individual correction is especially valuable. In our English training for work, we use your own emails, anonymised if you prefer. For teams in sales, purchasing or customer service, we put together suitable programmes under language courses for companies. We always start with a needs analysis, supplemented by a language audit if required. If you read Polish, our sister site has an article on formal and informal emails (in Polish). And when an email is not enough, our guide to phone calls in English will help.

Sources

1. ef.de: germany
2. learnenglish.britishcouncil.org: unit 4 starting finishing emails
3. choices.com.pl: email formalny i nieformalny

Frequently asked questions