Let’s go on now and look at another important area: dealing with bad news. Dealing with bad news is tricky, because sometimes it’s necessary to give bad news without damaging the relationship between you and the reader. In the tasks that follow you’ll learn some set-phrases which are polite and acceptable for dealing with bad news.
Task 1: Sort these set-phrases into the table below.
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Were sorry to learn of n.p….
We regret having to V…
Im sorry to learn about n.p….
We regret that v.p….
We regret that we have to V…
We regret to advise you that v.p….
We regret to announce that v.p….
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We are sorry to learn from s/o about/of s/th….
We regret to inform you that v.p….
We regret to say that v.p….
We regret to tell you that v.p….
I am very sorry to learn that v.p….
We regret we cannot V…
I regret to report that v.p….
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giving bad news
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responding to bad news
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*2015/04/24更新
Here are the answers to task 1:
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giving bad news
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responding to bad news
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We regret having to V
We regret that v.p.
We regret that we have to V
We regret to say that v.p.
We regret to tell you that v.p.
We regret to advise you that v.p.
We regret to announce that v.p.
We regret to inform you that v.p.
We regret we cannot V
I regret to report that v.p.
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Im sorry to learn about n.p.
Were sorry to learn of n.p.
We are sorry to learn from s/o
about/of s/th
I am very sorry to learn that v.p.
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*Notice that giving bad news set-phrases all use ‘regret’, while responding to bad news set-phrases all use ‘learn’.
*Of course you change the subject of all the set-phrases, using ‘I’ for a more personal relationship, and ‘we’ for a more impersonal one.
