By the end of this lesson you'll be able to write a friendly email, with your news, your plans and a question for the other person.
Opening and closing
You've already written short messages in the lesson on writing a short message, so you know Salut, Coucou and Cher or Chère plus a name. You also know À bientôt and Grosses bises. Here are some more ways to finish.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| À très vite ! | ah treh VEET | Talk soon! See you very soon! |
| Bises | beez | Love (to friends and family) |
| Je t'embrasse | zhuh tahn-BRAHSS | Love, big hug (to friends and family) |
| Écris-moi vite ! | ay-kree mwah VEET | Write back soon! |
Écris-moi vite is the imperative with a pronoun, from the lesson on the imperative with pronouns. Cordialement, which you met in the same lesson as Grosses bises, is a different kind of closing. It's for someone you call vous, such as a teacher. Choose it when you aren't close to the person, and you'll learn more about formal emails in the lesson on writing a formal email.
Getting started
These phrases help you begin, and keep things friendly.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Merci pour ton message. | mehr-see poor tohn meh-SAHZH | Thanks for your message. |
| Comment vas-tu ? | koh-mahn vah TEW | How are you? |
| J'espère que tu vas bien. | zheh-spehr kuh tew vah BYAN | I hope you're well. |
| Je t'écris pour… | zhuh tay-KREE poor | I'm writing to…Followed by an infinitive. |
| donner des nouvelles | doh-nay day noo-VEL | to give (someone) your news |
| Dis bonjour à … de ma part. | dee bohn-ZHOOR ah … duh mah PAR | Say hello to … from me. |
| Tu me manques. | tew muh MAHNK | I miss you. |
| P.-S. | pay ESS | P.S. |
Tu me manques works the opposite way round from English. In French, the person you miss is the subject: literally, "you are lacking to me".
Dis bonjour à Paul de ma part (Say hello to Paul from me) is a handy way to finish. And if you think of something after you've finished, add it at the very end with P.-S.
What to put in the middle
A good email has three parts after the opening.
1. Your news. Use the passé composé and the imparfait, as you did in the lesson on the passé composé and the imparfait and the lesson on telling a simple story. Set the scene, then say what happened.
Il faisait très chaud, alors nous sommes allés à la plage.
It was very hot, so we went to the beach.
Alors links the scene to what happened next.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| alors | ah-LOR | so, then |
2. Your plans. Use aller + infinitive or the futur simple.
Samedi, je vais voir mes parents.
On Saturday, I'm going to see my parents.
En août, nous partirons en Italie.
In August, we'll go to Italy.
3. A question back. A friendly email always gives the other person something to answer.
Et toi, qu'est-ce que tu fais cet été ?
And you, what are you doing this summer?
Keep tu the whole way through. In an email to a friend, ton, ta, tes, te and toi all go together, so if a vous or a votre has crept in, change it.
A model email
Chère Sophie,
Merci pour ton message. Comment vas-tu ? J'espère que tu vas bien.
Je t'écris pour te donner des nouvelles. La semaine dernière, nous étions à Toulouse. Il faisait beau, et nous avons visité la ville. Un soir, nous avons mangé dans un très bon restaurant.
En juillet, je vais venir à Paris. Tu seras là ? Dis bonjour à Marc de ma part.
Tu me manques ! Écris-moi vite.
Je t'embrasse,
Julien
P.-S. J'ai trouvé ton livre chez moi !
(Dear Sophie, Thanks for your message. How are you? I hope you're well. I'm writing to give you some news. Last week, we were in Toulouse. The weather was good, and we visited the town. One evening, we ate in a very good restaurant. In July, I'm going to come to Paris. Will you be there? Say hello to Marc from me. I miss you! Write back soon. Love, Julien. P.S. I found your book at my place!)
A second email to put in order
The paragraphs of this email have been mixed up. Decide on the order before you read the answer below.
- A. Le mois prochain, j'irai à Bordeaux. Tu veux venir avec moi ? (Next month, I'll go to Bordeaux. Do you want to come with me?)
- B. Salut Thomas ! Merci pour ton message. (Hi Thomas! Thanks for your message.)
- C. À très vite ! Bises, Inès (Talk soon! Love, Inès)
- D. Hier, je suis allée au marché. Il y avait beaucoup de monde. (Yesterday, I went to the market. There were a lot of people.)
The order is B, D, A, C: the greeting, the news, the plan with a question, then the closing.
Your turn
Write an email of six to eight sentences to a friend. Include an opening, your news with both past tenses, one plan, one question and a closing.
What's next
Next, the lesson on holidays and festivals gives you something to write about, and the right greeting for each occasion.