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We hardly write letters nowadays. We dash off an email or punch in a text or a message in an app. However the letter writing skill is still a requirement of English courses. Should we still learn how to write a letter? I think so. Often an email is just another method of sending a letter. Even in today’s digital world business letters are still required. If you are searching for a job you are still expected to write a cover letter to accompany your resume even if you will send both by email. We still write letters of application, letters of complaint to a business, letters to a bank or even to the political representative of our community. You may also wish to write a thank- you letter to a firm that has granted you an interview. Sometimes we may need to write a resignation letter.

If you are writing to your bank to complain about a service you should still use the business style of writing. Even if you are sending it electronically your letter should have the look and the tone of a business letter. You therefore need to know how to write a business letter.

Business letters

A business letter will have two addresses. First write your address then the date then write the address of the person to whom you will send the letter. Your greeting would also be more formal. You can use Dear Sir or Dear Madam.   If you know the name of the person receiving the letter then write their name in the greeting as for example, Dear Mr Martin or Dear Mrs Whyte.

When you are writing a letter to a business or one of those letters mentioned above you have to write a formal closing such as Yours sincerely or Yours truly. You should only capitalise the first word in the closing. You should also sign or write your full name, that is, write your first name and last name. You would not be on a first name business with the human resource director of the company where you hope to be hired so keep an appropriate tone.

As long as you have a relationship with a business or an institution you may have to write a formal letter at some time in your life.

Informal letters

Writing a friendly or informal letter is not a totally extinct or obsolete practice. Many people still write thank-you letters to acknowledge a gift or a thoughtful action. These letters are usually highly appreciated.

You would send a friendly letter to someone you know personally, usually a friend or relative or colleague. The style of this letter is less formal than that of a business letter. You will write your address and then the date. The greeting can be casual. It can be Hello Jane or Hi Mark. You can also write Dear Mark depending on how close a relationship you have. Notice however that we just write the first name of the person who will get the letter.

The ending or closing of the letter can also be informal such as Love or Sincerely. You would use just your first name to sign the letter as shown below.

Love,

Jan

While sending emails and text messages are now other choices for you to communicate, writing a letter still has its place in both personal and business relationships. It is worth knowing how to write letters.

 

photo credit: Today is a good day In the days before email via photopin (license)

Usually there is some confusion about when to use “whether” and when to use “if”. Although it seems that they are used interchangeably in informal speech, there is a difference in their usage especially when you are writing.

According to the Oxford dictionary “whether” is a conjunction which has the following definitions.

1. Expressing a doubt or choice between alternatives.

‘he seemed undecided whether to go or stay’

‘it is still not clear whether or not he realizes’

1.1 Expressing an enquiry or investigation (often used in indirect questions)

‘I’ll see whether she’s at home’

1.2 Indicating that a statement applies whichever of the alternatives mentioned is the case.

‘I’m going whether you like it or not’

“Whether” is used when the sentence either states an alternative or implies an alternative. “If” is used in a sentence that indicates a condition. Here is an example of the use of “whether”.

Examples:

2. You will have a test tomorrow whether on French or Spanish grammar I will not disclose.
   
3. Whether the weather is dry or rainy my road is usually impassable.

In the sentences above the alternatives are clearly stated so you would use “whether”.

In sentence 1 above it is clearly impossible to use “if” in place of “whether”. The second sentence provides a good example to show that although it seems possible to use “if” that would be incorrect because alternatives are clearly stated and there is no condition stated.

Use of “if”

Examples:

3. The mayor will fix the roads if he collects enough tax revenue.
4. If the high surf continues the boats will be wrecked.

In these sentences above we use “if” because each sentence includes a condition.

Use of “whether or not”

“Whether or not” is used when the action will be taken regardless of the choices.

I am going to university whether or not I get a scholarship.

Remember to use “whether” when there are clear or implied alternatives.

Use “if” when there are conditions.

If you ever find yourself hesitating about whether to use “your” or to use “you’re” just remind yourself of their meanings.

Contractions in conversation

You’re is a contraction of you are. The apostrophe indicates that a letter is left out. You’re is a construction of a subject you and a verb are. It is just a shortened form or contraction of the two words you and are into one word. Other common contractions are I’m for I am and we’re for we are.

Here are examples of how you should use you’re.

You’re such a generous person.

Did you know that you’re the first to complete the hike?

You’re making the cat fat when you feed him so often.

Contractions such as you’re are used in everyday speech in conversations and in informal writing. You can also use contractions when you are writing dialogue in a short story because the dialogue is conversation being written.

Look at this sample dialogue. Notice how you’re is used.

“I’m packing for college”, announced Kay.

“I hope you’re not taking that old teddy bear with you”, warned Alice.

 

This belongs to you.

Now be aware that your is a very different word with a different function and meaning to the word you’re.

Your is a possessive adjective.

Definition according to Cambridge Dictionary is:

1. belonging to or relating to the person or group of persons being spoken or written to

Examples:-

Is your dog friendly?

Your tyre is flat.

2. belonging or relating to people generally.

In this case you would be using your as if you were talking to everybody in general

Examples:

Exercise is good for your health.

Banks are expected to protect your money.

In each case whether you are speaking to one person or a group or you mean the whole world, the word your is always followed by a noun. That is because your is showing ownership or possession so something is owned by you or something or someone is related to you.

Tips to test yourself

It is a very good tip to remember that your is always followed by a noun.

Your aunt makes delicious cakes.

Your picture is on the cover of the magazine.

Can I borrow your pen for a moment?

Your faithful dog chased my cat.

Similarly you can check whether you are using “you’re” correctly by substituting those two words “you” and “are” and see whether your sentence makes sense.

Go on- now you know the difference

Pay attention when you write. Use the words your and you’re appropriately. Remember the difference. One of them you’re is a contraction of a subject and verb while the other your is a possessive adjective always followed by a noun to show that something belongs to you. The you could be an individual or group or everybody generally. The noun can be an animal, place, thing, person and an abstract quality or feeling.

I admire your courage.

You will find it easy to remember the difference and now you can confidently use both expressions your and you’re when you talk and when you write.

 

 

 

I am sure that you have noticed that in the busy storm season many people had been describing the effect of the storm as “damages”. Probably because the effects have been so extensive they use what they think is a plural form of “damage”. However take note of the following tip and be aware of the correct usage of the two words.

Avoid confusing “damage” with “damages”. The words have different meanings and their usage is different.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary indicates that the word “damage” means “loss or harm resulting from injury to person, property, or reputation”.

According to the Oxford dictionary the word “damages” means “a sum of money claimed or awarded in compensation for a loss or injury”. “Damages” is usually used in a legal context.

When you want to refer to the uprooted trees, broken power lines and blown-off roofs caused by a hurricane you must use the word damage.

Example: Hurricane Irma caused extensive damage in several Caribbean islands where it destroyed buildings, uprooted trees and flooded streets and homes.

Damage is a mass noun or an uncountable noun. It is the type of mass noun or uncountable noun which fits this definition given by Oxford dictionary.

“A noun denoting something that cannot be counted (e.g. a substance or quality), in English usually a noun which lacks a plural in ordinary usage and is not used with the indefinite article, e.g. china, happiness.”

The indefinite article is “a” or “an”. You cannot say or write, “I have a damage, two damage” and so on. Think of it in the same way as you would use the word luggage. Luggage refers to all the items or packages, bags and suitcases that persons take along when travelling.

Damage similarly refers to everything that has been lost, injured, impaired and affected negatively, so it cannot have a plural form.

The legal context

The word “damages” has an entirely different meaning to “damage”.

“Damages” is a term that has a legal application. The word “damages” refers to a claim you can make because of injury or loss you suffered that was caused by another person. The claim is for a monetary amount that would compensate you for your loss or injury. A court could award you such compensation. This amount whether you claim it or whether it is awarded is called “damages”.

Example: The employee claimed damages of $200,000 for injuries he sustained because his employers neglected to fix a faulty machine.

You can in fact claim damages for the damage inflicted on your property.

Example: I am claiming $1000 in damages for the damage done to my crop by Farmer Brown’s pigs.

Example: The defective stove caused a fire in my kitchen so I expect to be awarded damages when I sue the manufacturer.

Avoid confusing the words “damage” and “damages”. The confusion may arise because the word damages has a plural structure and is mistakenly considered to be the plural of damage.

However remember that they are two separate words with distinct meanings. Their usage is different. Remember that when you are writing or speaking.

Understanding what you read
You already know that reading helps your writing. However in order for you to enjoy and appreciate what you are reading you first have to understand it. When you did reading comprehension in school, you usually had a series of questions to guide your understanding of the material. But when you are reading an article or a book you have to ask yourself your own questions and you have to search for the writer’s meaning.

Writers give direct information
Sometimes the writer will give you information directly. It will be plain to see and understand. Look at this example:
After leaving the cinema James hurried down the street to get back to his job on time.
You get direct information that James has a job. You also know that he went to the cinema and that he was in a hurry. You learn that he was at his job before going to the cinema. You are given quite a lot of direct information in that one sentence.
Here is another example:
A  male bullfinch flies into the kitchen everyday. He hops on the counter pecking at crumbs.
You learn directly that the bird is male. You are told that it comes into the kitchen. You can learn from the writer how often the bird comes. You also know where he goes when he is in the kitchen and what he does when he is there. It tells you that there were crumbs on the counter. Now you see how much direct information you can extract from these two short sentences.

Reading between the lines
But writers can give you information indirectly too. Sometimes you have to search for the information and read between the lines to understand what the writer is saying. We say you have to make inferences from the information you are given. You combine what the writer says with what you know, your knowledge in general and arrive at a conclusion. Here is an example. If we return to James above and add a few words to that first sentence we get the following:.
After leaving the cinema James hurried down the street to get back to his job on time. He couldn’t face Mr. Cody’s scowling face again.

You can infer that Mr Cody is James’ boss. Well how did you arrive at that?

• Firstly he refers to him as Mr. Cody. This is a rather formal way to refer to someone so James is not referring to a friend. You think it is someone in authority.
• Secondly Mr. Cody had been scowling at him. Why would he do that? Mr Cody was annoyed or unhappy about something James had done? That certainly is something a boss would do.

We can infer that James had come to work late before.

How can we conclude that? Let’s read between the lines.

• James is hurrying because he does not want to be late. From our own knowledge we are aware that bosses do not like lateness in their employees.

We also read that Mr. Cody had scowled at James before through the writer’s use of the word “again”.

We can assume from all these clues that James had been late before and Mr. Cody his boss had shown his displeasure.

There you see that even when we are not given direct information we can extract information by making inferences or reading between the lines.