ahava_yin  +  49328 Thu, 07 Oct 04 11:47 AM Hi, It's quite difficult to write a letter to a friend whose father is seriously ill and sounds not so good. I can think of nothing but "sorry to hear that" ,but that sounds not sincere enough. What else I could say, can I say "I'm writing to convey my sincere sympathy to..." Will that hurt too? I would appreciate your ideas! Thank you. ahava_yin Joined on Thu, Sep 9 2004 Full Member 335 Hi, I'm learning English. Your notes help me a lot. I love the forum.

	meg2589  +  49342 Thu, 07 Oct 04 01:56 PM Just continuing ahava yin's post....Will it be correct if we write : "I was (am ?) greatly saddened to know about your father's ill health........" or "I was (am ?) extremely worried to know...." or " I was(?) deeply (or much) distressed to know....". I am not sure if these sentences are relevant or not. Could anybody please help? /was (am ?)/ meg2589 Joined on Fri, Jul 23 2004 Japan Junior Member 77

	anon1  +  49380 Thu, 07 Oct 04 05:04 PM Hi, 1) I am greatly saddened to learn[or hear] about your father's ill health....... Yes, that works. 2) I was (am ?) extremely worried to know.... Probably not. You are not worried. You might be concerned? [1] is definitely. 2a) I am concerned about your father's illness. [sounds a bit odd to me, but it is okay. We are usually not concerned about friend's family illnesses, but sometimes we are.] 3) I am deeply distressed to know.... Yes, that works, though it does seem dramatic. I hope this helps. MountainHiker anon1 Joined on Fri, Jul 2 2004 Senior Member 2,049

	meg2589  +  49520 Fri, 08 Oct 04 01:30 PM Thanks MountainHiker for your help! It's very nice of you explaining the statements given above. Regards. meg2589 Regards