Search results for 'tag:American English tag:Business letters' matching tags 'American English' and 'Business letters'

Re: 'Since' or 'For': "It's been raining__________all day."

Grammar Geek — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 22:02:07 GMT

Hi again,

I didn't realize that I had done so! I should have used a comma.

You do use a colon in formal American English business letters. I must have been in "work mode" and didn't realize what I was doing!

Re: When to use 'Yours Sincerely, Faithfully, or Thanks'

Grammar Geek — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 05:23:34 GMT

MrPedantic wrote:

Hello Anon

"Yours truly" is mostly used in American English, so I'm not too sure. Maybe a passing AmE will let us know.

MrP

Passing American here.

Having spent most of my day today drafting business letters (dunning letters, actually), I can honestly say I have never closed a business letter with anything other than "Sincerely," In no way is this considered casual or informal in business use in the U.S.

I don't know that I have ever used "Yours truly," but I suppose I would use it in personal correspondence to someone I don't know well. For example, if a friend of a friend had hosted me on a visit, my "bread and butter note" might be closed that way. Since we are a shockingly casual race, we tend to end letters with things like "Thanks again," or "Looking forward to seeing you soon," and then signing our names.

Sometimes as I find myself typing "Sincerely" I have this passing fanciful notion that somewhere in a vault are all the letter that were written insincerely, but were not allowed to be sent out.

Re: Writing the date

Likeguslee — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 03:25:55 GMT

Writing the Date

There are several different ways to write the date in English. They vary from formal to informal, and there are differences between British and American English. The following table shows some typical formats.

Format	British: Day-Month-Year	American: Month-Day-Year
A	the Fourteenth of March, 1999	March the Fourteenth, 1999
B	14th March 1999	March 14th, 1999
C	14 March 1999	March 14, 1999
D	14/3/1999	3/14/1999
E	14/3/99	3/14/99
F	14/03/99	03/14/99

Note: which format to use is a question of formality, politeness and personal choice. Generally, the longer formats, such as B or C, are more polite (since they show more respect for the reader). Shorter formats, such as D or E, are used in less formal situations, for example a memo, a letter between friends or an impersonal business letter. Format F is rather official and is typically seen on an invoice or an official or technical document. Format A is extremely formal and mainly used on printed items, for example a wedding invitation. The numerical formats may use a full stop (.) or hyphen (-) instead of a slash (/), for example: 14.3.1999 or 03-14-99

from english club website

Re: Writing a letter

anon1 — Tue, 16 Nov 2004 21:09:21 GMT

Hi Greece80,

But the most business letters are written in British English.

Not on this side of the Atlantic. Perhaps your statement is true in Europe. But given that America dominates the world in commerce, I think most business letters are written using American English.

Anyway, you have your answers and your supporting rationale. So you should be prepared.

MountainHiker