{"id":17520,"date":"2022-03-03T10:09:45","date_gmt":"2022-03-03T10:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=17520"},"modified":"2023-04-10T20:26:01","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T20:26:01","slug":"yours-truly-meaning-usage-examples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/yours-truly-meaning-usage-examples\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Yours Truly&#8221; in Business Correspondence \u2014 with Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:150%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}<\/style><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ending emails and letters can be quite challenging for some because choosing the best sign-off message is a tricky task.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most commonly confused sign-off or closing remarks in English is &ldquo;yours truly.&rdquo; &ldquo;Yours truly&rdquo; is quite special because it can be interpreted either as too formal or too casual.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To know more about &ldquo;yours truly,&rdquo; let us begin with a short definition of its meaning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>What does the expression &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; mean?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><strong>&ldquo;Yours Truly&rdquo; is a formal sign-off message in business correspondence. It communicates high regard or courtesy like &ldquo;yours sincerely,&rdquo; yours faithfully,&rdquo; and &ldquo;yours respectfully.&rdquo; In casual language use, though, &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is similar to the emphatic use of the pronouns &ldquo;I,&rdquo; &ldquo;me,&rdquo; or &ldquo;myself.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>&ldquo;Yours truly&rdquo; in business correspondence<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business correspondence entails the use of<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">positive<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">greetings like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/hope-all-is-well-with-you-alternatives\/\"><b>&ldquo;hope is well with you&rdquo;<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as an introductory statement in letters and emails.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, assistance prompts like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/let-me-know-if-you-have-any-questions\/\"><b>&ldquo;please let me know if you have any questions&rdquo;<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are used to end the body of such texts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On top of that, greeting and closing remarks are also two important parts found in emails and letters, and they are almost always inseparable in the formal writing context.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While expressions like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/dear-sir-or-madam-alternatives\/\"><b>&ldquo;dear sir or madam&rdquo;<\/b><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/dear-all-in-a-work-email\/\"><b>&ldquo;dear all&rdquo;<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> often appear at the top as salutations, &ldquo;yours sincerely&rdquo; and &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; meanwhile occur at the bottom as sign-off messages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These two parts are necessary for making, most, if not all business correspondence happen because they mark the beginning and end of the message.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Salutations and greetings are, therefore, important in guiding the reader as to when to start and stop reading the message delivered by the sender.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not missing these key elements reflects the professionalism of the writer, which is nothing less than crucial in maintaining healthy business relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We surely get to see the sign-off remark &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; all the time. But, is there anything special about it that we are unaware of?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, language usage is mainly guided by context. So, there is a need to know when it is appropriate to use &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; and when it should be avoided.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>The appropriate use of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farewells or goodbyes are important in professional communication because they mark the end of the language exchange.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing when exactly a message ends allows us to start thinking of ways on how we should properly respond to the sender of the message.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Closing formal letters and emails in professional communication entails using sign-off messages like &ldquo;yours truly,&rdquo; which shares more or less the same tone as &ldquo;yours sincerely.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Yours truly&rdquo; is something that we use when the message needs a high degree of politeness or, more precisely, even a more traditional undertone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The &ldquo;traditional&rdquo; connotation of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is based on the idea that it was most popularly used during the late nineteenth century, according to Google&rsquo;s Ngram Viewer tool.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hence, &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is best reserved for writing sensitive topics that are directed to authority figures, as well as to those who are perceived to be leaning more toward a conservative stance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yours truly&rdquo; may also be particularly used when the receiver of the message is unknown to the sender, such as those that start with a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/to-whom-it-may-concern-rec-letter\/\"><b>&ldquo;To Whom It May Concern&rdquo;<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> salutation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For that matter, the use of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; also shares the same polite connotation as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/the-usage-of-v-r-in-letters\/\"><b>the usage of &ldquo;V\/r&rdquo; in letters<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the military community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;V\/r&rdquo; stands for &ldquo;very respectfully&rdquo; and is particularly used by military personnel when communicating with both similar and higher-ranking officials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This suggests that &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; does not share the same degree of formality as &ldquo;cheers,&rdquo; &ldquo;take care,&rdquo; and &ldquo;best,&rdquo; as these are better used for relatively closer people like similar-ranking colleagues.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All the more, &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is even way more formal than &ldquo;love,&rdquo; &ldquo;hugs,&rdquo; &ldquo;xoxo,&rdquo; which are casual expressions that are reserved for people sharing intimate relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To contextualize further, &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; can be used when communicating rather important concerns to superiors, like in the next example:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dear Mr. Miller,<\/span><\/i><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please be advised that your expense report on your business trip to Bogot&aacute; last month has already been successfully reviewed and recorded by the accounting department. Per Ms. Williams, nothing needs to be reconciled or clarified.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thank you for your attention on this matter.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yours Truly,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Angela Davidson<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, though, people may falsely think that &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; bears a highly emotional rather than professional value, thereby leading to the avoidance of the expression in business correspondence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, this is not the case in reality. &ldquo;Yours truly,&rdquo; when applied in business communication, maintains a professional and polite connotation in general.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This formal connotation may only be replaced with a warm, personal tone when &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is intentionally used for humorous purposes in informal contexts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That said, the polite and formal connotation of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; could only get misinterpreted when the message receiver would think that it bears some emotional attachment when, in fact, it doesn&rsquo;t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is driven by the informal usage of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; as a euphemism for &ldquo;I,&rdquo; &ldquo;me&rdquo; or &ldquo;myself&rdquo; in modern times for stylistic and idiomatic purposes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a nutshell, &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; can either be too formal or too casual depending on the overall context in which the expression is used.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17528\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin.jpeg\" alt=\"Yours Truly in Business Correspondence Pin\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-735x1103.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-223x335.jpeg 223w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-231x347.jpeg 231w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-347x520.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-427x640.jpeg 427w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-512x768.jpeg 512w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-640x960.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-720x1080.jpeg 720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin.jpeg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17528 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201200%201800'%3E%3Crect%20width='1200'%20height='1800'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Yours Truly in Business Correspondence Pin\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1800\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin.jpeg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin.jpeg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin.jpeg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-735x1103.jpeg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-223x335.jpeg 223w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-231x347.jpeg 231w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-347x520.jpeg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-427x640.jpeg 427w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-512x768.jpeg 512w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-640x960.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Yours-Truly-in-Business-Correspondence-Pin-720x1080.jpeg 720w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>The inappropriate use of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo;<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To recall a vital point mentioned earlier, this post maintains the idea that &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is a formal rather than a casual expression if used in business communication.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, in this article, the inappropriate use of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is defined by its unsuitability in terms of the message&rsquo;s purpose as well as the sender&rsquo;s relationship with the receiver.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means that the highly formalistic and polite tone of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is generally deemed inappropriate when dealing with trivial matters with close-knit message receivers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, your long-term colleague of a similar rank may find your random usage of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; awkward if and when you are both used to more casual sign-off messages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&rsquo;s say that you and your close colleague are generally keen on using casual sign-offs like &ldquo;take care,&rdquo; &ldquo;cheers,&rdquo; &ldquo;thanks,&rdquo; &ldquo;ciao,&rdquo; and even &ldquo;hugs.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, both of you might just even leave the sign-off remark out because you both want to save time writing or that you think it is irrelevant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a case like this, no offense will be taken by both parties when choosing casual sign-offs because of the level of closeness shared by the two people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, when this messaging pattern suddenly gets interrupted by the random use of &ldquo;yours truly,&rdquo; questions might arise in the mind of the receiver.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This irregularity in communication may even worsen when the message is extremely short, trivial, contextually understandable, and even personal rather than business-like.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, this indiscriminate use of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; may only be inappropriate if and when the receiver typically expects the sender to make use of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/academicguides.waldenu.edu\/writingcenter\/scholarlyvoice\/tone\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>casual tone<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in their communication.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is also true especially if the content of the message is something outside of the business context, like personal activity plans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering the explained circumstance above, the example email below shows an inappropriate, albeit possible, use of the sign-off expression &ldquo;yours truly.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jane,<\/span><\/i><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I&rsquo;ll only go to this weekend&rsquo;s fundraising event if you pick me up and take me home after. Haha.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yours Truly,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paula<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering the rather personal, even humorous, content of the email above, a more personal sign-off message like &ldquo;always,&rdquo; &ldquo;later,&rdquo; &ldquo;see you,&rdquo; or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/thank-youuu\/\"><b>&ldquo;thank youuu&rdquo;<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would be more fitting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In similar contexts as the given example, sign-off remarks like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/warmest-regards\/\"><b>&ldquo;warmest regards&rdquo;<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or &ldquo;best wishes&rdquo; may also be alternatively used for emails that contain more business-like instead of personal content.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/bare-in-mind-vs-bear-in-mind\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bear in mind<\/a><\/strong> that work-related email messages are generally formal and are likely monitored. Thus, exchanging personal messages via email is not encouraged.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unless you&rsquo;re using your personal email account in sending a message as in the last example, you have to maintain professionalism in both tone and content all the time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>The difference between &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; and &ldquo;truly yours&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Yours truly&rdquo; is relatively more frequently used than &ldquo;truly yours&rdquo; in all contexts. So, when in doubt, the default choice is &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; rather than the latter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In terms of tonality and formality level, &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is the same as &ldquo;yours sincerely,&rdquo; &ldquo;yours faithfully,&rdquo; or &ldquo;yours genuinely.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interestingly, &ldquo;truly yours&rdquo; was way more commonly used than &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; during the first half of the twentieth century.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the usage of &ldquo;truly yours&rdquo; has been consistently declining since then, while the usage of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; has remained stable through time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both American and British English variants make use of &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; and &ldquo;truly yours&rdquo; in writing formal letters and emails.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In British English, though, &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is more likely as a pronoun used for self-referencing. In American English, however, it is used both as a sign-off message and a pronoun.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, &ldquo;truly yours&rdquo; is either used as it is or preceded by another adverb that denotes degree such as &ldquo;very.&rdquo; The resulting phrase, in this case, is &ldquo;very truly yours.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having said that, &ldquo;very truly yours&rdquo; is more grammatically correct than &ldquo;very yours truly.&rdquo; But, using either &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; or &ldquo;truly yours&rdquo; alone is possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Alternatives to &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on the main stance in this article that &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is a formal business expression, here are some formal alternatives to &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; that bear a similar polite tone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These alternatives can be used when reaching out for the first time, especially to unknown and distant rather than familiar and close people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Yours sincerely,<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Yours sincerely&rdquo; can be used when reaching out to unknown people for special concerns or those we treat with high regard and courtesy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the high formality level of this sign-off message, you can avoid offending someone you do not know very well or respect a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may use &ldquo;yours sincerely,&rdquo; for example, in writing a <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/letter-of-recommndation-etiquette\/\" title=\"letter of recommendation\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">letter of recommendation<\/a> reminder to your college professor or previous boss.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dear Dr. Rugger,<\/span><\/i><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/hope-all-is-well-with-you-alternatives\/\"><b><i>hope all is well with you<\/i><\/b><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> today. I am writing to remind you about the recommendation letter we discussed via email last month. I am applying for the research assistant position at XY University, and the deadline for my submission of requirements is two weeks later.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kindly let me know if you need any further pieces of information to help you in writing the letter, and I will provide them as soon as I can.&nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yours Sincerely,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jonah Seligman<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Yours faithfully,<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In British English conventions, &ldquo;yours faithfully&rdquo; is a formalistic closing remark used when reaching out to a person who is a complete stranger that meanwhile entails utmost respect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even slightly more formal than &ldquo;yours truly,&rdquo; &ldquo;yours faithfully&rdquo; is suitable when <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/how-to-write-a-thank-you-letter-for-a-donation\/\"><b>writing a thank you letter for a donation<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for an anonymous donor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dear Sir or Madam,<\/span><\/i><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On behalf of Davenport&rsquo;s Center for the Blind, I am truly grateful for your generous donation of $500 to our humble organization. Through donations like yours, we are able to fund our seeing eye dog program for our beneficiaries. This program ensures that our visually impaired members are well taken care of when they go about their daily routines.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If I had only known your name, I would have been able to thank you more personally. But, I completely understand and respect your need for anonymity, as other donors do.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thank you very much, once again, for your generosity.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vivienne Anderson<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Founder, DCB<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Yours respectfully,<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, &ldquo;yours respectfully&rdquo; is used when some degree of familiarity with the receiver exists, but that person is also perceived to have a relatively higher status.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This can be used, for example, when <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/thank-you-reply-for-introduction-email\/\"><b>writing a thank-you reply for an introduction email<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to a potential employer by a business acquaintance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this case, the person doing the introduction is only known to the writer for a short amount of time, hence the need for formalities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dear Mr. Simon Elrod,<\/span><\/i><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am writing to personally thank you for introducing me to Ms. Ava Peters. I and Ms. Peters have already exchanged a few emails about the basics of the potential design renovation project for their office, and we are meeting next week for a more detailed discussion. Again, I sincerely appreciate the introduction that you did, Mr. Elrod.&nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yours Respectfully,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Celine Millard<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Using &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; for informal and humorous purposes<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As introduced earlier, the pronoun &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; is also meanwhile used to convey intentional humour in communication.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be used to gently yet emphatically brag about the self.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No one else is more skillful in wooing both girls and prospective clients than yours truly.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or, it can also be used to mock or pull the self down for the sake of humor.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There&rsquo;s no one else out there who can lose a Tetris battle faster than yours truly.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Language is dynamic and it does evolve through time. We can observe this event in how we use &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; in contexts that are poles apart.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This implies that the current conventions as to how &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; can be used may naturally change either in the near or far future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Frequently Asked Questions on &ldquo;Yours Truly&rdquo;<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Why does &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; mean &ldquo;me&rdquo;?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&ldquo;Yours truly&rdquo; is a euphemism for &ldquo;me&rdquo; because, by using &ldquo;yours,&rdquo; the expression avoids self-promotion or at least indirectly does it. &ldquo;Yours&rdquo; suggests the meaning &ldquo;the one that belongs to your,&rdquo; while &ldquo;truly&rdquo; means &ldquo;genuinely&rdquo; or &ldquo;sincerely.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Is it &ldquo;your&rsquo;s truly&rdquo; or &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo;?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The correct sign-off message for emails and letters, as well as a pronoun like &ldquo;me&rdquo; or &ldquo;myself,&rdquo; is &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; or the one without the apostrophe before the letter &ldquo;-s.&rdquo; &ldquo;Yours&rdquo; is already a pronoun in its possessive form, so it is grammatically incorrect to use it in the possessive noun format.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>Where does the comma go in &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo;?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The comma goes after the second word &ldquo;truly&rdquo; when using &ldquo;yours truly&rdquo; as a sign-off message for emails and letters.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ending emails and letters can be quite challenging for some because choosing the best sign-off message is a tricky task. One of the most commonly confused sign-off or closing remarks in English is &ldquo;yours truly.&rdquo; &ldquo;Yours truly&rdquo; is quite special because it can be interpreted either as too formal or too casual. To know more &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17526,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"Article","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[672,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-english","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17520"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24672,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17520\/revisions\/24672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}