Writing Better English for ESL Learners

• You can add a postscript with a final thought at the very end.
  P. S.

Notice that the greeting and the closing are followed by a comma (for example,

“Dear Mary,” and “Sincerely yours,”).

Look at the three possibilities for the greeting of a friendly letter. Greetings

can be friendly, affectionate, or loving:

FRIENDLY AFFECTIONATE LOVING

GREETINGS GREETINGS GREETINGS

Dear Mary, My Dearest Mary, My Beloved Mary,

My Dear Mary, Dearest Mary, My Darling Mary,

Hello, Mary, My Dearest, My Sweet,

Hi, Mary, Dearest, My Darling,

Darling,

There are similar possibilities for the closing of a friendly letter:

FRIENDLY AFFECTIONATE LOVING

CLOSINGS CLOSINGS CLOSINGS

Sincerely, Fondly, Love,

Sincerely yours, Affectionately, Lovingly,

Truly, With fond regards, With all my love,

Truly yours, With sincere affection, I love you,

Yours truly,

Yours sincerely,

Naturally, what’s considered a friendly, an affectionate, or a loving greeting

and closing in a friendly letter may vary from person to person. But you can

rely on the ones just listed to help you open and close a friendly letter with the

degree of friendship, affection, or love you wish to express.

Now let’s look at a sample of a friendly letter. This sample will express sim-

ple friendship between a man and a woman.

152 Writing Better English