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I have been preparing to IELTS test and currently I need to write a thank you letter to my friend, because she agreed to take care of my pet.

So I've come up with this:

Thank you so much for saying "yes" to take care of my cat while I will be away.

But it seems to me too formal. What is the natural way to say that?

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    Welcome to EL&U, yellowred. What do you suggest ? If your knowledge of English is good enough to formulate that sentence and recognize it sounds formal, I'm certain you can come up with an alternative. Come on, say it! p.s. I would say "while we are away".
    – Centaurus
    May 28, 2015 at 16:34
  • Thank you for verbing. Or (particularly if thanks are being given before the favour is carried out) Thank you for agreeing to [verb] - it's still the same "continuous/gerund" verb form. May 28, 2015 at 16:47

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What is the natural way to say it?

"while I'm away" is more natural than "while I will be away". However, I think, it can be skipped, since you both know the circumstances, and adding it may sound formal and make the sentence lengthy.

(Being spontaneous makes what you say 'natural'. Say it aloud a couple of times and you'll know how to do this. I did.)

Here're some alternatives, just to help :

  • "Thanks very much for your offer to care for my cat".
  • "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your offer to help".
  • "Please know I appreciate your timely offer to help".
  • "I want you to know I'm grateful for your offer to care for my cat".

And, you can always add a little extra by saying: "You will receive a lot of cat-love". Or "Don't steal his (or her) heart while I'm away".

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Replace "look after my cat" with "cat-sit" (compare with babysit). This is a more informal term for the same thing.

Replace "while I will be away" with "while I'm gone." More idiomatic.

If you want to go for "cute", you can always write the letter as if it were the cat writing it (even with bad spelling and grammar), and add a quick postscript with "PS - Seriously though, thanks a bunch!".

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