Could you explain the meaning and grammar of “yours” in “Yours Sincerely”? Thanks.
As with ‘Yours faithfully,’ and ‘Yours truly,’ (AmE) it’s a formula to end a letter (a valediction).
You might also occasionally see ‘faithfully yours,’ etc. and also versions without the ‘yours’.
It originates from a time when letters were ended with phrases such as ‘I am your obedient servant’. This, over time, was shortened to ‘Your obedient servant’ and then to the current standard form.
There is no specific grammar - it is a set phrase.
The word ‘yours’ is a possessive pronoun from the possessive adjective ‘your’ in the same way that ‘mine’ is the possessive pronoun from the possessive adjective ‘my’. It therefore means - I am devoted to you. In the letter ending together with ‘faithfully’ it indicates great respect.
Alan
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Hello, Screen:
Here in the United States, expressions such as “Yours sincerely” are called complimentary closings.
Some Americans prefer to write:
Sincerely yours,
James
Thank you for helps.
I was really confused about the grammar of that expression.
I had to look up the definition of “set phrase” again and here is the definition from my dictionary.
set phrase (n)
an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up
According to this, the meaning of a set phrase cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up. Does this mean that a set phrase isn’t usually grammatically correct?
Is there a reason why both versions “Yours sincerely” and “Sincerely yours” are correct?
I mean that if there is a grammar point relating to the position of “yours” here.
Screen:
I never nitpick. We all make typo (typographical errors). We are only imperfect humans.
But I am sure that you wish to know that the noun “help” is NOT countable. Thus, “helps” really sounds strange to native speakers.
Sincerely yours,
James
Set phrases are grammatically correct, but the words that comprise them don’t get changed.
For example, take ‘Yours sincerely’. Alternatives such as ‘mine sincerely’, ‘his sincerely’ and ‘hers sincerely’ would not make any sense at all.
Hello again, James and Beeesneees.
James:
Thanks for letting me know. I didn’t know that it is an uncountable noun. I like constructive criticism, because it can make me better at what I do.
Beeesneees:
It always surprises me.
Could you explain why “Yours sincerely” is grammatically correct?
In this phrase:
Yours = a pronoun
sincerely = an adverb
I really can’t understand why the two words are put together.
Yours sincerely, 
Screen
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Hello, Screen:
I found an [one] explanation. Of course, I do not know whether it is correct. Many things on the World Wide Web are not accurate (such as many of my ideas).
This expert (who is a lawyer and has written books on “good” English and on legal matters) explains it this way.
“Sincerely yours” is a shorter way to say “I am sincerely yours.”
This expert claims that:
I = subject / pronoun.
am = linking verb.
sincerely = adverb (modifies the verb).
yours = pronoun (the subjective complement. Refers back to the subject).
He claims that the same parsing applies to “Yours sincerely.” So I guess that he would parse it as:
I = subject.
am = verb.
yours = pronoun. (referring to the subject).
sincerely = adverb (modifying the verb).
Also, there are many friends on the Web who claim that “Sincerely yours” is the American version of “Yours sincerely.”
I am sincerely yours,
James
Source: In the “books” section of Google, there is an article by Mr. Bryan A. Garner that was published in the April, 1988, issue of The Practical Lawyer magazine.
Hello, James.
Thanks for the answer. That helped me a lot.
I have just found some other explanations.
- The expert is Bessel Dekker. He is a retired lecturer, linguistics.
Question:
Answer:
There are some other answers here.
Source: linkedin.com/groups/Yours-ob … .186826947
I found the part you are talking. It is very interesting.
Excerpt from “The Grammatical Lawyer,”
in the ALI-ABA CLE Review, 5 August 1988
[This column appeared also in the April 1988 issue
of The Practical Lawyer.]
“I think the complimentary close should be ‘Sincerely yours,’ rather
than just ‘Sincerely.’”
“You’re absolutely correct. It goes back to our rule that adverbs
modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. They do not, however, modify nouns or pronouns.
“When you write ‘Sincerely yours’ as a complimentary close, what you are writing, in effect, is ‘I am sincerely yours.’ In this construction, sincerely, an adverb answering the question how, modifies the predicate am.
Without the addition of yours - which is a pronoun acting as a predicate nominative - to complete the thought, we are left with the incomplete sentence of ‘I am sincerely.’
And that doesn’t make a great deal of sense.What does that mean,‘I am sincerely’?
Sincerely what? The answer, of course, is sincerely yours. “The same principle applies to ‘Very truly yours,’ namely, that yours must be included. And, of course, the same rule applies to both ‘Yours sincerely,’ and ‘Yours truly.’”
Source: apps.americanbar.org/abastore/pr … pt_abs.pdf
Below are two interesting explanations.
Thank you, Screen, for your well-researched post and links.
You are truly a model student.
With email and Twitter, I guess that few people nowadays are very much interested in complimentary closings.
Thanks again for sharing this information with us.
I am yours ever most sincerely,
James
This, for me, is typical of how the standard phrase should NOT be changed.
I can accept ‘Sincerely yours’ rather than ‘Yours sincerely’ if that is someone’s preference, and I can understand ‘most sincerely’ as an option, but I would consider the above to be incorrect.
Thank you.
For information: contrary to what is quoted above: my/your/her and so on are possessive adjectives and mine/yours/hers are possessive pronouns. I really don’t know what ‘dependent/independent pronouns’ are all about.
Alan