How do you end a formal letter?
I have heard you write "Yours Faithfully..." but IMHO it sounds
strange (BTW English is not my native language so perhaps that is why
I think it sounds stange?).
If it was up to me I would write "Sincerely..." or "Regards..." but I
have been told that it is more used with informal letters.
So, what is the right way to end a formal letter?
Yours faithfully,
Christian
Denmark, Europe
--
chri...@ninja.dk.REMOVE_THIS
http://zzz.ninja.dk (in Danish)
Christian wrote:
> How do you end a formal letter?
>
> I have heard you write "Yours Faithfully..." but IMHO it sounds
> strange (BTW English is not my native language so perhaps that is why
> I think it sounds stange?).
>
> If it was up to me I would write "Sincerely..." or "Regards..." but I
> have been told that it is more used with informal letters.
>
> So, what is the right way to end a formal letter?
I don't think there is a Right Way. I would usually use "Sincerely,"
because it is unoffensive but you can really use any adverb you want
which describes your state while writing the letter or how you want the
reader to perceive you. If you don't like this you can close with
something else, like just "Thank you". Sometimes I use an entire
sentence, for example, "Thank you for your time". I also seem to notice
a growing trend, particularly in email, where people just write their
name without a traditionally close. You can probably get away with this
too.
Mitch
P.S. see?
>I would usually use "Sincerely,"
>because it is unoffensive but you can really use any adverb you want
>which describes your state while writing the letter or how you want the
>reader to perceive you.
Minor point -- there are the words "unoffending" and "inoffensive", but
there is no "unoffensive".
--
Skitt http://i.am/skitt/
Central Florida CAUTION: My opinion may vary.
Skitt wrote:
> Minor point -- there are the words "unoffending" and "inoffensive", but
> there is no "unoffensive".
Thanks for patronizing me. Isn't it great that half the traffic on this
news group is nitpicks. Sometimes I think I should reread five times before
posting, but who has the time?
The choice of closure depends largely on the subject of your letter, the
recipient of your letter, your relationship with the recipient, and
current regional usage. If you're writing to the Queen of the UK you
might wish to choose an extremely formal closure such as "I remain Your
Majesty's obedient servant". If writing to the local council the
closure will be understandably less formal.
"Yours faithfully" -- Oxford English would have us believe that this
form should be used to close a letter bearing a salutation such as "Dear
Sir/Madam"; prescribes "Yours sincerely" for letters bearing the
salutation "Dear Mr/Ms/Mrs Whatever"; and informs us that "Yours truly"
has gone out of vogue. This advice may be useful in the UK but it is not
valid in most places in North America. In Canada and the US "Yours
sincerely" or "Sincerely" are the most common closures; "Yours truly"
can also be used but many would consider it to be less formal.
If you want to drag faith into the matter and you happen to be writing
to a clergyman of your own religion you could close with "Yours in
Faith"; or if you're informing your wife of the fact that you've run off
to Corfu with a seventeen year old bimbette you could close with
"Faithlessly yours" -- rather different implications.
"Regards" would be considered to be informal everywhere, no better than
As ever,
Khann
Picky, picky, picky!
But you didn't comment on "a traditionally close". My question is: a
traditionally close what? Is it illegal to omit it? Is that why he
commented that you can probably get away with it? If illegal, is it a
misdemeanour offense or a moving violation? If you get caught will Ken
Starr want to talk to you about possible White House involvement? The
bind moggles at the vast range of implications.
Yours truly,
is safe in all circumstances, at least in the US. This is
a matter of form. The words are not supposed to be interpreted.
This is rather similar to "How do you do?" which is the formal
thing to say when you are introduced to someone. It is not
really a question and a response as to how you do is not wanted.
When you stick to the form, you minimize the chances of someone
stopping to wonder what you meant by something.
|I have heard you write "Yours Faithfully..." but IMHO it sounds
|strange (BTW English is not my native language so perhaps that is why
|I think it sounds stange?).
Yours faithfully,
is not a common close in America. The further you depart from
the form, the more you increase the chances of someone trying
to interpret literally or of being unsure what you meant.
"Yours faithfully," is close enough to the form that it would
probably pass unnoticed by most people.
|If it was up to me I would write "Sincerely..." or "Regards..." but I
|have been told that it is more used with informal letters.
"Sincerely" is supposed to be used with somewhat less formal letters,
such as letter to a school chum conveying personal news. Many
Americans, however, don't know the difference and use "Yours
truly" and "Sincerely" interchangeably. "Regards," is not very
common; "Warm regards" is useful for answering fan mail.
|So, what is the right way to end a formal letter?
For letters to the US, stick with "Yours truly" for business
matters and letters addressed to people you do not know personally.
--
Lars Eighner 700 Hearn #101 Austin TX 78703 eig...@io.com
(512) 474-1920 (FAX answers 6th ring) http://www.io.com/%7Eeighner/
Please visit my web bookstore: http://www.io.com/%7Eeighner/bookstor.html
* Eagles may soar but weasels aren't sucked into jet engines!
> Thanks for patronizing me. Isn't it great that half the traffic on this
> news group is nitpicks. Sometimes I think I should reread five times before
> posting, but who has the time?
Posting here ya takes yer chances, particularly if you don't read the FAQ.
Murray Arnow wrote:
> Posting here ya takes yer chances, particularly if you don't read the FAQ.
I know, I know.... Would you buy that U is next to I on the keyboard?
Mitch
> For letters to the US, stick with "Yours truly" for business
> matters and letters addressed to people you do not know personally.
Whatever happened to "Very truly yours"?
Gary Williams
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Actually "Sincerely" and "Regards" are perfectly ok for formal
letters. And if I ever wrote a personal letter to a family member
or close friend and ended with those endings, they'd probably
wonder what was wrong with me and why I'd become so
aloof.
Bye/Farvel,
Trevor
BTW "Yours Faithfully" sounds strange to me too.
On Mon, 01 Mar 1999 17:28:41 GMT, chri...@ninja.dk.REMOVE_THIS
(Christian) wrote:
>Hi,
>
>How do you end a formal letter?
>
>I have heard you write "Yours Faithfully..." but IMHO it sounds
>strange (BTW English is not my native language so perhaps that is why
>I think it sounds stange?).
>
>If it was up to me I would write "Sincerely..." or "Regards..." but I
>have been told that it is more used with informal letters.
>
>So, what is the right way to end a formal letter?
>
>How do you end a formal letter?
>I have heard you write "Yours Faithfully..." but IMHO it sounds
>strange (BTW English is not my native language so perhaps that is why
>I think it sounds stange?).
>If it was up to me I would write "Sincerely..." or "Regards..." but I
>have been told that it is more used with informal letters.
What I was taught in school (U.S., 1940s) was that "Yours truly" is
standard for business & other formal letters, and "Sincerely yours"
for personal letters to those with whom you are not intimate enough
for "Love", "All the best", or whatever. Accordingly, I would make it
"Yours truly" in an ordinary business letter (say, an order).
However, in dealing with my customers (I am a freelance copyeditor), I
prefer "Yours faithfully".
--- Joe Fineman j...@world.std.com
||: Love like Matter is much :||
||: Odder than we thought. :||
That one was so obvious that I missed it. <g>
(I must have mentally supplied the right words. Either that, or I no
longer cared.)
--
Skitt http://come.to/skitt/
If you are posting a reply, please, do not email it. It just confuses
me.
Skitt wrote:
> khann wrote in message <36DAF3...@hitchhiker.ca>...
> >But you didn't comment on "a traditionally close". My question is: a
> That one was so obvious that I missed it. <g>
>
> (I must have mentally supplied the right words. Either that, or I no
> longer cared.)
OK, I'm not too proud to say you are right. I have a terrible tendency to
type words I'm not thinking (because my fingers don't understand language).
Then I reread the same way because I already know what I meant to say. From
now on, I will get out my trusty text-to-speech program before posting to
this (tough) crowd.
Back on topic, I sign this post:
With embarrassment,
Mitch Poplack
> Hi,
>
> How do you end a formal letter?
>
> I have heard you write "Yours Faithfully..." but IMHO it sounds
> strange (BTW English is not my native language so perhaps that is why
> I think it sounds stange?).
>
> If it was up to me I would write "Sincerely..." or "Regards..." but I
> have been told that it is more used with informal letters.
>
> So, what is the right way to end a formal letter?
In the US, "Sincerely yours" or "Sincerely" are most commonly used for
formal letters. "Very truly yours" is occasionally seen, and shows more
respect and deference (Lawyers often use this in
formal correspondence with judges).
"Regards" is more informal, and one is more likely to see it as the
closing of a telex message, or an e-mail message, than in a letter.
Even in those contexts "Regards" is not commonly used by Americans, other
than Anglophiles, but "Best regards" is quite common. I'm not sure if it
would be appropriate to close a letter with "Best regards", without
something further. I say this because I once looked into the matter
several years ago and forgot what the answer was (it was after I
received a letter from a college professor that closed with "Best
regards.") There are lots of books on
writing style and that sort of thing out there which you could consult.
I think "Yours faithfully" is in the linguistic ash-heap along with such
items as "Your obedient servant".
RF
;^P
Mitch Poplack wrote in message <36DAF0B4...@stanford.edu>...
>
>
>Skitt wrote:
>
>> Minor point -- there are the words "unoffending" and "inoffensive", but
>> there is no "unoffensive".
>
Yours,
It's not accurate, in that since the letter is a formal letter, I'm not
really theirs. But "Yours truly", and "Sincerely" and the others that have
been mentioned sound too stilted to suit my style.
Christian wrote in message <36daca83...@news.inet.tele.dk>...
>Hi,
>
>How do you end a formal letter?
>
>I have heard you write "Yours Faithfully..." but IMHO it sounds
>strange (BTW English is not my native language so perhaps that is why
>I think it sounds stange?).
>
>If it was up to me I would write "Sincerely..." or "Regards..." but I
>have been told that it is more used with informal letters.
>
>So, what is the right way to end a formal letter?
>
>Yours faithfully,
>Christian
>Denmark, Europe
>
Heck, you might even learn something.
tj
Christian wrote:
> Hi,
>
> How do you end a formal letter?
>
> I have heard you write "Yours Faithfully..." but IMHO it sounds
> strange (BTW English is not my native language so perhaps that is why
> I think it sounds stange?).
>
> If it was up to me I would write "Sincerely..." or "Regards..." but I
> have been told that it is more used with informal letters.
>
> So, what is the right way to end a formal letter?
>
"Yours faithfully" for a business letter; "yours sincerely", or simply,
"sincerely" for one more personal in tone (but not necessarily one where
the recipient is known to you); and "yours truly" for a genuinely
personal letter. These are conventions generally agreed upon and ought to
be used, lest something much less appropriate and embarrassingly
idiosyncratic be chosen instead. For instance, a young women finished a
post on another NG some months ago with "love from". Clearly such a
complimentary ending is ridiculous when addressed to a vast and
amorphous group of unknown people.
In my view, expressions like "regards" , "cheers" and "love" belong to
rather more informal correspondence but should still be chosen with
regard to their appropriateness. For instance, can I really send loving
greetings to that person; or would "best regards" be better.
Finally, notwithstanding the tendency towards an extreme informality in
email (which is *not* part of the original enquiry I realise), I think
that questions of appropriate tone and formality -- especially as
signalled by the complimentary opening and closing -- are still of great
importance for those who wish to be genuinely polite and have some
influence upon the recipient.
Cheers,
AF.
> Hi,
>
> How do you end a formal letter?
>
> I have heard you write "Yours Faithfully..." but IMHO it sounds
> strange (BTW English is not my native language so perhaps that is why
> I think it sounds stange?).
>
> If it was up to me I would write "Sincerely..." or "Regards..." but I
> have been told that it is more used with informal letters.
>
> So, what is the right way to end a formal letter?
If you address a person by name with a formal salutation such as "Dear
Mr. Christian", end the letter with "Yours sincerely". If you start with
"Dear Sir / Madam", end the letter with "Yours truly" or "Yours
faithfully".
If you want to suck up to the addressee, you could say, "begging to be
your most humble servant", but this is rather archaic :-)
Actually you've not been patronised, you've been *Skitted*. It's an urge that
he apparently finds difficult to control.
Yr. humble & obt. servt.
Mike
--
-- Mike Barnes, Stockport, England.
-- If you post a response to Usenet, please *don't* send me a copy by e-mail.
>In our last episode <36daca83...@news.inet.tele.dk>,
>the lovely and talented chri...@ninja.dk.REMOVE_THIS (Christian)
>broadcast on alt.usage.english:
>|Hi,
>|
>|How do you end a formal letter?
>
>Yours truly,
>
>is safe in all circumstances, at least in the US.
For some people.
I use "Sincerely."
--
Truly Donovan
reply to truly at lunemere dot com
>Minor point -- there are the words "unoffending" and "inoffensive", but
>there is no "unoffensive".
That's a dangerously categorical statement. I found it in two
dictionaries.
Regards,
John.
hol...@smart.net.au
My newsfeed has been very erratic lately.
I'd appreciate e-mail copies of any replies.
It is worth adding that the foregoing applies to British (and I assume
also Australian) convention, which differs, as other messages have
already shown, from the norm in the USA. The simple rule of thumb that
most British business and official correspondents adopt is that if a
letter starts "Dear Sir" (or "Dear Madam") then it ends with "Yours
faithfully", whilst if it starts with "Dear Mr Smith" the end is "Yours
sincerely". If you are on first name terms with your correspondent then
you are free to sign off pretty much as you please. "Sincerely yours"
and similar inversions are relatively uncommon in British usage.
--
John Davies (jo...@redwoods.demon.co.uk)
UK usage seems to be:
If you start 'Dear Mr. Smith' then finish with 'Yours sincerely'
" " " 'Dear Sir' " " " ' Yours faithfully'.
--
Mike The life that I have
Is all that I have
And the life that I have
Is yours.
Oh Yes!
>j.k.
[I rearranged the posts in the proper order]
>Christian wrote in message <36daca83...@news.inet.tele.dk>...
>>Hi,
>>
>>How do you end a formal letter?
>>
>>I have heard you write "Yours Faithfully..." but IMHO it sounds
>>strange (BTW English is not my native language so perhaps that is why
>>I think it sounds stange?).
>>
>>If it was up to me I would write "Sincerely..." or "Regards..." but I
>>have been told that it is more used with informal letters.
>>
>>So, what is the right way to end a formal letter?
>>
>>Yours faithfully,
>>Christian
>>Denmark, Europe
>While I'm sure it's not proper, I've adopted the practice of simply
signing
>off with:
>
> Yours,
>
>It's not accurate, in that since the letter is a formal letter, I'm not
>really theirs. But "Yours truly", and "Sincerely" and the others that
have
>been mentioned sound too stilted to suit my style.
>
I also don't feel that I am someone's something, but I *do* try to be
sincere in my business dealings. I end my business letters with
"Sincerely," and my friends get whatever the mood strikes me to say at
the time.
Cheers!
--
Skitt http://i.am/skitt/
Central Florida CAUTION: My opinion may vary.
Don't be embarassed. Think of yourself as a content provider or an
e-social animator. If it weren't for the typos, unintentional
malapropisms, and counter-troll posts most of the truly entertaining
traffic would be missing from a.u.e.
Yeah. I guess, I was too categorical. Sorry. I was relying on my own
experience and the support of only a few dictionaries. It was not very
wise in not consulting the unabridged ones.
Yup. I admit it. That is why I post only to this NG. I am actually trying
to improve my usage of English.
> On Mon, 01 Mar 1999 12:39:19 -0600, eig...@io.com (Lars Eighner)
> wrote:
> >Yours truly,
> >
> >is safe in all circumstances, at least in the US.
>
> For some people.
>
> I use "Sincerely."
Once again the dangers of generalization are demonstrated.
But could you make it work by putting the comma after the first word instead
of after the second?
Skitt wrote:
> John Holmes <hol...@smart.net.au> wrote in message
>
> >That's a dangerously categorical statement. I found it [unoffensive] in
> two
> >dictionaries.
>
> Yeah. I guess, I was too categorical. Sorry. I was relying on my own
> experience and the support of only a few dictionaries. It was not very
> wise in not consulting the unabridged ones.
Ha! I guess we are even now. And by the way, it takes a lot to get me to
use and exclamation point and start a sentence with "and".
Mitch
>chri...@ninja.dk.REMOVE_THIS (Christian) writes:
>
>>How do you end a formal letter?
>
>>I have heard you write "Yours Faithfully..." but IMHO it sounds
>>strange (BTW English is not my native language so perhaps that is why
>>I think it sounds stange?).
>
>>If it was up to me I would write "Sincerely..." or "Regards..." but I
>>have been told that it is more used with informal letters.
>
>What I was taught in school (U.S., 1940s) was that "Yours truly" is
>standard for business & other formal letters, and "Sincerely yours"
>for personal letters to those with whom you are not intimate enough
>for "Love", "All the best", or whatever. Accordingly, I would make it
>"Yours truly" in an ordinary business letter (say, an order).
>However, in dealing with my customers (I am a freelance copyeditor), I
>prefer "Yours faithfully".
Interesting. That would generally be considered to be too formal for
most supplier/customer[1] correspondence in the UK (except for spec
letters to as-yet-unknown recipients or formula invoice-chasing stuff
to accounts departments).
As other Brit posters have no doubt mentioned by now, how we finish
depends almost entirely on how we started -- "Dear Sir" or "Dear Sir
or Madam" gets a "Yours faithfully", "Dear Mr Smith" gets a "Yours
sincerely", and "Dear John" will probably be paired up with "Regards"
or "Best regards".
[1. Do you really call the people you provide copy-editing services
for your "customers"? I think most right-pond writers and editors
would call them "clients", since what's being sold is a professional
service rather than goods or materials.]
Ross H.
And "Yours sincerely" in personal letters. I had trouble with this
for a long time, but I've finally figured out the logic.
In a business letter, you want to avoid saying whether you're sincere.
When writing a personal letter, it's more important to avoid saying
whether you've been faithful.
--
Peter Moylan pe...@ee.newcastle.edu.au
[...]
>[1. Do you really call the people you provide copy-editing services
>for your "customers"? I think most right-pond writers and editors
>would call them "clients", since what's being sold is a professional
>service rather than goods or materials.]
"Punters" or "those goddam nuisances" ....
Customers is customers; even rent-seekers have 'em.
bjg
>Yup. I admit it. That is why I post only to this NG. I am actually trying
>to improve my usage of English.
If that's quantitive, you mean you're trying to use more English?
Have a heart, Alec, you've already elevated gabbiness to an artform.
What more do you want?
--
James Follett -- novelist http://www.davew.demon.co.uk
>In article <36ddcccc...@news3.ibm.net>,
> tr...@lunemere.com wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 01 Mar 1999 12:39:19 -0600, eig...@io.com (Lars Eighner)
>> wrote:
>
>> >Yours truly,
>> >
>> >is safe in all circumstances, at least in the US.
>>
>> For some people.
>>
>> I use "Sincerely."
>
>Once again the dangers of generalization are demonstrated.
>
>But could you make it work by putting the comma after the first word instead
>of after the second?
I abandoned that practice at about age 12.
>Truly Donovan
That is indeed the age at which the female of the species begins
to recognise all the possible implications of "Yours".
>[1. Do you really call the people you provide copy-editing services
>for your "customers"? I think most right-pond writers and editors
>would call them "clients", since what's being sold is a professional
>service rather than goods or materials.]
I think, in fact, that most U.S. copyeditors would agree with you; but
"client" sounds pompous to me, at least in casual conversation -- as
if I were pretending to be a lawyer. Similarly, I snigger whenever I
hear a budding journalist or politician called an "intern"; in my
book, hospitals have interns, and everybody else has apprentices. But
remember, I am an ornery 61.
--- Joe Fineman j...@world.std.com
||: What is almost sure to happen can still take forever on :||
||: average. :||
<snip>
> I think, in fact, that most U.S. copyeditors would agree with you; but
> "client" sounds pompous to me, at least in casual conversation -- as
> if I were pretending to be a lawyer. Similarly, I snigger whenever I
> hear a budding journalist or politician called an "intern"; in my
> book, hospitals have interns, and everybody else has apprentices. But
> remember, I am an ornery 61.
The first year physician in the family reports that current practice in
the US is to combine medical internship and residency into a single term
of several years (depending on specialty), all of which (including first
year out of med school) is a "residency." She says "intern" isn't used
even as slang for a first-year resident, at least not where she is a
resident.
Not that ER is authoritative in this matter, but I think it follows the
same practice.
This leaves the term "intern" free for the monicas (generic use, no
caps) of this world.
Bob Lieblich
> Christian wrote in message <36daca83...@news.inet.tele.dk>...
> >Hi,
> >
> >How do you end a formal letter?
> As ever, I suppose I can be accused of being old-fashioned, but the usage I
> was taught (in England) which I still use very happily is ...
> If I begin the letter with someone's name, e.g. 'Dear Miss Smith' I end it
> 'Yours truly'. If I begin it 'Dear sir or Madam' I end it 'Yours
> faithfully'.
> j.k.
Interesting. I was taught that "sincerely" went with Mr. / Ms. and that
"truly" went with "Sir / Madam". Incidentally, my teacher had spent the first
decade or so of his career teaching English at a public school in India where
the typical student was a child of a junior officer in the British Indian
armed forces. (Senior officers could afford to send their children to boarding
schools in England).
My aunt, who started her residency about 10 years ago and finished
quite recently (hers was a circuitous route), certainly uses the term
"intern" for a first year resident. I don't know whether the
difference is regional or specific to particular hospitals, or if
usage in the field has changed quite recently.
>Not that ER is authoritative in this matter, but I think it follows the
>same practice.
Nope. What's-her-face, the British one, for reasons having to do with
losing her fellowship, has become an intern; there was much discussion
of whose intern she was, and what the role of an intern is.
Rachel