I'm afraid...

How to give bad news by email.  It's never easy to give negative information to somebody so let's see how to say 'no' in a nice way! 

I'm afraid

When we give bad news or a negative response it's a good idea to use this phrase:

• I'm afraid

Native people use these phrase very frequently! 

• I'm afraid that I need to cancel the meeting.
   
• I'm afraid that we no longer make that model.

You don't need to use the 'that', so these phrases can also be written:

• I'm afraid I need to cancel the meeting.
   
• I'm afraid we no longer make that model.

Where to use the phrase

We normally put "I'm afraid" at the beginning of the phrase.  It is a way of preparing the other person for bad news.

You can also use it at the end of the phrase:

• I need to cancel the meeting I'm afraid.
   
• We no longer make that model I'm afraid.

However, I recommend always to use the phrase at the beginning of the sentence in written English.

Some examples

In the following email we have to write to a colleague to explain that the date of an important meeting has been changed at the last moment.  It's a very common thing to happen in most companies, but it can be very annoying for the meeting participants!

 

*If your name has an accent in your language (like José in Spanish), I would recommend that you don't use it when you write in English, as many people may not be able to write the accent using their computer keyboards. However, the decision is up to you!

In the next example, we need to tell a supplier that we are not happy with the price he has offered to us (another very typical problem in most companies).

** a quote is the price a supplier offers us for a product or service.

On the phone

We also use "I'm afraid" a lot in spoken English, particularly when we answer the phone. Check out our Telephone English course to find out now.

 

Unfortunately

A good alternative to I'm afraid is the adverb unfortunately:

• Unfortunately, we are not able to attend the conference in Moscow.
• Unfortunately, the goods you ordered will not be ready on time.

This word can also go at the end of the phrase. However, I prefer to use it at the beginning of the sentence because I want to PREPARE the recipient for the bad news I am about to give him or her. 

Model emails with 'Unfortunately'

So, lets see some example emails which use "unfortunately" instead of "I'm afraid":

Remember the comma

When we put "unfortunately" at the beginning of the sentence we need to use a comma immediately after it.

Apologising by email

I don't know about you, but I often have to apologise to people via email.  Now that you know how to give negative information by email, why not take a look at our class on emails for saying sorry.  We hope that you are finding this English email course useful!