"Dear"

[Dragana.BL]

Good afternoon,
Could you please advise me on the use of "dear" unfollowed by a name as a means of address in letters? I somehow find it strange to see "Dear, ...." in formal letters (well even informal ones). Am I right or..?
Thank you very much in advance!
Respectfully,
D.

 

[BobSmith]

[AmE - not a teacher]

IMO, you should never see/use "Dear," without the recipient’s name.

 

[billmcd]

I understand your "creation"/use of "unfollowed" but unless you get it approved by Webster, please use "not followed" until then.

 

[Tullia]

[AmE - not a teacher]

IMO, you should never see/use "Dear," without the recipient’s name.

In BrE, it's perfectly acceptable to use Dear Sir, or Dear Madam etc. I can't even think of any other way to start a letter that sounds normal to me to be honest! What do you put when you don't know the name, Bob? (genuinely curious!)

 

[BobSmith]

In BrE, it's perfectly acceptable to use Dear Sir, or Dear Madam etc. I can't even think of any other way to start a letter that sounds normal to me to be honest! What do you put when you don't know the name, Bob? (genuinely curious!)

I was basing my answer on the OP's

"Dear, ...."

I assumed the elipsis stood for the rest of the letter. "Dear sir/madam," is fine by me. I've also used "To whom it concerns,".

 

[moonlike]

Hi
If you know to who you are wrting and it's formal you should use dear plus the person's last name.If it's informal, you use dear plus the person/s first name.If you don't know the person and it's formal you should use dear sir/madam.
BobSmith is also right.You can use to whom it may concern, as well.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi
If you know the person to whom you are writing and it's formal you should use "Dear" plus the title (Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Dr etc) and then the person's last name. If it's informal, you use "Dear" plus the person's first name. If you don't know the person and it's formal you should use "Dear Sir/Madam".

BobSmith is also right. You can use "To whom it may concern" as well.

It's important to remember to use the person's title.

Dear Mr Smith
Dear Mrs Jones
Dear Miss Franklyn
Dear Ms Coppington
Dear Dr Williams
Dear Professor Higgins

(Moonlike - please remember the importance of correct punctuation, capitalisation and spacing. You are a teacher and students on the site will look to your posts for examples of correct written English. I have made relevant amendments to your post above in red.)

 

[moonlike]

Sorry! You're right.