TODAY'S BUSINESS IDIOM: (IS) ANYONE'S GUESS

(IS) ANYONE’S GUESS (LES PARIS SONT OUVERTS)

• Picking the rises and falls in petrol prices is anyone's guess these days.

• A few years ago Nokia was the market leader and look where it is today. Whether Apple or Samsung, or even another player, will eventually dominate the smart phone market is anyone’s guess.

• What the state of the Euro economies will be in a year from now is anyone’s guess.

TODAY'S BUSINESS IDIOM : ON THE GROUNDS (THAT)

ON THE GROUNDS (THAT) = AUX MOTIFS DE, POUR RAISON DE

• An Australian court ruled in favour of global miner Xstrata on Tuesday in a case which sought to halt the company’s plans to build the country’s largest coal mine on the grounds that it would contribute to climate change.

• Gupta’s defense lawyers will still have an opportunity to challenge particular Rajaratnam wiretapped recordings before trial on the grounds that they shouldn’t be admitted as evidence because he wasn’t a participant in the conversations.

GRAMMAR RECAP : TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE

There is no future tense in the English language ('will' is a modal auxiliary verb, not a tense) and therefore a number of different structures are employed to refer to future actions or states:

Fixed Arrangements

We are seeing our new provider this afternoon.


Intentions

We are going to cut costs by reducing headcount.


Simple Predictions

The markets will probably remain at this level until the end of the year.


Predictions Based on Present Evidence

No one seems to agree about anything; this is going to be a tough project.


Spontaneous Decisions

The fax isn't working? No problem - I'll scan the document and email it to him.


Emphatic Language

I promise that this will be done by the end of the day.


Future Facts

Our company will celebrate its 50 years of existence next month


Schedules and Timetables

The meeting starts in ten minutes


Referring to the Natural Course of Events

This is your captain speaking We will be landing shortly at Heathrow airport.


Actions Happening at a Specific Time in the Future

I'm sorry, but at 3pm tomorrow I'll be sitting in a meeting. How about Friday ?


Making and Inviting Suggestions

What time shall we meet ? Shall we say 10 am ?

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

The following expressions will help you to write business letters and emails:

Dear Sir or Madam.........................Yours faithfully
Dear Sirs........................................Yours faithfully
Dear Mr Jones................................Yours sincerely
Dear John.......................................Best regards

Following our recent telephone conversation...
Further to our recent telephone conversation...
Following on from our recent telephone conversation...
With reference to our recent telephone conversation...
I refer to
As agreed during our recent telephone conversation...
Thank you for your letter/email of 8 March 2011.
Thank you for your enquiry about...
I am writing to confirm/enquire about/inform you/complain about
I regret to inform you that
I am pleased to inform you that

I am writing concerning/regarding
Please find attached
I attach
Please find enclosed / Enclosed you will find (not emails)
I apologise for the delay in confirming the dates of the conference
Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this mistake.

I would be grateful if you could send me/confirm/reply
Would you kindly inform/forward/send...
Please note that these prices do not include...

We have yet to receive payment for our invoice No. 543TEW87. Please find a copy of the invoice enclosed. If this amount has already been paid, please disregard this notice.

I would appreciate it if you could settle this invoice at your earliest convenience.

Should you require any further information do not hesitate to contact me/my assistant

I look forward to hearing from you.
We look forward to seeing you at the conference.

EFFECTIVE MEETINGS