Ming Li
“Yours sincerely,” “Yours faithfully,” and “Yours truly,” in the US formal letters Hello, everyone. In the UK formal letters, there is a difference between Yours faithfully and Yours sincerely, as shown in the following BBC's web page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv245.shtml When the recipient’s name is not known, the opening is Dear Sir or Dear Madam, and the closing is Yours faithfully. When the recipient’s name is known, the opening is Dear Mr Jenkins or Dear Ms Hopkins, and the closing is Yours sincerely. ***** I would like to know the usages in the US formal letters. When the recipient’s name is not known, what closing should I use? The above BBC’s web page seems to suggest “Yours faithfully,” and “Yours truly,”. Are both of them suitable? When the recipient’s name is known, what closing should I use? The above BBC’s web page seems to suggest “Yours sincerely,” “Sincerely yours,” and “Sincerely,”. Are all of them suitable? Thank you very much for reading my questions.
Jul 26, 2016 5:17 PM
Answers · 8
1
Any form of "Sincerely" is usually fine for the U.S. "yours faithfully" is uncommon.
July 26, 2016
My boss uses "Yours truly" in her professional letters. It is up to the user. I do not see a lot of "Sincerely" anymore. I use it, but I feel I am one of the few that uses it.
July 27, 2016
I would stick with sincerely for all cases. I honestly don't think it matters if you know the person or not - sometimes grammar teachers think about things that people in the real world don't :) Yours faithfully and truly have a sound of familiarity about them - almost like you are talking to a very good friend or boyfriend/girlfriend. To be faithful to someone means that you will not date/see any other people. To be true sounds similar.
July 26, 2016
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