[General] Email writing

[yslamac]

If we don't know the recipient's name, is it okay to leave it out? If yes, is it necessary to include the closing as we dunno the recipient's name?

 

[bhaisahab]

If we don't know the recipient's name, is it okay to leave it out? If yes, is it necessary to include the closing as we don't know the recipient's name?

If you don't know it, how are you going to include it?

 

[yslamac]

If you don't know it, how are you going to include it?

I mean complimentary close, my English sucks, sorry :--(

 

[emsr2d2]

With a letter, if you know the recipient's name then you address the letter "Dear Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms + surname" and finish with "Yours faithfully". If you don't know the name, then you address it "Dear Sir/Madam" or similar and you end it with "Yours sincerely".

Email construction is not quite so clear-cut although if it is a formal email (ie before email existed, it would have been a formal written letter), I would follow the same pattern.

If it's a relatively informal email and you don't know the recipient's name, you could just start with "Hi" or "Good morning/afternoon/evening", or just go straight into the body of your message. In that case, no formal closing is required, just your name.

 

[PeterValk]

If we don't know the recipient's name, is it okay to leave it out? If yes, is it necessary to include the closing as we dunno the recipient's name?

I wouldn't say your English sucks, but "dunno"???

 

[emsr2d2]

I wouldn't say your English sucks, but "dunno"???

It's a common enough non-standard word. We see it on the forum a lot especially from learners who are used to seeing textspeak/chatlish or other non-standard forms. It's up there with "wanna" and "gonna".

 

[MikeNewYork]

It's a common enough non-standard word. We see it on the forum a lot especially from learners who are used to seeing textspeak/chatlish or other non-standard forms. It's up there with "wanna" and "gonna".

Yes, but I don't think we should encourage the learners to use those words on this forum.

 

[Rover_KE]

It's a common enough non-standard word. We see it on the forum a lot especially from learners who are used to seeing textspeak/chatlish or other non-standard forms. It's up there with "wanna" and "gonna".​

​

...and just as strongly frowned upon here, where standard English is insisted on.

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, but I don't think we should encourage the learners to use those words on this forum.

No-one encouraged it. Bhaisahab clearly corrected it (in red in the quote box) to "don't know" in post #2. I saw no need to bring it up again.