Letter Writing Tips

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"animated write" "email" "letter" "letter gif" "writing gif" "write gif"
Here are a few tips related to letter writing.
Opening / Salutation
1) If you are sure of the identity of the person receiving the letter, you can use :

Dear Mr. …..., or
Dear Ms. …...,
2) If you are NOT sure of the identity of the person receiving the letter, you can use :
"write letter" "letter" "businessman writing"
Dear Sir / Madam,

You can also use :
To whom it may concern
This is the correct phrase :  
To whom it may concern
You CANNOT Say :
To who it may concern (x) or
To whom it may concerned (x)
* Try to avoid phrases like “Honored Sir” or “Respected Sir”
Closing
"yours truly glitter" "yours truly animated" "letter glitter" "write animated" "write glitter" "letter writing"
There are a few ways you can close your letter. Here are a few examples:
Yours sincerely,
Yours faithfully,
Yours truly,
Please remember that it should be “Yours”
You CANNOT say :
Your sincerely, (X) (without 's') or
You're sincerely, (X) or
You's sincerely, (X)
* A few points to remember :
1) If you open the letter with Dear Mr. Smith or Dear Ms. Lim (that means you KNOW the recipient or KNOW the name of the recipient), then you close the letter with :  
Yours sincerely,
2) If you open the letter with Dear Sir or Dear Madam (that means you do NOT KNOW the recipient or do NOT KNOW the name of the recipient ), then you close the letter with : Yours faithfully,

Revert
A common phrase in most Asian letters is the use of the word “revert” :
Please revert back to me at your convenience.
I will revert back to you as soon as possible.
Although this is a common practice in most letters, the actually meaning of “revert” is :
1) to return to a previous condition / state / habit / practice / belief
For example :
i) We reverted to the old way of doing things.
"animated smiley" "naughty" "up to mischief"ii) Once he was released from prison, he reverted to his wicked ways.
wicked : means evil / bad

2) Law : To return to the former owner or the owner's heirs
For example :
1) The house reverted to her after she paid off the loans on the house.
So the use of “Revert” to mean “Reply” or “Respond” is not correct.
It is better to say :
I will get back to you as soon as possible.
I will send a reply to you as soon as possible.
I will respond asap.
(asap : as soon as possible)

Undersigned
The correct phrase is :
Please contact the undersigned.
(must have 'ed' : undersigned)
NOT : Please contact the undersign. (no 'ed' – WRONG)
However, the use of the word “undersigned” has been found to be too formal and distant especially when writing to your superior so it is better to use a pronoun like “me”. 'I' or “us”.
For example :
Please contact me when you receive this letter.
If you have any questions, please contact me.

The undersigned will visit you tomorrow.  
(NOT so appropriate).
Better to say : I will visit you tomorrow.
Here are a few other phrases that can be avoided as they have become clichés.
cliché : a word or phrase that has lost originality or impact because of overuse (used too many times)
It is not wrong to use these phrases but it is best to avoid them.
  1. Please do not hesitate to contact me. (it is to be avoided as most readers do not hesitate. 
    It is better to say : Please contact me.)
  2. Kindly contact me if you have any questions. (“Kindly” is common in Malaysia English. It is better to use the word “Please”. For example : Please contact me if you have any questions.
     
    "animated send my regards" "typing send my regards"

Regard
When you say :
Please send my regards to your family.
Please give my regards to your husband.
With regards. (* used in the closing part of a letter)
Kind regards. (* used in the closing part of a letter)
*In this context, it has to be “regards” (with an 's'). You CANNOT say : regard (No 's' - WRONG)
However, when you want to say :
With regard to your question,
In this regard, I have to agree with her. 
(Means : In this matter/issue/subject, I have to agree with her).
In regard to
* In this context, you CANNOT USE 's'. 
So it should be : regard
“With regard to” is more commonly used instead of 
“In regard to”.

Common Errors In English

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Here are a few English Grammar related questions people have asked me and also a few common mistakes I have observed over the years.
"Forty" "animated smiley" "40 glitter" "40 animated" "40 picture" "40 gif" "forty gif"

1) Forty

4 = Four
However, 40 = Forty
You CANNOT SAY : fourty.  
THIS IS INCORRECT.
The correct spelling for 40 is forty
"injured cat" "cartoon cat" "cartoon" "animation" "injury funny" "Sick" "Accident"

2) MC
One common error when people would like to take “sick leave” or “medical leave”, which means a day off from work due to illness/health problems is : 
“I MC today” / "I am on MC today" (x) (This is incorrect).
The correct expression is “sick leave” or “medical leave”.
MC means Medical Certificate. 
So you CANNOT say “I'm on MC today”.
You can say : Here is my MC / This is my MC.

MC also means : Master of Ceremonies (you can also say “emcee”). An MC acts as a host during events. The job of a MC is to make the welcoming speech and present/introduce speakers or performers during the event.

3) Pain
The common expression used in this country is :
My tooth is paining. (x) or
My stomach is paining. (x)
This is INCORRECT. We cannot say : paining.

We CAN say : aching / painful / hurting
For example :
"tooth rotten" "cartoon tooth" "cartoon tooth rotten"
1) My tooth is hurting.
2) My stomach is very painful.
3) I am in pain.
4) My head is aching.
5) My foot is hurting.
6) There is a pain in my foot.
We can also use the word “pain” for emotional distress. 
For example :
1) It pains me to hear you making such atrocious grammatical mistakes.
atrocious : shockingly bad / terrible
"sad" "depressed" "tension" "hurt" "in trouble" "bad news"
2) I am in such pain after hearing her insulting words.
3) It pains me to say this to you but I have to be honest; your house is a mess.
4) The pain of loneliness is making her do crazy things.
5) It was so painful seeing him with someone else.
When you want to talk about the severity of the pain or how bad the pain is, you can use the word “severe”.
For example :
1) I have severe pain at the side of my abdomen.
2) I have a severe toothache. 


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Common Errors : Thanks

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Thank :
is used to express gratitude / appreciation / acknowledgment


For example :
1) He thanked them for helping him with that project.
2) I will send her a bouquet of flowers as a way to thank her for her services.

When you want to thank someone, you can tell them : “Thank you”.
"Thank You Smiley" "Animated smiley" "Thank you gif"
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Common Error : You CANNOT Say : Thanks you. This is WRONG. It should be :  
Thank you.
"Thank you animated" "Thank you glitter" "thank you cute"
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If you want to say it without the word “you”, then it should be “Thanks”. with 's'.

For example :
1) Thanks! You did a great job!
2) Thanks for the help.


3) You have found my little girl. Thanks!
To express relief / thankfulness / pleasure when something you have hoped for comes true, you can say “Thank goodness”.
NOT “Thanks goodness”.
It should be “Thank goodness” (no 's')

For example :
"Calvin and Hobbes" "Calvin animated" "Calvin and Hobbes animated" "Mischevious" "up to mischief" "naughty" "Calvin mischief" "Calvin mischievous"
1) Thank goodness you made it here safely.
2) Thank goodness my children are well-behaved.
3) You have passed your exam! Thank goodness!

Idioms :

Thanks to :
because of / due to / as a result of
"win" "lose" "win lose" "win lose cube" "dice" "win lose dice"For example :

1) Thanks to her, we won the competition.
2) Thanks to him, we lost.
3) Thanks to their hard work and dedication, the project was a success.
No thanks to :
without the benefit or help from someone / something
For example :
1) No thanks to her, we still managed to win the competition.
2) She started a successful business, no thanks to her lazy husband.

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Common Errors : Congratulations

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Congratulation 
I have noticed that some people write or say “Congratulation” when they want to wish someone. 
That is INCORRECT.
The correct interjection or phrase when you want to express joy or happiness for the success or good fortune of someone 
"Congrats" "Animated" "Congratulations Glitter" "Glitter" "Congratulations animated"
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is “Congratulations”
Congratulations with - 's'

You CANNOT tell someone “Congratulation” without the 's'.
For example :
1) Congratulations!
"Baby" "birth of baby" "Congratulations baby" "Glitter" "Congratulations Glitter" "Congratulations animated" "Congratulations"
glitter-graphics.com
2) Congratulations on the birth of your daughter.
3) Congratulations! You have received the promotion!
4) Congratulations on winning the lottery!
5) Congratulations on your engagement.

You can also say : Congrats
"Congrats" "Animated Smiley" "Smiley" "Congrats" is the short form of the word
"Congratulations".

Congratulation (without the 's') can only be used as a noun in instances like this :
I would like you to send a congratulation letter to her.

"Congrats Smiley" "Animated" "Congrats" "Smiley" "Animated Congrats" "Well Done"
glitter-graphics.com
Other examples :
1) I forgot to congratulate her.

2) Thanks for congratulating me.

Another word you can use that also means congratulations is Felicitation.
For example :
1) I offer my felicitations to you.
2) She was sad that she did not receive any felicitations when the results were announced.
3) They held a felicitation function for the winners.


On the other hand, for any sad occasions such as misfortune (usually death), we say “Condolences”. It is an expression of sympathy.
For example :
1) He wrote a condolence letter to the widow.
Widow – a woman whose husband has died and she has not remarried.
Widower – a man whose wife has died and he has not remarried.
2) Please accept my heartfelt condolences on the loss of your friend.
"condolence book" "Sympathy" "Funeral" "Funeral book"
3) You can write your condolence message in that book.
4) The Prime Minister sent his condolences to the grieving family.
5) We wish to express our sincere condolences to your family on the passing of your aunt.
 
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