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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Letter writing
Letter writing
brahmam
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Letter writing
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Hi, can someone clarify my doubts?
In a formal letter, should we use Salutation first or the subject?
In India, people use �Thanking you � at the end of a formal letter. Is it correct?
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20 Mar 2013
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alex1968
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Hi Brahmam, Usually we follow these rules for formal letter writing:
If the letter begins: Dear Sir/Madam,
Yours faithfully, First name, Surname
If the letter begins: Dear Mr Smith,
Yours sincerely, First name, Surname
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20 Mar 2013
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yanogator
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If it �s a business letter, use a colon after the greeting, rather than a comma.
Do not put a comma between your first name and surname. Alex just put the comma there to separate the two words.
Bruce |
21 Mar 2013
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dillydi
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In formal letter writing, you would sign the letter i.e. Mr F Wild using the initial of your first name, rather than your first name in full.
Also Dear Sir/Madam, the letter would be signed as (yours truly,)
You would only use �thanking you � to someone you know, the other terms are �best wishes �, �kind regards � or �regards �. |
21 Mar 2013
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Jayho
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Hi brahmam
I think all English speaking countries use slightly different formats.
Down here at the bottom of the world we don�t put punctuation after the greeting. In fact, comas and fulls stops generally no longer appear in address fields, after greeting or closing or after Ms/Mr. Gov�t letters usually follow a set format which private business then also follows. Naturally, there are many exceptions though with non-gov�t letters as we have all been taught differently over the years.
One thing is standard though and it�s the closing which is the same as what Alex has written
You can see an example business letter here (with a subject) and read more info here.
Cheers
Jayho |
21 Mar 2013
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