1. Business English
  2. English for emails
  3. Unit 5: Making arrangements

Unit 5: Making arrangements

Need to organise something? In this unit, you can practise common phrases used to make plans by email.

Making arrangements

Think about these points when the purpose of your email is to make an arrangement.

Useful questions

Here are some typical questions used for making arrangements:

  • Are you free next Tuesday afternoon?
  • What time would you like to meet?
  • When would be convenient for you?
  • Could you please let me know?

Expressions of time

Use on with days: Could we meet on Monday?

Use in with months, years and other expressions: I'm going to visit my grandparents in October.

Use at with times and other expressions: Could you please call me at 3pm?

Use next to refer to future times: I hope we can meet again next week.

Use when to start a future time clause: Let's meet again when it is convenient.

Tenses

To speak about a timetable, use the present simple: Next term runs from 1 September until 16 December.

To speak about a future arrangement, use the present continuous: Mr Toshiko is coming to our next meeting.

To speak about a plan, use 'be going to': Next term we are going to learn about pollution.

See the talking about the future page for more practice.

Tenses in complex sentences about the future

Use the present simple after when, if and next time in future time clauses:

  • I will call you when I get to the station.
  • I'm going to work with my dad when I finish school.
  • Let's go for a walk if the weather is good.
  • Will you visit the Eiffel Tower next time you are in Paris?

Task 1

Exercise

Task 2

Exercise

Task 3

Exercise

Task 4

Exercise

Task 5

Exercise

Task 6

Exercise

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Language level

A2 English level (pre-intermediate)
B1 English level (intermediate)

Submitted by ali shah on Sat, 20/01/2018 - 09:31

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"The United States has assured Pakistan that it does not support any group threatening the country’s territorial integrity, a traditional US position re-emphasised following a recent advertising campaign targeting Islamabad." Would that be grammatically correct if we put ...who threatens the country's territorial integrity....."

Hello ali shah,

'who threatens' sounds a bit odd because 'a group' is not a person (even though it is made up of people). 'that threatens', however, is correct. 'threatening' is a reduced form of the relative structure 'that threatens'.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by ali shah on Tue, 09/01/2018 - 12:22

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Dear Sir, I have made a precis of a paragraph, Would you please make the corrections and suggest and write the better one for me? If the answer is yes, then I will surely post them here. If it is no, then would you please suggest someone who offers such kind of services?
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Submitted by Kirk on Tue, 09/01/2018 - 17:47

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Hello ali shah,

I'm afraid we don't provide this kind of service and I'm afraid we can't make any recommendations in this respect, either. Perhaps you could find someone by searching the internet for 'writing teacher', 'editor' or 'proofreader'.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by ali shah on Sun, 07/01/2018 - 11:58

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Hello Sir, 1."He was posted as assistant commissioner(AC)." 2."He was posted as an assistant commissioner." Which one is correct and why? if the first one is correct then what would you say about AC being a countable noun? Can we use indefinite articles for designations? e.g. He is an assistant professor. If we can use here then why can't we use it in No.1?

Hello ali shah,

Normally we use an indefinite pronoun in this kind of sentence, so in most cases 2 would be better. There are some contexts, however, when 1 could be correct. For example, if we had been speaking about the two or three different positions Imran could be assigned, we could say 1. But, as I said, in most cases, 2 would probably be best.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by ali shah on Sat, 06/01/2018 - 06:57

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Thank you Sir. Sir, does the use of ellipses count for redundancy? Will I be punished for it if used it in written examination? Which expression has good impression, ellipsis or ellipsis-less?

Hello ali shah,

Yes, ellipsis is often used to avoid being redundant. I'm afraid we can't really predict how your teachers will mark your writing, but in general I would encourage you to use ellipsis, but not excessively. I know that's not very specific advice, but there is simply no easy rule to explain it. I think the best thing you can do is pay attention to ellipsis -- or the lack thereof -- as you read in English. For example, in the Orwell quote, as Peter explained, Orwell avoids ellipsis because the repetition emphasises his point and makes the ideas memorable in a way that a more normally phrased sentence would not.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team