Business EnglishBusiness

Why Your Email Sounds Junior

Grammar: BE-1

A Business English English lesson exploring business.

businessbe-1

What's in this lesson

A Business English ESL lesson on business, practising be-1. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary, a grammar reference with practice and discussion questions.

From the reading: Why Your Email Sounds Junior

In 2018, the Radicati Group estimated that office workers send and receive around 124 billion business emails every day. Most are forgettable. A small number quietly change how a colleague is judged. Linguists call the difference register: the level of formality a writer chooses, mostly without noticing.

Vocabulary

  • a fine line
  • cut to the chase
  • get off on the wrong foot
  • read the room
  • at
  • for
  • in
  • of
  • With

Grammar: BE-1

Active (direct)
We made the decision. — clear actor, direct tone
Passive (formal)
The decision was made. — hides the actor, sounds formal

Discussion questions

  1. Have you noticed how some emails feel friendly while others feel cold?
  2. Why do you think people sign emails differently at work?
  3. Have you noticed which greetings make a message feel more senior?

Why Your Email Sounds Junior

Grammar: BE-1

What's in this lesson:

Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.

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