Go Back   UsingEnglish.com ESL Forum > Learning English > Editing & Writing Topics > Letter Writing

View Poll Results: How do you end a letter beginning 'Dear Sir or Madam'...
Yours sincerely, 4,839 32.15%
Yours faithfully, 5,732 38.09%
Sincerely yours, 1,432 9.52%
Yours truly, 371 2.47%
Regards, 2,480 16.48%
Love, 66 0.44%
With love, 57 0.38%
Yours ever, 72 0.48%
Voters: 15049. This poll is closed

Closed Thread
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #11  
Old 07-Nov-2003, 04:42
nicolas
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Dear tdol,

Yes, I think it's a cute hybrid.
  #12  
Old 07-Nov-2003, 14:49
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 73
Default yours sincerely

I wanted to vote on this and clicked around but nothing would let me vote. I am pretty sure that to end an official letter with no name, yours faithfully, is correct, or was, I know language changes. Yours sincerely, goes together with a name, Dear Mr. and Mrs Jones, for instance would end with yours sincerely.
  #13  
Old 08-Nov-2003, 21:13
nicolas
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Dear valtango,


So what you mean is that if I write a letter to Mr. Jones,
I might end a letter with "Yours sincerely, Mr. Jones" ?
  #14  
Old 08-Nov-2003, 22:05
RonBee's Avatar
Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 16,539
Home Country: United States
Native Language: American English
Current Location: United States
Member Type: Other
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by nicolas
Dear valtango,


So what you mean is that if I write a letter to Mr. Jones,
I might end a letter with "Yours sincerely, Mr. Jones" ?
Yes, indeed! Or:
  • Sincerely yours,
    Sincerely,
    Yours truly,
    Regards, or
    Best regards

(I cannot imagine why anybody would not sign his name to a letter.)

:D
  #15  
Old 08-Nov-2003, 23:45
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 73
Default reply to nicomas

Yes indeed Nicolas that is exactly what I meant.. Sorry if I didn't explain it too well..
  #16  
Old 14-Nov-2006, 17:46
Newbie
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 6
Default Re: reply to nicomas

Sincerely Yours
  #17  
Old 14-Nov-2006, 18:06
BobK's Avatar
Harmless drudge
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 12,366
Home Country: UK
Native Language: English
Current Location: UK
Member Type: English Teacher
Default Re: Some questions

Quote:
Originally Posted by nicolas View Post
Dear All,
I am a beginner at English :wink:
I have some questions as below:
1. What does the "yours" mean in those sentences?
2. Yours ever ?? What does it mean?
3. Do "Love" and "With Love" have the same meaning?
Thanks for your answer and have a nice day :P
1) The yours is an abbreviation for a formula used hundreds of years ago: 'your [[humble and] obedient] servant'. But I doubt whether many native speakers are aware of the derivation.

2) There were also other, less formal, forms of words: '[ever] your [devoted] friend/admirer' - 'yours ever' came from these. There were even formal uses of 'ever'. The most effusive would be 'ever your humble and obedient servant'. But most uses for 'ever' are less formal. You would not, today, write 'yours ever' in a formal letter.

3)

b
  #18  
Old 16-Nov-2006, 08:12
Ouisch's Avatar
Moderator
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 4,140
Home Country: United States
Native Language: English
Current Location: United States
Member Type: English Teacher
Default Re: Dear Sir or Madam...

Complimentary closings vary from country to country, but in AmE, the traditional closings for a business letter (which I presume this example to be, as it's not particularly romatic to begin a love letter with "Dear Sir or Madam" ):

Sincerely,
Sincerely yours,
Very truly yours,
Regards,
Best regards,
Respectfully,

Politicians running for office will often sign their correspondence "Yours faithfully." They're dangerously close to Tony Blair territory....it probably won't be too long before "Yours ever" catches on over here.
  #19  
Old 23-Dec-2006, 17:04
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 42
Member Type: English Teacher
Smile Re: Dear Sir or Madam...

You use Yours Faithfully when you DON'T know the person's name and Yours Sincerely when you DO know the person's name!
  #20  
Old 27-Dec-2006, 17:16
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 58
Member Type: Other
Default Re: Dear Sir or Madam...

In standard British business usage:

If the letter starts with Dear Sir or Dear Madam the complimentary close is
Yours faithfully (note no capital F).

If the letter starts with Dear Mr Smith or Dear Miss Jones the complimentary close is Yours sincerely (note no capital S).

The issue is not whether you know the name or not, it's whether it is used in the salutation (the Dear ... part).
Closed Thread

Bookmarks

Tags
dear, sir, madam


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
DEAR MIKENEWYORK Anonymous Ask a Teacher 1 02-May-2004 20:05
dear soul sunjuvo Ask a Teacher 4 28-Feb-2004 01:17
Dear sir! renbingbi Ask a Teacher 1 07-Jan-2004 18:08
What 's that mean Dear old mom Anonymous Ask a Teacher 1 06-Oct-2003 21:13
Dear Sir or Madam.... Tdol General Language Discussions 12 23-Aug-2003 20:30


All times are GMT. The time now is 17:10.



Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO ©2011, Crawlability, Inc.