BUSINESS LETTER WRITING: TESTS

 

1. Using either the present simple or present continuous tenses, complete the letter with the appropriate verb from the list below.

 

build

look

offer

start

write

know

note

provide

supply

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

We (1) _______  that you have made a planning application and (2) _______ an extension to your property soon, and I (3) _______ to inform you of services which we, as your local Builders' Merchant, (4) _______ for our customers.

Our range of products (5) _______ at the foundations with sand, cement, and bricks, and we also (6) _______ a full range of timber and plasterboard products.

In addition to this, but only for the next two weeks, we (7) _______ a free estimating service, so that you (8) _______ exactly how much the materials will cost.

We (9) _______ forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Hall and Co., Ltd

 

2. Read the letter of application and put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.

 

Dear Sir,

I am writing to (1) _______ (apply) for the position of Senior Programmer which (2) _______ (advertise) on 28 February in The Times.

I (3) _______ (work) as a computer programmer for the last three years. After graduation I (4) _______ (work) for a year with NCR and (5) _______ (he) now with Intelligent Software for two years. 1 design systems in COBOL for use in large retail chains. These have been very successful and we (6) _______ (win) several new contracts in the UK and Europe on the strength of my team's success.

Last year I (7) _______ (spend) three months in Spain testing our programs and also (8) _______ (make) several short visits to Italy so I have a basic knowledge of Spanish and Italian. I now feel ready for more responsibility and more challenging work and would welcome the opportunity to learn about a new industry.

I enclose my curriculum vitae and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Sarah Brown

 

3. Complete the following letters with the correct prepositions.

 

1) Dear Mr Smith,

(1) _______ reply (2) _______ your letter (3) _______ August 25 we have the pleasure (4) _______ informing you that we have considered your request and found it valid and convincing. Attached (5) _______ this letter you will find all the data (6) ______ the subject you are interested (7) _______.

I look forward (8) _______ seeing you soon here.

Yours sincerely,

N. Simpson

 

2) Dear Mr Collins,

The Organising Committee officially invites you to participate (1) _______ the work (2) _______ the seminar to be held (3) _______ 10th to 12th November, this year.

We would very much appreciate an early reply (4) _______ this invitation and hope we shall have the pleasure (5) _______ seeing you here.

We should be very grateful (6) _______ you if you let us know the date (7)  _______ your arrival.

Yours sincerely,

S. Johnson

 

Dear Mr Johnson,

It gives me great pleasure to accept your kind invitation to participate (8) _______ the work (9) _______ the seminar.

I shall cable you the date (10) _______ my arrival (11) _______ my earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

T. Collins

 

3) Dear Mr Brown,

Please forgive me (1) _______ not replying sooner (2) _______ your kind letter     (3) _______ May 20. When your letter arrived I was (4) _______ a business trip and only returned a week ago.

I am very grateful (5) _______ you (6) _______ sending me the catalogue I requested. I look forward (7) _______ meeting you soon.

Yours sincerely,

F.D. Collins

 

4) Dear Sirs,

I refer (1) _______ the telex (2) _______ Mr. Francis dated March 19th, 2001, and write personally to apologise (3) _______ the last minute postponement (4) _______ our visit (5) _______ Moscow (6) _______ March 21 st. It was considered (7) _______ my colleagues in Frankfurt to be more appropriate if I took part (8) _______ the discussions.  

I look forward now (9) _______ our meeting (10) _______ the revised date of Wednesday April 18th, again (11) _______ 11.30a.m.

(12) _______ best regards,

Yours faithfully,

R.M. Smith

 

5) Dear Sir,

We read your advertisement (1) _______ racing cycles (2) _______ the current edition (3) _______ “Cyclist” and are interested (4) _______ your products, particularly touring bikes.

We are a large retail company (5) _______ cycle shops throughout Germany and would like your catalogue and a price-list, quoting c.i.f. Berlin prices.

Please let us know your terms (6) _______ trade, including quantity discounts, delivery dates, and any credit facilities you are prepared to offer (7) _______ large orders.

We look forward (8) _______ hearing (9) _______ you soon.

Yours faithfully.

Karl Janssen

 

6)Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a Spanish student (1) _______ the University (2) _______ Barcelona doing a Master's Course (3) _______ Business Studies, and I intend to spend six months             (4) _______ England, (5) _______ January next year, preparing (6) _______ the Cambridge First Certificate.

Your college was recommended (7) _______ me (8) _______ a fellow student and I would like details (9) _______ the First Certificate course, including fees and dates. Could you also let me know if you can provide accommodation (10) _______ me (11) _______ Brighton (12) _______ an English family.

Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Maria Ortega

 

7) Dear Sir,

We were impressed (1) _______ your display (2) _______ office furniture            (3) _______ the Expoquip trade fair held (4) _______ Madrid (5) _______ January.

We are a group (6) _______ retailers specialising (7) _______ the sale (8) _______ top-quality non-electronic office equipment, and we are seeking a supplier (9) _______ our stores.

Could you send us your latest catalogue and price-list, details (10) _______ materials used (11) _______ your products, and information regarding credit terms and discounts?

We look forward (12) _______ receiving your reply.

Yours faithfully,

Anne Croft (Miss)

 

8) Dear Mr MacFee,

We are writing (1) _______ you (2) _______ the recommendation (3) _______ Mr David Arnold, the accountant (4) _______ D.L. Cromer Ltd. (5) _______ Staines, Middlesex. He advised us to contact you as a referee, concerning credit facilities, which his company has asked us (6) _______.

Could you confirm that the company settles (7) _______ due dates, and is sound enough to meet credits of (8) _______ to £5,000 in transactions.

We would be grateful (9) _______ a reply (10) _______ your earliest possible convenience.

Yours sincerely,

P. Gomez (Mrs)

 

9) Dear Mr Dietmann,

You were recommended (1) _______ us (2) _______ Gebrauchte Stilmobel, our associates, (3) _______ whom you have operated as forwarding agents.

We are looking (4) _______ a reliable company to handle our deliveries                (5) _______ Europe, taking care (6) _______ documentation and making sure (7) _______ a safe delivery, as many (8) _______ our products become worthless if damaged.

Enclosed you will find a list representing a consignment we wish to send               (9) _______ Lausanne (10) _______ Switzerland. We would like it to be delivered there (11) _______ road (12) _______ a door-to-door basis. Could you let us have your quotation, and if it is competitive, we can assure you (13) _______ further business       (14) _______ the future.

Yours sincerely,

R. Behrendt

 

10) Dear Sir/Madam,

We are a large engineering company exporting machine parts worldwide, and we have set up contracts (1) _______ Middle Eastern Customers (2) _______ the next two years.

As these parts are similar (3) _______ nature and are going (4) _______ the same destination over this period, we thought it might be less expensive if we insured them,     (5) _______ an all risk basis, (6) _______ a time policy.

We would appreciate it if you could give us any information (7) _______ this type (8) _______ cover and how it operates.

Yours faithfully,

Jack Turner

 

4. Complete the following letters. Decide whether to use a, the, or no article at all, in the blank spaces.

 

1) Dear Sirs,

Thank you for your letter giving us (1) _______ details of (2) _______ products we enquired about.

(3) _______ main item we are interested in is (4) _______ kitchen unit listed in     (5) _______ catalogue under (6) _______ heading CM214. As we are building                (7) _______ large block of apartments, we think (8) _______ unit like (9) _______ one listed, might be (10) _______ best installation for our purposes.

Please let us know what your terms of (11) _______ trade are. Could you also tell us if you are able to offer (12) _______ trade and (13) _______ discounts on (14) _______ price for (15) _______ large order? We would also be grateful for (16) _______ samples of all materials used in (17) _______ manufacture of your units.

I am including (18) _______ plan of our apartments, and (19) _______ dimensions we would need.

Yours faithfully,

Jack Simon

 

2) Dear Mr Toda,

We are writing to point out that (1) _______ above delivery, which arrived yesterday, was (2) _______ week late. This is (3) _______ second time we have had to write to you on this subject, and we cannot allow (4) _______ situation to continue. We have already explained that it is essential for (5) _______ medical equipment to arrive on (6) _______ due date as (7) _______ late delivery could create (8) _______ very serious problem.

Unless we have (9) _______ absolute assurance that you can guarantee                 (10) _______ promptness of all future deliveries, we will have to look for another supplier. We will want your confirmation before we place our next order.

 Yours sincerely,

Carlo Lotti

 

3) Dear Mr Clark,

I shall be arriving in (1) _______ Moscow on (2) ________ Wednesday 14th, and would be grateful if you could book accommodation at (3) _______ Rossiya Hotel. Could you also reserve (4) _______ return ticket for me for (5) _______ Tuesday 20th.

 

I would appreciate if you could arrange for (6) _______ visit to (7) _______ Bolshoi Theatre. Would it be also possible to include (8) _______ visit to (9) _______ Pushkin Museum into our itinerary.

Your cooperation would be most appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Norman Gotsby

 

5. Use the words below to complete the following letters.

 

1)

depot settle

wrapped packed

transaction alternative

delivery crates

consignment hand over

 

Would you please make sure that the (1) _______ of fabrics is (2) _______ carefully in tissue paper, and (3) _______ securely in (4) _______ and sent to our main goods       (5) _______ at the above address in Milan.

If the items listed are not available, please do not send (6) _______ materials or colours. If there are any problems with (7) _______, could you let us know immediately.

We will (8) _______ your draft for 25,000 DM, at our bank as soon as they           (9) _______ the shipping documents.

If this (10) _______ is successful, we will place larger orders in the future.

 

2)

have not arrived were damaged

have contacted found

have not had received

have informed showed

was torn unpacked

 

Dear Mr Harrison,

I am writing to complain about a shipment of tubular steel garden furniture we                (1) _______ yesterday against our invoice no. G 3190/1. The crates (2) _______ on the outside, and looked as if they had been roughly handled. When we (3) _______ them, we (4) _______ that some of the chair legs were bent and rusty, and the fabric on the seating (5) _______ , or (6) _______ signs of wear.

Two further crates from the consignment (7) _______ yet, so we (8) _______ the opportunity of inspecting them. I (9) _______ the shipping company that we cannot accept this consignment from you, and they (10) _______ your insurers.

As we will be unable to retail this consignment in our stores, we are returning the shipment to you carriage forward, and we shall expect a full refund.

Yours sincerely,

C.R. Mendez

 

3)

place have been trading

began has passed

may be approached would be settled

have been cleared had been established

 

Dear Mr Medina,

We (1) _______ with you for the past year and during that time our accounts          (2) _______ by letter of credit. However, when we (3) _______ our association with you, you mentioned that once a business relationship (4) _______ , our accounts (5) _______ by  60-day bill of exchange, documents against acceptance. We feel that sufficient time   (6) _______ to allow this arrangement to be effected.

Please let us know before we (7) _______ our next order, if these new payment terms are acceptable.

I enclose details of two referees, who (8) _______ should you require trade references, and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

David Arnold

 

4)

offer del credere

commission recommendation

principals factory

rates terms

documentation manufacturers

freight brochure

 

Dear Mrs Neves,

We are writing to you on the (1) _______ of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce who informed us that you were looking for a buying agent for precision tools in this country.

We have been in this trade for over twenty years and have close contacts with the major (2) _______ both here and overseas.

If we may, we would like to give you a brief outline of the (3) _______ we work on. Generally, we place orders for our (4) _______ with our suppliers, and our customers settle direct with the manufacturer. In addition we arrange all costs, insurance and            (5) _______ facilities for the client handling consignments from the (6) _______ to the port/airport of the importer's country.

As we have dealt with these agencies for a number of years, we can offer you their most competitive (7) _______ for shipment. In addition we would take care of all           (8) _______ , including customs formalities.

As a rule we operate on a 4.5 per cent (9) _______ on c.i.f. values, but if credit is involved, we could offer (10) _______ services for an additional 2.5 per cent commission, pending the usual inquiries.

If you are interested in this (11) _______ we can assure you of first class, efficient service. Meanwhile, do not hesitate to contact us for any more information. Please find enclosed our (12) _______ giving you full details of our company. We look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Yours sincerely,

M. Kobelt

 

5)

information

credit-worthiness

statements

customer

confidence

limit

balance

due

 

Dear Mrs Gomez,

I refer to your letter of May 18 concerning the (1) _______ of D. L. Cromer Ltd.

The company has been a (2) _______ of ours for a number of years, and although their credit (3) _______ has not reached the level you mentioned, we have found that they always cleared their (4) _______ on the (5) _______ dates, settling them on quarterly     (6) _______ .

We trust you will treat this (7) _______ in the (8) _______.

Yours sincerely,

G. MacFee

 

 

6)

inform

charges

documents

draw

acting

valid

settle

opened

 

Dear Sir,

We are (1) _______ on behalf of the Eastland Bank, London, and would like to      (2) _______ you that the above documentary credit for 45.000 FF has been (3) _______ in your favour by your customers Mercury Data Ltd. The credit is (4) _______ until 12 August and all bank (5) _______ have been paid.

Please bring the following (6) _______ to the above address: Air Waybill, Invoice for full value of sale c.i.f. London, Insurance Certificate, Certificate of Origin.

Would you also (7) _______ a sight draft for the full amount of the invoices on us so that we can (8) ________ this account.

Thank you in advance.

Yours faithfully,

Paul Diderot

 

7)

attention

discounts

interest

contact

help

enquiry

enclosing

 

Dear Mr Raval,

Thank you for your (1) _______ of 31 January, and we are (2) _______ our Spring Catalogue and current price-list quoting c.i.f prices Bombay.

We would like to draw your (3) _______ to the trade and quantity (4) _______ we are offering in our Special Purchases section p.p. 19-26 which may be of particular         (5) _______ to you.

Please (6) _______ us if we can be of any further (7) _______ to you.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Gower

 

8)

send attention

together protecting

forward sell

Project graphics

Madam faithfully

based

 

For the (1) _______ of the Sales Manager

Dear Sir or (2) _______,

We are a software company (3) _______ in London and are currently developing a Windows-based scientific (4) _______ package for use in universities and research laboratories. We are interested in (5) _______ the programmes we (6) _______ from unauthorised copying and duplication.

Could you please (7) _______ us more technical information about your RSP-11 software protection system (8) _______ with your current brochure and price-list?

 

We look (9) _______ to hearing from you.

Yours (10) _______ ,

Anne Newson

(11) _______ Director

 

9)

appreciate faithfully Regarding

ask grateful regret

concerning hearing sincerely

delighted please sorry

enclose receiving writing

 

Dear Ms Chan,

Thank you for your letter of 24 April, (1) _______ the exhibition in Anytown in August.

We are (2) _______ to hear that your company will be taking part and that you will address the opening conference.

(3) _______ the conference, we would (4) _______ it if you could send us details of all delegates so that we can prepare security passes.

We would also (5) _______ you to let us have details of the equipment you need for your presentation.

We look forward to (6) _______ your reply.

Yours (7) _______         

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

Your company has been recommended to us by a business associate and I am        (8) _______ to enquire about your translation services.

My company has recently entered the export market and we need advertising material translated into Chinese, Russian, and Turkish.

We would be (9) _______ if you could send us your prices and terms of payment.

We look forward to (10) _______ from you.

Yours (11) _______

 

Dear Mr Kadenza,

I was very (12) _______ to hear about your problems with the new super vacuum.

I have investigated the complaint and I (13) _______ to tell you that the problem is the result of faulty operation. I (14) _______ a copy of the inspector’s report with this letter.

If you require us to repair the machine, (15) _______ contact me at the number above.

Yours sincerely

 

6. Read the following letters and choose the best words from the options in brackets.

 

1) Dear Mr Osterheld,

We were very pleased to receive your (1) _______ (correspondence, enquiry, mail) of 14 October 2001, asking about our leather and sheepskin (2) _______ (range, cloths, products) and terms of (3) _______ (dealing, trade, conditions).

First let me say that our (4) _______ (label, mark, patent) is internationally famous because of the quality of our garments, and we are convinced they will sell very well through your (5) _______ (outlets, factories, warehouses). We think you will agree with us when you look through the enclosed (6) _______ (manual, catalogue, leaflet) and examine the (7) _______ (specimens, examples, samples) we are forwarding separately.

You will see from the price-list that we take care of all freight and insurance costs, so the prices are quoted on a(n) (8) _______ (c.i.f, ex-works, f.o.b.) basis. We will also allow (9) _______ (trade, cash, quantity) discounts for orders over $10,000, and with the usual trade references, we can arrange for payment by 60-day (10) _______ (bill, letter, draft) of exchange.

Thank you once again for your enquiry, and we are sure you will be impressed by the (11) _______ (vast, huge, wide) selection of our garments. Meanwhile, if there are any further details you need, please contact us.

Yours sincerely,

Ellena Onate

 

2) Dear Mr Grassmann,

You were recommended to us by the German Chamber of Commerce, who           (1) _______ (said, told, spoke) you might be interested in representing an Italian glass manufacturing company in your country.

We have a number of agencies in other European countries who receive products on (2) _______ (commission, consignment, approval), then sell them on a six per cent commission on ex-works prices. These are (3) _______ (single, unique, sole) agencies which means that only we supply them, and they represent only us in this line.

Generally, their customers (4) _______ (settle, agree, deal) all accounts with us, then we supply them direct on invoices received from the agent.

In most cases we offer a (5) _______ (test, proof, trial) agency for one year, and if the results are good, we (6) _______ (export, extend, expand) the agency on a further two-year contract. We would (7) _______ (offer, suggest, invite) you support through advertising, brochures, and leaflets in German, the (8) _______ (cost, value, worth) of this being shared between us.

Our market (9) _______ (researches, reporters, informers) tell us there is an increasing demand for our line of products in your country, so it will not be difficult to sell our wares.

If you would be interested in an agency of this type, we can send you a standard agreement, giving you more details of our terms.
Meanwhile, we are enclosing our (10) _______ (actual, present, current) catalogue.

Yours sincerely,

P. Grazioli

 

3) Dear Mr Merton,

In reply to your fax of the (1) _______ (before, over, above) date, we are sending you details of our shipping (2) _______ (timetables, schedules, programs) and freight rates, so they should (3) _______ (arrive, reach, deliver) you by tomorrow.

With regard to the (4) _______ (certification, documentation, paper) you asked for, we (5) _______ (suggest, advise, warn) you use our combined Transport Bill as the goods will then be covered by road, Ro-Ro ferry, and road again. We are also sending               (6) _______ (down, on, up) our Export Cargo Packing Instructions which should be        (7) _______ (brought, handed, put) to our driver when he calls. Consignment will be delivered to our (8) _______ (роst, camp, depot) for consolidation, and you will be         (9) _______ (charged, accounted, paid) at the very competitive groupage rates.

We will lake the usual (10) _______ (duties, responsibilities, care) for handling cargo, but suggest you take all risk insurance cover on a door-to-door (11) _______ (term, basis, ground).

Please let us know (12) _______ (as, if, when) there are any other details you require.

Yours sincerely,

Brian Close

 

4) Dear Sir,

We are a (1) _______ (grand, large, wide) company (2) _______ (dealing, coping, managing) with merchandise (3) _______ (who, which, what) we ship (4) _______ (in, to, towards) Europe and North America. We (5) _______ (want, would like, request) to know if you can (6) _______ (suggest, supply, give) us with quotation for a comprehensive policy, (7) _______ (assuring, protecting, covering) our warehouse at Dock Road, Southampton.

The policy would (8) _______ (consist, contain, include) fire, flood, theft, burglary, and the usual contingencies affecting this (9) _______ (form, kind, variety) of enterprise. At any time, there may be about £250,000 in stock on the (10)  (premises, grounds, floors).

If you can offer us (11) _______ (competing, competition, competitive) rates, we will (12) _______ (think, imagine, consider) further policies with you on our other interests.

We look forward to hearing from you (13) _______ (soon, presently, immediately).

Yours faithfully.

Peter Hind

 

5) Dear Mr Boldt,

We (1) _______ (wish, want, would like) to invite you to our annual dinner on 15 February and (2) _______ (wonder, ask, demand) if you would consider being one of our guest (3) _______ (announcers, speakers, talkers).

The theme we are promoting this year is the Single European Currency, and we would (4) _______ (admire, like, appreciate) a contribution from your field of manufacturing how this would (5) _______ (afflict, affect, alter) you and your colleagues’ enterprises. Please (6) _______ (let, leave, make) us know as soon as possible if you are able to (7) _______ (arrive, attend, assist).

(8) _______ (Inside, Enclosed, Within) you will find a formal invitation (9) _______ (to, of, for) yourself and a guest.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Hoffman

Chairman

 

Dear Mr Hollman,

Thank you for your letter and invitation of 13 January (10) _______ (requesting, asking, inviting) Mr Boldt to your annual dinner.

He will be (11) _______ (content, overjoyed, pleased) to attend and speak about the effects that parity of currencies will have on the costs of (12) _______ (crude, raw, first) materials for our industry. He (13) _______ (expects, awaits, forecasts) the talk to last about half an hour.

I will send you a transcript next week, and Mr Boldt would (14) _______ (enjoy, greet, welcome) any comments or suggestions you care to (15) _______ (have, propose, make).

He looks forward to seeing you on February 15 at the (16) _______ (event, occasion, function).

Yours sincerely,

Barbara Schroeder (Mrs)

p.p. Gunter Boldt

Chairman

 

6) We are looking for someone with (1) _______ (current, fluent, spoken) English and Italian, and preferably another language, such as French or German. The (2) _______ (secretary, interviewee, applicant) should have at least two years’ secretarial (3) _______ (work, experience, employment). Office skills such as typing, word processing, and shorthand would be a(n) (4) _______ (advantage, benefit, addition).

The work (5) _______ (consists, contains, includes) customer liaison, and             (6) _______ (doing, making, acting) as an interpreter for the Assistant Manager, both here and elsewhere in Europe, The successful candidate will also be expected to proof-read manuscripts in English and Italian. In addition to this, he/she will be expected to carry out the usual secretarial (7) _______ (work, duties, employment). For a(n) (8) _______ (application form, c.v , interview), phone Paula Prentiss, the Personnel Manager, on (0223) 6814, Ext.412, quoting (9) _______ (number, reference, figure) PP391.

 

7) Further to our telephone conversation, I am writing to you (1) _______ (affecting, concerning, changing) your order, No.SX1940, which was (2) _______ (sold, made, placed) with us on 10 January.

Once again, I must (3) _______ (regret, apologize, speak) to you for our delay in processing the order. This was due to a (4) _______ (shortage, fault, problem) of office staff. However, since I spoke to you last week, we have (5) _______ (dismissed, promoted, taken on) four new employees at our depot, and I am pleased to be able to tell you that your order is now ready for dispatch. It will (6) _______ (arrive, delivery, reach) you in approximately fourteen days’ time.

As always, special (7) _______ (care, attention, caution) has been taken to ensure that your (8) _______ (load, crates, consignment) of goods has been packed (9) _______ (meeting, according, serving) to your requirements. Each item will be individually wrapped to (10) _______ (prevent, cause, stop) damage.