A useful informal email does more than list correct sentences: it answers the other person’s questions in an order they can follow. This B1-oriented practice asks you to reply to a friend planning a visit. It is an original learning task, not an official exam paper or a claim about an exam’s required length.
Your writing task
Your friend Maria is visiting on Saturday. She asks where and when to meet, what you suggest doing and whether she should bring anything. Write a friendly reply covering all three points. Include a reason for one suggestion and ask her to confirm a detail. Read the model once, then close it before writing your own version.
Read Nikos’s reply
Γεια σου, Μαρία!
Χάρηκα πολύ που θα έρθεις στην πόλη μου. Το Σάββατο είμαι ελεύθερος και θα ήθελα να περάσουμε τη μέρα μαζί. Μπορούμε να συναντηθούμε στις δέκα μπροστά στον σταθμό. Θα φοράω ένα μπλε μπουφάν, για να με βρεις εύκολα.
Προτείνω να πάμε πρώτα στο μουσείο και μετά να φάμε σε μια μικρή ταβέρνα κοντά στην πλατεία. Αν βρέχει, μπορούμε να μείνουμε περισσότερη ώρα στο μουσείο. Φέρε άνετα παπούτσια, γιατί ίσως περπατήσουμε αρκετά.
Πες μου αν σε βολεύει η ώρα ή αν προτιμάς να συναντηθούμε αργότερα. Περιμένω τα νέα σου!
Νίκος
Check the meaning
Nikos is glad Maria is coming and is free on Saturday. He suggests meeting at ten in front of the station and says he will wear a blue jacket so she can find him. He proposes the museum first and a small tavern near the square afterwards. If it rains, they can spend longer in the museum. Maria should bring comfortable shoes because they may walk quite a lot. He asks whether the time suits her or whether she would prefer to meet later.
Organise the reply around the reader
The first main paragraph gives the meeting details; the second develops the activities and what to bring; the closing asks for confirmation. Πρώτα and μετά order the plan. Γιατί introduces the reason for comfortable shoes. Αν βρέχει introduces a possible situation, not a statement that rain is certain. These links explain how the ideas relate rather than simply making the text longer.
Four checks before you write
- Where does Nikos propose meeting: inside the museum or in front of the station?
- Why does he mention the blue jacket?
- Which phrase introduces the rain contingency?
- Does the closing assume the time is settled, or invite Maria to confirm or change it?
Show the answers
1. In front of the station, μπροστά στον σταθμό. 2. So Maria can find him easily, για να με βρεις εύκολα. 3. Αν βρέχει. 4. It invites a reply: Πες μου αν σε βολεύει η ώρα…
Write and revise your own reply
Change the meeting place, one activity and the item your friend should bring. Keep a reason that fits your new plan: do not retain the shoes sentence if it no longer makes sense. After writing, underline your answers to Maria’s three questions. Circle one reason and one request for confirmation. Check that your greeting and closing address a friend consistently, then read the email aloud for missing words.
Practise the negotiation first with arranging a meeting. For the wider preparation context, see the Greek exam guide.
After this informal reply, continue with a different register: the free B1 application-email exercise practises a semi-formal job application.