letter forms

letter forms

1. Many of the more formal formulas for writing letters that were noted by Fowler (Your obedient servant, Yours respectfully, etc.) have disappeared even from business letters and the letter pages of the more traditional newspapers. So too has the practice of addressing colleagues by their surnames only (Dear Jones). The standard forms of opening are: (1) to individuals Dear Mr Smith / Mrs Jones / Ms Brown, or (more informally) Dear John / Jane. The corresponding conclusion is normally Yours sincerely (with capital Y), or, in the case of people the writer knows well, With kind regards, With best wishes, or some variant or combination of these; (2) in personal correspondence more intimate forms such as My dear John, My dearest Jane, My darling Jim, etc, are used, with an appropriate conclusion such as Yours ever, All love, etc.; (2) in business and other more formal contexts, Dear Sirs / Sir / Madam, with the conclusion Yours faithfully or (somewhat less formally) Yours truly. See also emails.

2. For forms of address in special cases such as bishops or members of the nobility, readers should consult the latest edition of a work such as Debrett's Correct Form.