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Writing emails has its own set of rules. From rules on how to address professional letters, to email closures. Every part of an email is important but what creates a lot of confusion is how to finish an email.
Most of us are used to write ‘Sincerely yours’. But do you know how and in which situations to use it? Which alternatives you can use instead? And do British and Americans use it the same way?
That’s what we are going to find out in this post.
Sincerely Yours or Yours Sincerely
The meanings are the same. The only difference between using ‘Sincerely yours’ and ‘Yours sincerely’ is the place where you live.
‘Sincerely yours’ is mainly used in the USA while ‘Your sincerely’ is used by people from the UK.
If you are, for example, from the UK and you are writing an email to a person from the USA, we suggest you use ‘Sincerely yours’ or vice versa.
How to Use ‘Yours Sincerely’?
If you want to use this email closure, you have to have in mind some rules. First and foremost, if you want to use ‘Yours Sincerely,’ you have to address the recipient’s name.
The second important rule is that you, as a sender, have to know the recipient at least at some level. If you don’t know the recipient that way, you can use ‘Yours faithfully’ instead because, in British English, this phrase is considered more formal.
Below, you may find an example of how to use ‘Your sincerely.’
Example:
Dear Mrs. Grey,
It was a pleasure meeting you yesterday. I’m thankful for the opportunity to show you some of our best works.
Yours Sincerely,
Thomas Thompson
Alternatives to ‘Sincerely Yours’ And ‘Yours Sincerely’
Even though there are some differences between British English and American English, they all agree that if you don’t know the person you are sending an email to, you should steer clear of these phrases.
Like in British English, in American English, if you don’t know the recipient to some extent, that is, if you don’t use their name, you can use a more formal way, ‘Yours truly.’
Below you may see examples of using these phrases.
When you know the recipient’s name
| American English | British English |
|
Dear Mrs. Grey, It was a pleasure meeting you yesterday. I’m thankful for the opportunity to show you some of our best works. Sincerely yours, Thomas Thompson |
Dear Mrs. Grey, It was a pleasure meeting you yesterday. I’m thankful for the opportunity to show you some of our best works. Yours sincerely, Thomas Thompson |
When you don’t know the recipient’s name
| American English | British English |
|
Dear Sir, My name is Thomas Thompson. My friend is John Doe who gave me information about the open manager position in your company. ... Yours truly, Thomas Thompson |
Dear Sir, My name is Thomas Thompson. My friend is John Doe who gave me information about the open manager position in your company. ... Yours faithfully, Thomas Thompson |
As you can see, the phrases ‘Yours truly’ and ‘Yours faithfully’ are used in strictly formal correspondence when sender and recipient don’t know each other.
‘Sincerely yours’ and ‘Yours sincerely’ phrases can also be used in formal emails between colleagues but they have to know each other.
How to Write And Format ‘Sincerely Yours?’
When writing emails, people have to pay attention to their spelling. In this case, most people get confused, so they start writing the email closure with capital letters.
The correct way is to capitalize only the first letter of the first word.
For example:
-
Yours sincerely
-
Sincerely yours
-
Yours truly
-
Yours faithfully
After you write the phrase correctly, you have to add a comma and write your name under the phrase, like in the following example:
-
Yours sincerely,
Thomas Thompson
-
Yours truly,
Emma Grey
As for the formatting, email closure begins one line after the last paragraph of the body of the message.
Final Thoughts
Not only have you learned how to properly use this popular email closure, but you have also mastered the usage of these phrases depending on the English dialect.
With this useful information, writing professional emails (and those less professional, as well) will never be a nightmare for you.
And now you can dedicate your time to learning more about other email closures with English tutors. With their help, you can quickly learn to recognize which ones are the best to use in a particular situation. Then, in a blink of an eye, you can call yourself ‘the email master.’
