Search results for 'tag:Salutation tag:Formal letter' matching tags 'Salutation' and 'Formal letter'

Re: Social titles

Huevos — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:31:52 GMT

If you are writing a formal letter don't put the person's name in the salutation; instead put it in the header. Use dear sir or dear madam. If you don't know the name or the sex of the person you wish to contact take the trouble to find out. If you are writing to a department use dear sirs (plural). Dear sir or madam sucks.

Re: To Whom it May Concern

Clive — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:14:28 GMT

Hi again.

Dear Messrs. would probably do...

Sorry, definitely not. That is rarely used, and really only with multiple surnames.

If I want to write a very stiff and extremely formal letter to a law firm that I don't like, I might address them as

Dear Messieurs Smith, Jones and Gradgrind,

It seems that a lot of Forum readers feel very, very uncomfortable with the idea of not starting with a formal salutation, yet in email I would say that this is more or less the norm for native speakers.

Perhaps this lack of comfort is a reflection of differences in cultures, where other cultures are more formal. Other manifestations of this difference,in other threads, seem to include, for example, almost a big fear by people that they will seriously offend a woman if they accidentally address her as 'Dear Sir'.

I should add that in starting all my posts here with 'hi' and ending with 'best wishes', I am very much in a minority. I just started doing that for fun, and it has become a little unconscious ritual. It's not what many people typically do.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: opening task of a letter - with comma and point in UK?

nona the brit — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 17:13:27 GMT

That would be a very informal letter so I'm not sure you need to worry too much about 'rules' anyway (are you sure the US would finish a salutation with a full stop?).

Hi Peter,

is the form I would think is most common in the UK to match with the more formal 'Dear Peter,'

Re: a salutation question....

Clive — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 16:22:50 GMT

Hi,

Are we entitled to use , for instance: " Dear Engineer Jack Runson;" as our salutation in a formal letter referring the sales director of a company?

I'd like to add a comment about spoken English. When we go to work, we don't say 'Good morning, Engineer Runson', either. Titles are not used in this way. I find that many immigrants come from cultures where they are, so they have to learn not to do this.

Best wishes, Clive

a salutation question....

Kazem — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 07:11:13 GMT

hi every body.

Are we entitled to use , for instance: " Dear Engineer Jack Runson;" as our salutation in a formal letter referring the sales director of a company?

Thanks for your help.