"To whom it may concern:"

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Mojca

#221787 Tue, 02 May 06 12:32 PM

Hi,

does a letter which starts with "To whom it may concern:" end with "Yours sincerely" or "Yours faithfully"?

Thank you!

Mojca

Joined on Tue, Jan 3 2006

New Member (11)

Whom, Yours faithfully, Yours sincerely

nona the brit

#221802 Tue, 02 May 06 01:06 PM

Yours faithfully.

nona the brit

Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004

England

Veteran Member (11,347)

The name says it all.

Whom, Yours faithfully

Grammar Geek

#221843 Tue, 02 May 06 03:36 PM

Nona, could this be a BrE vs. AmE thing?

I've never signed a letter under "Yours faithfully" my whole life, but I have used "Sincerely" with great frequency.

Grammar Geek

Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006

Pennsylvania, USA

Veteran Member (15,567)

Barbara, who answers in American English.

Whom, Yours faithfully

nona the brit

#221847 Tue, 02 May 06 03:39 PM

Maybe. In BritEnglish you put Yours sincerely if it is a letter addressed to a named person (Dear Mr. Smith) but Yours faithfully otherwise.

nona the brit

Whom, Yours faithfully, Yours sincerely

Siggy

#221993 Wed, 03 May 06 05:14 AM

Nona

I've always used the guideline that "business should always be faithful but friends are sincere." That, of course, fits generally with your assertion - if you know a person's name, you are more likely to be friendly whereas a "Dear Sir" needs to be "faithful."

My guess would be that "to whom it may concern" should therefore end "yours faithfully" because it is a business issue AND not a named person. I don't have a reference to pull from, just years of habit Wink [;)]

Siggy

Siggy

Joined on Mon, May 1 2006

Ohio, USA

Junior Member (82)

If life wasn't so pointless and absurd, I would take it more seriously

Whom, Yours faithfully

Clive

#222011 Wed, 03 May 06 06:52 AM

Hi,

Generally speaking, I can't imagine starting a business letter with 'To whom it may concern'. My preference would be 'Dear Sir'.

I think you'd perhaps need to look at the purpose of the communication in order to decide how to end it. It might be that a simple name ,or even no name at all, might be appropriate.

To whom it may concern:

This space is reserved. Please do not park here again, or else your car will be towed away.

Building Management

I feel the phrase sometimes even has a mildly threatening tone, which does not seem to warrant much cordiality in the ending.

Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (21,162)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

Whom, Business letters

Anonymous

#506422 Mon, 28 Apr 08 10:53 AM

Yours faithfully

Anonymous

Whom, Yours faithfully

Anonymous

#538397 Tue, 08 Jul 08 04:44 PM

Being American I can say that "Sincerely yours" and more commonly just "Sincerely" is AmE. I have never signed a letter with faithfully. In AmE faithfully is a salutation for lovers to declare their loyalty to one another.
And I have written "To whom it may concern" hundreds of times, it is intended for those times when you have no idea who will be receiving the letter but you know that it should be someone who can address your letter properly.

Anonymous

Whom, Salutation