How to end a letter with respect. How to end a business letter in English

Etiquette formulas are required when preparing a business letter. They are determined by the genre of the message (letters of invitation, letters of congratulations, letters of condolences) and are largely conditional, ritual in nature. Also A.S. Pushkin noted in “Journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg”: “Every day we sign ourselves as humble servants, and, it seems, no one has ever concluded from this that we ask to be valets.”

Business letters of invitation and congratulations include many etiquette phrases. Instead of an etiquette frame (words of greeting and farewell), business letters use the following addresses: Dear Nikolai Ivanovich! Dear Mr. Bobylev! IN At the end of the letter, before the signature, place the final politeness formula: Yours sincerely!;Sincerely;With sincere respect!;Best wishes!;Thank you in advance for your answer…;We hope that our request will not be difficult for you.…;We look forward to successful continuation of cooperation…;We hope for your interest in expanding connections... etc.

These final remarks of politeness are followed by self-naming the official signing the document and his signature. The self-name includes an indication of the position held and the name of the organization if the letter is not sent on the institution’s letterhead, otherwise - only the position:

If a letter is sent on behalf of the Academic Council of a scientific institution, the self-name is an indication of the role that a particular person performs in this body:

Etiquette rituals, expressed by performative verbs, are usually included in set expressions, like other speech etiquette formulas: With pleasure) I invite you You to take part in...; Thank you Thank you for your participation...; Sincerely Thank you You for...; Cordially Thank you You for...; I beg We will direct you to our address...; I assure You know that we will make every effort...; We wish Good luck to you and we look forward to future mutually beneficial cooperation...; With thanks I confirm receiving from you...;

Etiquette rituals used in business letters include

– different kinds praise : You showed heartfelt attention to orphans and children left without parental care...(direct praise); Considering your great contribution to the development of technical progress in industry...(indirect praise); Since your company is a leading supplier of computer equipment...(indirect praise)

expression of hope, confidence, gratitude at the end of the letter : I hope for…;I hope for further good and mutually beneficial relations…; We hope that a decision will be made as soon as possible... We hope that the result of the negotiations will be long-term and fruitful cooperation between our enterprises…; We hope for further fruitful cooperation…; We wish you success and hope for future mutually beneficial cooperation…;We hope that our request will be considered soon…;We hope for a speedy response (resolution of our issue)…;We were glad to receive your letter…;Thank you very much for the fax dated 06/04/2010…; We gratefully acknowledge receipt of your letter.…;Thank you behind...;

expression of congratulations, apologies, wishes: Congratulations ...; We wish you success in…;We apologize for… about…and so on.

Polite form naming the addressee V business correspondence involves the use of pronouns “You”, “Your” with capital letter: According to yours please send To you latest catalogs of our products; At the end of this month we will be pleased to use Yours services.

Efficiency cannot be ignored etiquette formulas, the arsenal of which in Russian speech etiquette is very large. The success of the business largely depends on the tone of the letter.

The universal principle of using etiquette means is the principle of politeness, which is expressed in the recommendations given to readers in one old Russian letter book and which have not lost their relevance to this day: “The first duty of the writer is to remember his own position, to know the position of the person to whom we are writing, and to imagine the latter is as clear as if we were standing in front of him and talking.” This is especially important these days, when official correspondence is becoming more personal and dynamic. Today, the genre of business writing requires the compiler not only to standardize linguistic means, but also to demonstrate his own individuality.

In both business and friendly correspondence, it is important to know how to end a letter in English. If you want to present yourself as an educated person, then you should not neglect the established rules of correspondence.

Please note: farewell in a letter written in English is placed on a new line after the letter itself.

Ending a business letter

When you use the following expressions, you mean “yours sincerely”:

• Sincerely
• Sincerely yours
• Most sincerely
• Yours faithfully
• Yours truly

Gratitude (for the attention paid to reading the letter) can be expressed using the standard Thank you or Thank you for your consideration (thanks for considering this issue).

Example of a business letter

A letter to a friend

It is difficult to draw a clear line between the formal and informal ending of a letter, since people who are in a work correspondence may have friendly relations and at the end of the letter put a “warmer” farewell.

At the end of the letter, you can hint at the next conversation or meeting. The presence of the personal pronoun “I” already indicates a more personal form of address.
Here are a few phrases with the expression to look forward (expect):

• I am looking forward to meeting you
• I am looking forward to hearing from you

Analogues of the Russian “with respect” are the following expressions:

• Regards
• Kind regards;
• Best regards
• Respectfully

And a more heartfelt expression of Cordially. The phrase “best wishes” can be displayed using Best wishes. The following are examples of farewells at the end of a letter that you can write to a loved one:

• Cheers
• Warmly
• Always
• Later
• Till next time
• Take care
• Write soon
• Kisses

Very personal expressions for saying goodbye to a loved one in a letter can be:

• Affectionately yours
• Yours forever
• Passionately yours
• Your darling
• Longing to see you

Advice: not everyone knows how to sign a letter in English correctly - leave a comma after goodbye, and then write your name on a new line, while you can indent a few lines.

Phrases to end an informal letter

Examples of letters

Look at examples of excerpts from letters with different farewell options, pay attention to the style of the letter and the corresponding farewell.

• Please let me know if you have any comments on the video I sent you. During the next few weeks we will be adding new videos to the website. I would really like to know what you think of them.

  Sincerely yours,

  (Please let me know if you have any comments on the video I sent you. We'll be adding more videos to the site over the next few weeks. I'd love to know what you think of them.)

• I was waiting for your reply since Monday but obviously you have a lot on your plate right now. Anyway, I`m going to visit you next week and we will have a chance to chat.

  (I've been waiting for your response since Monday, but obviously you have a lot on your plate right now. Anyway, I'm going to visit you next week and we'll have a chance to chat.)

• I will be grateful if you would send me the price-list on your new products. Please specify the terms of the delivery and the possible discount. Thank you in advance.

  Faithfully yours,

  Dylan Park.

  (I will be grateful if you send me the price list for your new products. Please indicate the delivery time and possible discount. Thanks in advance.)

• If you require any further information I will be happy to provide it. Do not hesitate to contact me and clarify any details.

  Most sincerely,

  James Barton.

  (If you need more information I'll be happy to provide it. Feel free to contact me for any details.)

• Mike, I’m still waiting for the pictures you promised to send me last month. Oh, by the way, my sister says “Hi”.

  (Mike, I'm still waiting for the photos you promised to send last month. Oh, by the way, my sister says hi.)

Words and Expressions

It's time to improve yours lexicon. Read and remember the following expressions:

• To let know - to inform;
• To send – send;
• To think of smth. - think about something;
• Obviously - obviously;
• To have a lot on plate - to have a lot of things to do;
• To specify – indicate, condition;
• Discount – discount;
• In advance - in advance;
• To require – demand;
• To provide - to provide;
• Delivery – delivery;
• Possible - possible;
• To clarify - to clarify;
• To hesitate - to hesitate, to be shy;
• To promise - to promise.

Remember that it is all up to you whether the end of a letter in English will simply serve as its actual conclusion or have additional meaning, so it is so important to choose the words correctly and carefully at the end in order to leave the reader with the impression you need.

By the way, in the last sentence it will never be superfluous to thank the reader for his attention, and if this is a person close to you, then end the letter with warm and friendly words, reminding him of how much you miss him and how glad you will be to receive an answer. Check out some more letter writing tips:

Tired of “Best regards” and want something new? The team at MediaDigger, a platform that automates the storage of a contact database and makes it possible to send mass personalized emails, has made a selection of alternative signatures with which you can end your email. After all, despite everything, email still remains the main method of business communication:

1. Best regards– For lovers of the classics. The safest option.

2. Sincerely yours– There is something in this, but not everyone can afford such a signature. You need to be and look a certain way.

3. Best wishes– A little less formal and applicable in a business letter.

4. Just enter a name– Quite suitable, especially in cases where there is an active exchange of letters.

5. Your initials– This is also acceptable, but the question arises: why couldn’t you just write your name in full, and that leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.

6. Have a nice day– For a final letter, when you don’t expect to hear anything else from your interlocutor during the day, it’s quite suitable.

7. Have a great week– The same as “have a good day”, only if you don’t communicate anymore within a week.

8. Best regards– English version “with respect.” The safest for business communication. Some Russian speakers only use this signature. In principle, this is acceptable, but if you communicate a lot with foreigners and everyone knows this. Otherwise it looks a little strange.

9. Kind regards– The same as best regards, but a little less formal.

10. With friendly greetings“We’ve never seen anything like this, but we’ve heard about it.” I just want to say that they called from the 70s and asked to return the signature to them.

11. See you later– In case you have agreed on a meeting in the near future and emphasize that you remember about it.

12. Good luck in your difficult task!– This signature can be used when you tried to help someone (or were unable to do so), and are trying to somehow cheer up the interlocutor.

13. Sent from iPhone– It’s possible to somehow explain why there may be typos in the letter, but it may seem that you are bragging about your phone model.

14. Sent from a smartphone– Safer than “sent from iPhone”: the interlocutor understands that you wrote from your phone and the auto-correct could have made typos, while you are not showing off your phone.

15. Thank you for your attention– This phrase is best left for those who are trying to sell you something.

16. Thank you– If you are truly grateful, then you can. But you shouldn’t sign every letter like this when you give instructions to someone. This will give off an orderly tone.

17. With perfect respect– For those who like to stand out. A little romantic and pretentious.

18. Please think about nature before you print this letter.– First of all, you shouldn’t tell anyone off. Secondly, this inscription can sometimes be longer than the text of the letter itself. Thirdly, is anyone still printing letters these days?

19. Ready for service- Hmmm. Simply no.

20. With love– It’s nice and acceptable if you’ve known each other for a long time.

21. All the best- This would be more suitable, if you do not expect to communicate with someone in the near future.

22. I kiss you deeply– It’s quite suitable for family and loved ones.

23. With fatherly tenderness– You can, but only if you are really a father and have just learned what the Internet is.

24. Yours forever– It’s better to leave this for the registry office.

25. Have a nice weekend“This is usually written by those who are diligently trying to spoil them for you by sending a letter at the end of the working day on Friday indicating the things that need to be done. In general, it’s possible, but only when you don’t burden someone, otherwise it smacks of sarcasm.

26. Warm regards– It is acceptable if you used to address each other as “comrade”, but not for everyone else.

27. Your humble servant– It strongly smacks of sycophancy and it’s hard to imagine a situation where this would really be appropriate.

28. Sincerely devoted to you– The same problems as “Your humble servant.”

29. With hope for further fruitful cooperation– A little long, but acceptable, for example, for the first letter, when writing to a stranger.

30. Kisses– If you write to your other half, then it is permissible.

Do you know any other options? Write to us at