Grammar/punctuation in professional contact

[10068]

Okay, so my OP question was answered as well as my many others. Thank you so much for everyone who's contributed, responded, and helped me become a more composed and professional person

I appreciate it! Thank you.

I thought I was doing pretty well in this department, but i'm finding out that I have a lot to learn. As they say, "you learn something new every day". With the help of HeadFiers, that is.

 

[tohni]

usually a semicolon is supposed to divide full sentences or sentence-like structures, so "No", don't use a semicolon in that place (IMO)

 

[BIG POPPA]

Comma

 

[jonathanjong]

Comma. To elaborate a little on what tohni said, semicolons are between commas and periods. It cuts up two parts of a sentence that could be two separate sentences, mostly.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

110% a comma there.

 

[flashnolan]

Definitely a comma.

 

[Sovkiller]

Why not a colon, is what I have ever seen after a greeting most fo the times....not sure how gramatically correct is in English, but in my native language it is correct like that....

 

[vcoheda]

formal = ":"

informal = ","

a ";" is never used in this manner.

 

[Wmcmanus]

When I don't use question marks or exclamation points, I use commas.

Hello?

Hello!

Hello, this is the way to go.

 

[krmathis]

Comma it would be...

 

[Superpredator]

Definitely not a semicolon. I prefer a comma, but a colon would work as well.

 

[The Actual]

I would use comma, even in pretty formal situation. In a very formal letter "hello" is not the best greeting.


colons are good too, and I will use them at times. However I think a colon lends a terse air to the rest of the letter, so I would only use jokingly with friends or maybe a cooky professor.

 

[wayfarer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif formal = ":" informal = "," a ";" is never used in this manner.

This man knows his English. Succinctly put.

 

[wavoman]

An email and a letter are different. A letter has a formal salutation, which should end with a colon for formal communications, comma for informal, and never (as everyone has said) a semi-colon.

Dear Mr. Smith:

Dear Bob,

But emails do not have this structure, nor should they. Even in the most formal of emails, "Hello" is not a bad way to begin, but make it a sentence with a period, do not use either a comma or colon.

Hello Mr. Smith. Jim Rogers of Mainstreet Audio suggested I contact you to discuss our line of bitperfect transducers.

Sign your full first and last name. Let's hope Smith writes back with "thanks for writing" and signs it "Bob". Then your next email is:

Hello again Bob! I am thrilled that you would like to sample our Wavo 2000A; the profit margin is terrific.

[I have tried to use colon and semi-colon correctly above just for smiles].

If he signs "Bob Smith", then your next opening is a bit ticky. I use "Hello Bob!" or "Hello again Bob." and sign only my first name. If he takes offense, you are not going to make the sale, deal, whatever anyway.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif formal = ":" informal = "," a ";" is never used in this manner.

Dear Mr. Sduibek:

I concur.

Very truly yours,