2. The Date

The date is written on the right of the letter and should be in one of these

forms:

a) 19^th October, 2003 d) 19^th Oct., 2003

b) October 19th, 2003 e) Oct. 19th, 2003

c) Oct. 19,2003

The following abbreviations for the ordinal numbers for the day of the month

are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.

The abbreviations for months are: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Oct., Dec. We do not abbreviate May, June, July.

3. The Inside Address

The name and address of the person to whom the letter is sent are generally put at the beginning of the letter on the left-hand side, as in the illustration. They are sometimes put at the end of the letter.

Firms are addressed as Messrs (the plural of Mr) only when the firm’s name includes a personal name without any other title and only when the firms are partnerships.

e.g.

Messrs. A.Penny and Co.Ltd.,

60, Market Place,

Portsmouth

Messrs. Henry Lee and Co. Ltd.,

Petersfield

But:

Dr. John Duncan and Co.,

22, Green Lane,

London, W.C.

If the letter is addressed to a person, whose exact address is unknown, it may be sent to an organization who can pass the letter on or send it to the person. In this case the abbreviation c/o (care of) should be written before the name of the organization as in the heading example.

e.g.

Mr. Kaufman

c/o Weavewell Woolen Co.Ltd.,

Victoria Street,

London, E.C.4

4. The Salutation (Greeting)

The greeting should me made just under the inside address on the left-hand side. The usual greeting for one person is Dear Sir or Dear Madam. Madam is used in greeting for single as well as married women. If the person is well known to you and you have had frequent business dealings with him or her, you begin:

Dear Mr. Clifford, or:

Dear Miss Jackson.

If the letter is addressed to the company, the form of addressing is:

Dear Sirs,

Americans prefer “Gentlemen:” and after greetings they put a colon (двоеточие) instead of a comma.

5. The Subject Line

Sometimes it is useful to give some idea of the subject matter of the letter on a special subject line. The reader can see immediately what the letter is about. This is generally placed between the greeting and the first paragraph of the letter as in the heading example. Sometimes “Abt” (short for “About”) may be used, or the Subject Heading is just underlined or written in capital letters.

e.g.

Dear Sir,

Abt: Order № 240 of 2nd Sep., 2003

Dear sirs,

Price Reductions

Dear Mr. Black,

Your Enquiry of the 7^th June

Dear Sir,

ENQUIRY FOR CARS

6. The opening paragraph

This is usually rather formal and will depend very much, of course, on the subject about which you are writing. It will probable begin by thanking the writer for his previous letter and mentioning the subject of it,

e.g.

Thank you for your letter of 15^th May enquiring about our latest catalogue.

We are glad (happy, pleased) to inform you ….

We regret to inform you ….

Referring to the enquiry of 6th May, 2003….

Further to recent discussion we had with Mr. Green ….

In reply to your letter of 19^th March this year we would like to inform you…..