"Dear Roland!" vs. "dear Roland, "

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi all,

Please tell me what is the difference between :

[size=150]Dear Roland,[/size]

and

[size=150]Dear Roland![/size]

Thanks
Khanh

2

Hello Van Khanh

So today it is proved that great minds think alike! I myself have been toying with the idea of sending this question, but could not really form it/ design it.

You will see that:

Mister Micawber writes: Hi, Tom
Amy writes: Hi Tom
Alan writes: Hi Tom,

Lets see other possibilities also:

1 - Hi Tom.
2 - Hi Tom!
3 - Hi Tom:
4 - Hi Tom;

Now we badly need one of the moderators to explain all of them to us.Not the future moderator, of course, i.e, myself :shock:

Tom

3

Hi Tom and Khanh(,) :wink:

Oddly enough, my information is this: in a formal letter, the comma is (nowadays) omitted after the salutation in the UK but not in the US. :lol:

An exclamation point ( ! ) after the salutation would be informal and I’d possibly use it to indicate excitement or enthusiasm. I suppose it could also indicate anger (which, of course, would be just a different type of excitement).

You’ve probably noticed that many people in an online forum omit the salutation altogether since a forum discussion is similar to an ongoing conversation.

Amy

4

Thank you, Amy :smiley:

But why does Mr. Micawber write it in a different way? Is this style American or British?

Isn’t it strange that Alan is the only one of all the moderators who does use a comma after salutation? And he is also from the UK! :shock:

Tom

5

Hi Tom 8)

I don’t remember having seen MM begin a post the way you mentioned. In fact, I thought Mr. Mic was one of the people who usually omitted that part.

What you should keep in mind is the fact that the forum is not a letter. It’s also not particularly formal. You can see that it’s not formal by the use of “Hi”. You should never begin a formal letter that way.

I don’t use any of the “standard” expressions (such as Regards, Best regards, etc.) when I end an e-mail to someone in my family or to a friend. The “standard” format would sound too formal. So, instead I might write “See ya later” or “Bye for now.” In those same e-mails, I also don’t worry too terribly much about commas. 8)

Amy

6

Hi Amy,

Please compare between :

Hi Tom.
Hi Tom:
Hi Tom;

Thanks

7

I hope it’s OK if I answer, even if I’m not Amy :slight_smile: !

Hi Tom. => not normal English punctuation
Hi Tom: => standard Spanish punctuation, not normal English punctuation
Hi Tom; => not normal English punctuation
Hi Tom! => standard German punctuation, informal English punctuation

8

Conchita is right. Those are all punctuated incorrectly.

9

Hi Conchita,

Thanks for your response. I’m always look for your the response of any person.

Thanks. :smiley:
Van Khanh