这几天做培训反馈的时候,看到有一些非英语母语的同事在表示另外还有一个问题时,使用了by the way。其实,以前我自己在写邮件、通知、报告时也用到过这个词组,后来因为几乎没有看到英语母语者在邮件中使用,索性也就用其他方式代替了。
正巧这次看到,于是就询问了我的英国老板,By the way究竟能不能用在正式邮件中?
老板给出的回答是:by the way不太用在专业场合,包括电子邮件,因为它有点暗示你之前忘记了这件事,或者这些信息并不太重要。当然,你如果用by the way,每个人都看得懂,它只不过是非正式用语,但并不代表粗鲁或者不重视。所以,在对话环境中完全没问题,给朋友发短信,或者工作中与同事在Teams交谈时也都可以使用。
那么有哪些词更适合在正式的邮件或通知中使用呢?
1
Incidentally
这是一个非常标准的说法,可以帮助你补充与当前邮件对话内容相关的信息。同时,它也表示你所要添加的内容与对方有关,并且很想听听对方的想法。
Incidentally, have you heard the news about Jane?
This is all the news we have to share so far. Incidentally, were you contacted by the other firm to discuss any changes?
2
As a side note
当你想补充的内容与之前没有非常紧密的关联时,就可以用as a side not,相当于前一件事讨论完了,我顺便跟你提另一件事,并且这件事不是重点。
As a side note, please remember to submit your quarterly reports by the end of this week.
As a side note, I have attached a file that should explain more about what we expect to change moving forward.
3
To add to that
非常简明,直接的说法,就是“补充一下”的意思。
To add to that, our recent market analysis indicates a significant increase in demand for our new product line.
This is all we can do right now. To add to that, I don’t think it’s wise to look for other solutions while they’re reviewing our work.
4
While we are on the topic
这是一个非常专业、正式的用法,在我看来甚至有点“装”,“既然我们说到了重点,......”。比如说,你可以在与员工沟通时使用它,表明你有一些新的事情要补充,而这些事情还没有被提到,同时这些事情可能和前文还有些关联。
While we are on the topic, I wanted to mention that the deadline for the project has been extended by two weeks.
While we’re on the topic, I’d very much like to meet with your team about this. Do you have time to talk things through?
5
In addition,Additionally,Furthermore,Also
你也完全可以用这类同义词来替换by the way,既表达了另有补充的意思,又简化了内容,快速切入主题。
This is a great idea. Additionally, I think the rest of the team will be happy to get on board and help us move forward.
Furthermore, our team has identified several key areas for improvement that will enhance our overall efficiency.
往期学习: 今天学到一个词 19 | on my radar | 表示注意到,关注着 今天学到一个词 18 | cross | “生气”的不同表达 今天学到一个词 17 | frustrated | 如何表达沮丧 今天学到一个词 16 | put off | “推迟”的不同表达 今天学到一个词 07 | at the very latest |
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