Informal letter opening + sign of

As a class brainstorm standard opening and closing expressions for

informal letters:

Opening Closing

Its wonderful to hear from you again.

Its been ages since we last saw each Anyway, Id better get going as I have an
other. early start in the morning.
Well, its getting late and Ive gotta get up at
How have you been? the crack of dawn tomorrow.

What have you been up to? Hugs and kisses

Sorry for not writing back sooner, Ive been Lots of love
snowed under with
schoolwork/exams/work. Send my love to .

So you wanted to know about. Well

Sequencing

At first/To start with/In the Sudden/unexpected events.

beginning.. Out of the blue

Then/next/after that/ Like a bolt from the blue

The next thing that happened Completely unexpectedly

was.
Just as I was least expecting it..
The next thing I knew was
Looking back
Seconds/Minutes later
In retrospect
Later on/Some time later..

It wasnt until much later that..

After some time/what seemed like

years
When I think back to that day..

Finally/In the end..

Looking back on that day.

At last,..

I was just about to (infinitive) when.

I was on the point of (gerund) when..

Rapid events Simultaneous events

In the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, In the meantime.

As quick as a flash.. While all this was going on

Ways to say exciting/excited: Phrasal verbs:

exhilarating/exhilarated take up a challenge (accept)

adrenalin rush set off on a journey/adventure (start)

thrilling/thrilled freak out (get very scared and nervous)

Scary/scared Describing the weather:

petrifying/petrified A scorching summer day

terrifying/terrified A freezing winter day

frightening/frightened A crisp winter day

Nervous

on edge A howling wind was blowing

I had butterflies in my stomach A light breeze was blowing

nerve-racking/nail-biting (to describe the The sun was beating down on us

activity)
It was pouring with rain
Difficult
The heavens opened (it started to rain very
Tough hard)

Hard

Challenging

Grammatical Range SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW!

Inversions: Participle clauses:

No sooner had I got on the board, than I
fell off.
Hardly had the plane left the
ground when I started to feel sick.
Only when/Not until two days later did I
appreciate how much danger I had been
in.
Being a strong swimmer, I had no problem
in the strong currents.
Having studied French at school, I was
able to get by speaking to the locals.
Seeing the Lion running towards me, I
panicked and got back in the jeep.

On no account must you leave the car Cleft Sentences

during the safari.
I liked the rollercoasters the most.
Little did I know that there were man-
eating sharks in the water. What I liked most was the rollercoasters.

At no time did I stop screaming with fear It was the rollercoasters that I liked the
 most.

and delight.

Never before had I seen such breath-

Inverted conditionals
taking views.

Were I to go again, Id pack more warm

Never before had I felt so alive.
clothes.

Had I known it was going to be so cold, I

would have packed warmer clothes.
So + adjective/adverb + verb + subject

Had I not seen the warning sign, I would

So clear was the water that you could see
have jumped into the crocodile lake.
right to the bottom.

Had it not been for + noun

So delicious was the dessert that we
went back for seconds.
Had it not been for the guide, we would
have got completely lost!

Students Worksheet

Impressive Vocabulary
Match to make impressive collocations

1. Breath-taking /Jaw-dropping/mind- a. Activities/sports

blowing b. Local delicacies

2. Mouth-watering c. Monuments/attractions

3. Mile upon mile of d. Golden sands/rolling hills

4. Death-defying e. Local traditions/customs

5. Baffling/bewildering
f. Water
6. Crystal clear/ice-cold
g. City/metropolis
7. Densely-populated/Bustling
h. Views/landscape
8. World-famous/internationally-renowned