h40nu, Author at The Boston School

English Out of Office Email Reply – Exercise & Examples

The Boston School helps French and German speaking employees of Swiss company offices and others online to improve their internal communications, using tools such as these good out of office email replies in English.

It is important to remember just who will receive your out of office e-mail response and how will they react if it is poorly worded?

Listed below are some real examples of error messages and an explanation of why they are wrong.

Common out of office email mistakes (all real examples)

Date Confusion

I will be out of the office starting 09/08/2019 and will not return until 23/08/2019.

In Europe and many other places in the world, 09/08/2019 means August 9th, 2019. In the US, the month comes before the day so would be understood as the 8th of September, possibly causing some confusion.

Mixing Language

Thank you for your message. Sorry I’m not in the Office until 20th of Mai and I have no access to my Emails.

In urgent cases please contact XXXX. (Phone +41 …. Email: xxxx)

Freundliche Grüsse

Kind regards

XXX XXX

Use of Slang / Informal

*** BIZ trip until 12. Sept 2018 ***

*** please contact XX XXX ***

*** for urgent calls: +41 xx xxx xxx ***

The use of asterisks, biz instead of business project an informal relationship which may not be in line with your corporate standards.

Acceptable out of office email examples include:

Example 1 – Simple out of office email

Thank you for your e-mail.

I am out of the office till Thursday, 27th of April 2017 and your email will not be forwarded.

Should the matter be important, please contact XXXX XXX ( first name second name and their email address) in my absence.

Best regards

Your Name

Example 2 (refer to a colleague whilst you are away)

Dear Mail Sender,

Thank you for your mail. I will be out of office from today and will be back on Thursday, May 27th. I will have limited access to my e-mail during this period.

In my absence, please feel free to contact XX XX on +41 44 310 3038 or e-mail info@thebostonschool.com.

Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,

Your Name

Example 3 Date and colleague reference out of office email

I will be out of the office till October 24th 2018. I will respond to your e-mail as soon as possible on my return.

Please note, that your mail will not be forwarded. For any urgent matters, please contact XX XX at XX@thebostonschool.com.

Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,

Your Name

Example 4 (voted most popular !)

Thank you for your email. I am out of the office from [DAY, DATE] to [DAY, DATE] and unable to respond at this time.

I will review your message following my return on [DAY, DATE]. If you need immediate assistance, contact [Name, phone number and email address].

Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,

Your Name

Out of office email best practice

German - French - English out of office email example

It is important to recognise your company standards and practices when creating an out of office email reply. Too often it is the last thing we do before we leave for our holidays, so mistakes are common.

It is important to provide a point of reference, a colleague as an alternative contact and that they know you have elected them to cover for you whilst you are away.

Swiss Style Out of Office Email Example From 2019

Guten Tag,

Vielen Dank für Ihre E-Mail. Bin abwesend bis 13.08.2019 und kann Ihre E-Mail nicht beantworten. Ihre E-Mail wird jedoch weitergeleitet und bearbeitet.

Bonjour,

Je vous remercie pour votre e-mail. Je suis absent jusqu’ au 13.08.2019, et ne peux pas répondre à votre e-mail. Par contre, votre courriel est transmis et traité.

Hello

Thank you for your e-mail. I am out of office until 13.08.2019 and can’ t answer your e-mail. Your email will be forwarded and processed.

Mit freundlichen Grüssen

Meilleures salutations,

kind regards,

Urs wrote his in 3 languages and normally in Switzerland it is two:
German/English or French/English
for an out of office holiday or business email reply

Top Tip for out of office email replies

Da heutzutage praktisch jedes Unternehmen auch andere Formen der Information anbietet, also z. B. Facebook, eine Homepage, Instagram, Twitter etc., kann es unter Umständen sinnvoll sein, auch auf diese zu verweisen:

Für Informationen über unser aktuelles Produktangebot können Sie auch auf unserer Website www.a b c.com vorbeischauen.

For information on our latest product range, you can also check our website www.a b c d.ch / . a.b.c.d.com

This helps you to promote your new sales range even when you may be off work on the beach!

Share if you care

Simple English and German out of office email example

This is a simple reference example to help students to complete an exercise and to bookmark the page for their future holidays.

Checkliste: Was gehört in die Abwesenheits-E-Mail-Antwort?

Betreff: Wählen Sie ein kurzes und informatives Thema, damit der Empfänger sofort sieht, worum es geht.

Ich danke dir: In jeder E-Mail sollte ein Gruß enthalten sein, und Sie sollten keinen ohne Dankeschön machen.

Punkt: Von wann sind Sie im Urlaub oder geschäftlich unterwegs und bis wann sind Sie nicht erreichbar?

Abwesenheit: Was passiert mit den Mails in deiner Abwesenheit?

Repräsentation: Wer vertritt Sie während Ihrer Abwesenheit oder Urlaubszeit? Wie kann man ihn erreichen?

Zurückkehren: Was passiert mit der Post nach Ihrer Rückkehr?

Vorlage Abwesenheitsnotiz Deutsch

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

bis zum TT.MM.JJ befinde ich mich im Urlaub.

Meine E-Mails werden in dieser Zeit nicht weitergeleitet oder bearbeitet. In dringenden Fällen wenden Sie sich bitte an [vertretende/r Mitarbeiter/in] unter der Durchwahl XY, beispiel@unternehmen.com.

Vielen Dank für Ihr Verständnis!

Schöne Grüße
Signatur

Vorlage Abwesenheitsnotiz Englisch

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you for your message.

I am currently out of the office and will be back on the ( Datum) ,,, 14 February 2020.

Your email will not be forwarded. I will answer it upon my return.

For urgent matters please contact …vertretende/r Mitarbeiter/in … (#### @?? unternehmen.com; Tel: 044 – XXX XX XX).

Thank you for your understanding.

Best regards,

[Signatur]

Sales out of office email holiday message in English

Need to keep updated or just passing by?

English Out of Office Email Reply – Exercise & Examples Read More »

B1 Exercise – What vs. Which

When do I use “Which” or “What” as the first word in a question?

When you look up “which” and “what” in a German dictionary, you will see both words translate to “welcher/welche/welches”. So how do they differ in meaning? Which word do I use when? (Sorry, I had to use the word “which”.)

Explanations with examples for “which”:

We use “which” ONLY when there is a known choice available. There can be 2 or 20: the number of choices doesn’t matter but they often can be seen.

Example 1:

Situation: You are standing in front of a shop window and can see 2 cameras: You ask your friend: “Which camera do you like”? In this case, there is a limited number of choices and they can be seen.

Photographer Annie Spratt

Example 2:

Which dress do you like better? This one or that one?

Example 3:

Here’s one from the Internet (2016):

Which Premier League Manager is facing the biggest headache?

Explanations with examples for “what” and “what kind of”:

We use “What?” or “What kind of” when we ask a general open question without any specific choices known. In the answer, you may think of several different choices, but none of these choices have been specified to you in the question.

Example 1:

Situation: Imagine you are at someone’s home as a guest and they ask: “What would you like to drink?” You can not see the choices so you ask in return: “What do you have?” or “What’s easy?”

Examples 2 & 3

Situation: You want to learn more about someone and their preferences. You ask:

“What kind of apples do you like?”

(There are many “kinds” or “varieties” of apples but no specific variety has been specified in the question.)

Example 3

What is your favorite color?

(Again – a very open, general question to find out someone’s tastes.)

Let’s see now if you can complete the following quick practice exercise.

Quick Practice Exercise: Which vs. What

Fill in the blank with “which” or “what”. (Answers provided below).

1. _________ time is it?

2. _________ meeting would you like to attend – the morning or afternoon one?

3. ________ did they say about your report? Did they like it?

4. Can you tell me _________ is the correct answer, please?

5. __________ contestant do you think will win?

Answers to Practice 1 Exercise: Which vs. What

What
Which
What
what or which (what – if asking in general: which – if you can see 2 or more choices)
Which (there are a number of contestants you have seen perform)

Quick Practice 2 Exercise: What vs. What kind of

Fill in the blank with “which” or “what”. (Answers provided below).

1. _________ is your favorite number?

2. _________ home would you prefer to live in: an apartment or a house?

3. ________ city has the tallest building?

4. Can you tell me _________ you would like to do now? I am completely out of ideas.

5. __________ car do you have? There are three more people who need a ride. Is it big enough for us all?

Answers to Practice 2 Exercise: What vs. What kind of

What
What kind of
What
what
What kind of

The creative commons license photographs used on this page were just two from thousands of talented photographers showcased on a Canadian venture called Upsplash. To view their collection, please check out: Upsplash.com

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Use of English – “sleep in” versus to “oversleep”

Use of English Q&A Email – For those of us who like to sleep-in!

Hi everyone,

A German-speaking student e-mailed me this tricky question about the difference between when we use to “sleep in” versus to “oversleep”. Here’s how I responded:

Question: Which is correct?

If I don’t wake up on time (verschlafen), do I sleep in or oversleep?

Answer: I like your question. There definitely is a difference in attitude when I sleep in or oversleep. My husband mistakes my sleeping in for oversleeping all the time on Saturdays! He’s a real early bird. Here’s what I mean….

When we want to wake up at a specific time, especially for work, and don’t – then we would use the term to oversleep. For example: “My alarm clock didn’t go off and I overslept. Sorry I’m late.”

When we purposely want to sleep for a long time in the morning, for example, on Saturdays of Sundays, then we say: “No alarm clocks tomorrow for me – let’s just sleep in.” (American English) OR ” Let’s have a lie in tomorrow.” (British English)

Maybe the visual below might help you remember the meaning of “oversleep”, taken from: www.geeksaresexy.com

“The solution to oversleeping” [Comic] (dottech.org)

A Personal Story during Lockdown

I had lost touch with my dear friend for over 13 years now and it had been only about a month before her accident that I reached out to wish her a happy birthday for the first time in a long time. The lockdown has instilled a natural urge in me to reach out to those I have been meaning to communicate with for a long time but haven’t. Has lockdown given you a feeling of freedom to do so as it has for me?

Serving customers in times of crisis

I came across this insightful article on the website: Help Scout. It’s an article entitled “Crisis Communication Tips for Customer Service Teams” written by Matthew Patterson at the start of the Coronavirus outbreak in March 2020.

Hope you find this helpful in managing customer service calls during difficult, stressful times.

I have chosen 25 words from the start of the article and created a B2/C1 level Quizlet vocabulary set.

How to manage working at home with the kids?

SPACE – TIME – GROUP BREAKS – TAKE TURNS – STAY IN TOUCH WITH FRIENDS I admit it. We don’t have kids. But I can

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Use of English – “sleep in” versus to “oversleep” Read More »

Quick Lesson before you go away on holiday?

B2 Reading Exercise – Mendocino – north of San Francisco, California Read More »

h40nu

What you may want to learn

Common out of office email mistakes (all real examples)

Date Confusion

Mixing Language

Use of Slang / Informal

Acceptable out of office email examples include:

Example 1 – Simple out of office email

Example 2 (refer to a colleague whilst you are away)

Example 3 Date and colleague reference out of office email

Example 4 (voted most popular !)

Out of office email best practice

German - French - English out of office email example

Top Tip for out of office email replies

Share if you care

Simple English and German out of office email example

Need to keep updated or just passing by?

When do I use “Which” or “What” as the first word in a question?

Example 2:

Explanations with examples for “what” and “what kind of”:

Quick Practice Exercise: Which vs. What

Fill in the blank with “which” or “what”. (Answers provided below).

Answers to Practice 1 Exercise: Which vs. What

Quick Practice 2 Exercise: What vs. What kind of

Fill in the blank with “which” or “what”. (Answers provided below).

Answers to Practice 2 Exercise: What vs. What kind of

Fancy signing up for an email to help you with your English?

Use of English Q&A Email – For those of us who like to sleep-in!

Related articles

Do you want to have us deliver your English exercise to your inbox?

Quick Lesson before you go away on holiday?