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Are there any grammatical errors in the sentence?

"I regret to inform you that "name of company" people are looking for students who are from CSE/IT background. We tried to negotiate, but it didn't work well"

I think "it didn't work well" gives a feeling that they did not negotiate well. Instead they should have said "it didn't work out" which I think means the negotiation broke down. Is there really a difference or is it just me?

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  • ..unfortunately following negotiation an agreement could not be reached? – SW4 Aug 1 '14 at 15:23
  • Yes, the negotiation broke down. – WannaBeCoder Aug 1 '14 at 15:24
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It depends on a number of factors, namely the tone / emphasis you wish to convey. If you are suggesting negotiations were made on the recipients behalf, but an agreement could not be reached (without inferring failings on the side of the party representing the recipient), why not say:

"I regret to inform you that "name of company" is currently focussed on identifying those students with a background in CSE/IT. It is with regret that negotiations in this instance unfortunately failed to reach an agreement"

As noted in the comments, the use of the word work suggests that the attempt / process of negotiation failed and not the outcome, as such I would tend to avoid it.

With that in mind, is it even necessary to mention negotiation happened at all?

Unfortunately it is with regret that the company has decided not to pursue your application further at this time, having decided to only consider those students with a background in CSE/IT.

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  • Ok. does stating "it din't work well" means they did not negotiate well, so the negotiation failed? – WannaBeCoder Aug 1 '14 at 15:27
  • Not necessarily, but it may infer there were more overtly negative connotations from even attempting to negotiate, as opposed to simply the negotiation not reaching a resolution. work suggests the process of negotiation, not the result. – SW4 Aug 1 '14 at 15:28
  • @SW4, maybe I'm wrong but I'd rephrase "is currently focussed on identifying those students with" to "is currently only considering applications from students with." Unless I misunderstood the context of course. – Guybrush Threepwood Aug 1 '14 at 15:31
  • @GuybrushThreepwood - absolutely, I wasn't too sure on the precise context. That said, if there is an awareness they are resolutely only considering x (and nothing else), it begs the question- why negotiate? – SW4 Aug 1 '14 at 15:32
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    @GuybrushThreepwood - absolutely valid, although perhaps not answering the actual question, I've also added an alternative – SW4 Aug 1 '14 at 15:37
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"Didn't" is an informal contraction of "did not". It would be out of place in a formal communication, and out of place compared with the tone of the rest of your statement.

"dint" is a rare slang/dialect contraction of "didn't" and so is going to be a) even more out of place compared with the rest of the statement and b) extremely hard to understand for anyone who is not a native English speaker (and possibly even for those who are). Most people will consider it an error. There is a real word 'dint" but it doesn't mean "did not". "din't" is not a valid English word, and wrong in all contexts.

Replace "dint" with "did not".

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