Sender's name and sample signature. Signature for the letter: what to do and what not to do. With gratitude and best wishes

Can the use of one small comma cause a serious argument? Quite. Will this dispute lead to a settlement? Practice shows that this does not happen often. Recently, a whole controversy has arisen around the writing and isolation of the phrase “with respect” among respected philologists representing various printed media outlets and websites. Some argue that a comma should be placed after “with respect”, others are categorically against it.

Let's take a closer look at this problem and decide how to write it more correctly - to prefer writing with or without a comma.

What part of the sentence is this?

Official letters often end with a phrase like this:

I rely on your correct understanding of this situation and await further orders.

With respect and hope for long-term cooperation,

General Director A.E.

The paradox of the tradition of putting a comma after “with respect” in business correspondence lies in the fact that the norms of the Russian language do not cover this issue in any way.

From the point of view of Russian syntax, this phrase is an addition governed by the dative case. It stands alongside other similar add-ons:

• "with dignity",
• "with honor"
• "with love",
• "proudly",
• "with sadness",
• "with devotion" and so on.

Let's look at the rules of punctuation with additions:

1 An addition with no punctuation marks is highlighted regardless of what part of the sentence it is in.

With sadness I looked at my aged friend.

Our soldiers protect the peace and tranquility of the country with dignity and honor.

The chief engineer treated the innovators with respect.

2 In the case of listing homogeneous members of a sentence, which includes the phrase “with respect,” the latter is separated by commas on a general basis.

We treat our first teacher with childish love, respect, and ardent affection.

We treat our first teacher with respect, with childish love, with ardent affection.

With childish love, with ardent affection, and with respect, we treat our first teacher.

3 If the phrase “with respect” is complicated by the proximity of the introductory word, participial phrase, then punctuation is observed according to the rules for writing these syntactic constructions.

Unfortunately, the director, who respected Ivanov, did not remove him from work, which led to the accident.

When starting any task, respect safety precautions.

Leskov treated the opinions of his fellow writers with respect, but always went his own way, often contrary to general opinion.

After the release of the poem “The Song of Hiawatha,” Bunin began to be treated with respect, which later resulted in him being awarded the honorary title of academician.

What do the rules of the Russian language say?

Despite the relatively recent experience of writing the phrase “with respect” without a comma after it, the new version, which uses a comma, has become more common.

Sincerely,

Head of IT Department M.Yu.

Sincerely, sales coordinator Budilova E.

Let's check the arguments, Why shouldn’t this phrase be isolated?:

1 Argument of the linguist-theorist and simultaneous translator D. I. Ermolovich.

The phrase “with respect” can be represented as a fragment, an incomplete sentence, and if you recreate its original form, you can get:

This letter was written with respect and hope for long-term cooperation by General Director A.E.

Compare with the dedication phrase:

Dear A., ​​the author dedicates his book with gratitude and respect

Comma before the words “General Director A.E.” in the letter he addresses them:

With respect and hope for long-term cooperation, General Director A.E.

With deep respect and love.

Alexander Blok(from a letter to F. Sollogub)

This spelling can also be compared with another politeness formula “sincerely yours”, after which in most cases a comma is not placed (sometimes this phrase is highlighted with a dash).

Sincerely yours - Aeroflot

Sincerely yours P. Kapitsa

Clarification. In modern works, authors, giving examples of letters from characters, use a different punctuation scheme.

I will be glad if any of my research is useful to you. Best regards, S.P. Golubev(Maya Kucherskaya, 2014)

In letters translated from another language, phrases such as “sincerely yours” may be separated by a comma.

Sincerely yours, Heinrich Burkard

The comma that came from English

In different historical periods, a fashion for foreign languages ​​arose in Russia. People around Peter I liked to speak a mixture of Dutch and German. Under Catherine II, the palaces switched completely to German. Then the noble nobility began to speak French. Nowadays, English has penetrated into all spheres of life. This is not surprising, because it is relatively easy to learn, universal, and widespread throughout the world.

A large number of words come from English into our language. After some time, these words become so familiar to us that no one even thinks about their English origin: manager, marketing, diving, computer etc.

The main reason why a comma appeared after the phrase “with respect” is also said to be the transfer of foreign rules for preparing business letters to Russian material. In the group of Germanic languages: German, English, French - a comma is indeed placed after such a phrase.

Important! A comma should be placed after the politeness formula concluding a business letter if it is written in English, German, etc. In this case, this phrase is separated from the surname, position and signature of the addressee (the addressee is the one who writes the letter) graphically, located on a line above.

Best regards,

Mary Shelby

Yours sincerely,

Mr Thomas Duprey

Intonation pause after “Sincerely”

Since the phrase “with respect” in a formal letter is followed by a new paragraph, there is a clear intonation pause between it and the addressee’s name. But a pause in itself cannot explain the placement of a comma - with the appearance of a new sign, the meaning and grammar must change (this is the principle of Russian punctuation). Therefore, when a comma began to be used in a similar formula, the words following it acquired a new meaning - self-presentation (by analogy with calling oneself when meeting someone).

Sincerely,

Head of Marketing Department Lebedev I.O.

Rules for writing business correspondence

The success of an official letter largely depends on the correctness of its formatting, so nuances are very important here.

Concluding the letter, It is worth paying attention to the following details:

1 If the letter began with the words “Dear First Name and Patronymic,” then end it with the phrase “With respect, I.O.” not worth it. Such double “respect” seems unnecessary.

If this may still be acceptable in a private letter,

Dear Anatoly Fedorovich!

Text of the letter.

Sincerely devoted to you

And deeply respecting you

I. Annensky(from a letter from A.F. Koni)

then in business correspondence such a tautology will look inappropriate.

Dear Anna Viktorovna,

Text of the letter.

Sincerely

Head of Sales Department Vitaly Petrovich S.

It is recommended to use other options for starting a letter depending on the distance from its addressee: “deeply respected”, “much respected”, “dear”, etc. Unfortunately, in the Russian language there are not many variations of polite address and ending of a letter.

“Best regards” is a well-established formula that is commonly used. For example, in English there are incomparably more such phrases:

• "best regards"("best wishes"),
• "sincerely yours"("Yours sincerely"),
• "yours faithfully"(“with sincere respect”),
• "with gratitude"(“with gratitude”), etc.

Dear (respected, dear) Anna Viktorovna!

text of the letter

Sincerely

Venediktov A.P.

An exclamation point after an address calls for special attention to what is being communicated in the letter, while a comma allows the content of the document to be regarded as more formal or everyday.

2 The absence of a comma after a politeness formula ending a letter is not an error. Traditionally, in Russian letters there was no comma after this phrase. Punctuation rules also dictate that we not separate “with respect” with a comma.

Sincerely

Anna V.

Contact us with any questions!

Sincerely,

Customer Service Manager Anna V.

3 Traditionally, in a business letter, after the signature indicating the position and surname, a period is not placed (the period in the abbreviation of the first and patronymic refers to the abbreviation, and not to the end of the letter).

Sincerely

Anastasia Soteinikova

Sincerely

Ignatiev A.V.

Difficulties with punctuation in written business speech

How to place punctuation marks in the first phrase of the contract containing the designations of the contracting parties?

The correct punctuation option in this phrase is: The State Enterprise "Communication", hereinafter referred to as the "Enterprise", represented by General Director Alexander Mikhailovich Popovich, acting on the basis of the Charter, on the one hand, and citizen of the Russian Federation Ivan Vasilievich Babkin, hereinafter referred to as the "Employee", on the other hand, have concluded this agreement about the following...

Please note that in this phrase the words On the one side And on the other side act as a circumstance and are not introductory, and therefore do not require punctuation.

Is a comma necessary after words? "Sincerely" at the end of a business letter?

After the words "Sincerely" It is customary to use a comma, despite the fact that spelling rules do not regulate this case.
For example, it is correct:

Sincerely,
Chief Accountant of Morskoy Landscape LLC
D. O. Ivantseva

Is there a need for a period after the signature in a business letter?

There is no period after the signature in a business letter. In documents, including business letters, the signature acts as the so-called props(obligatory element) that does not constitute a complete sentence.

It should be noted that in newspapers and magazines the tradition of putting a period after the author’s signature is preserved if the signature is located after the main text of the article.

What to put after applying Dear Mr. Ivanov– exclamation mark or comma?

The first phrase of a business letter - an appeal - can end with an exclamation mark or a comma. If there is a comma, the text of the letter begins with a lowercase letter. If there is an exclamation point, write the first sentence in capitals.

Which words should and should not be separated?

The Punctuation Handbook, published on our portal, will help you figure this out. It is compiled based on the most frequently asked questions from Help Desk visitors.

Tired of “Best regards” and want something new? The team at MediaDigger, a platform that automates the storage of a contact database and makes it possible to send mass personalized emails, has made a selection of alternative signatures with which you can end your email. After all, despite everything, email still remains the main method of business communication:

1. Best regards– For lovers of the classics. The safest option.

2. Sincerely yours– There is something in this, but not everyone can afford such a signature. You need to be and look a certain way.

3. Best wishes– A little less formal and applicable in a business letter.

4. Just enter a name– Quite suitable, especially in cases where there is an active exchange of letters.

5. Your initials– This is also acceptable, but the question arises: why couldn’t you just write your name in full, and that leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.

6. Have a nice day– For a final letter, when you don’t expect to hear anything else from your interlocutor during the day, it’s quite suitable.

7. Have a great week– The same as “have a good day”, only if you don’t communicate anymore within a week.

8. Best regards– English version “with respect.” The safest for business communication. Some Russian speakers only use this signature. In principle, this is acceptable, but if you communicate a lot with foreigners and everyone knows this. Otherwise it looks a little strange.

9. Kind regards– The same as best regards, but a little less formal.

10. With friendly greetings“We’ve never seen anything like this, but we’ve heard about it.” I just want to say that they called from the 70s and asked to return the signature to them.

11. See you later– In case you have agreed on a meeting in the near future and emphasize that you remember about it.

12. Good luck in your difficult task!– This signature can be used when you tried to help someone (or were unable to do so), and are trying to somehow cheer up the interlocutor.

13. Sent from iPhone– It’s possible to somehow explain why there may be typos in the letter, but it may seem that you are bragging about your phone model.

14. Sent from a smartphone– Safer than “sent from iPhone”: the interlocutor understands that you wrote from your phone and the auto-correct could have made typos, while you are not showing off your phone.

15. Thank you for your attention– This phrase is best left for those who are trying to sell you something.

16. Thank you– If you are truly grateful, then you can. But you shouldn’t sign every letter like this when you give instructions to someone. This will give off an orderly tone.

17. With perfect respect– For those who like to stand out. A little romantic and pretentious.

18. Please think about nature before you print this letter.– First of all, you shouldn’t tell anyone off. Secondly, this inscription can sometimes be longer than the text of the letter itself. Thirdly, is anyone still printing letters these days?

19. Ready for service- Hmmm. Simply no.

20. With love– It’s nice and acceptable if you’ve known each other for a long time.

21. All the best– This is more suitable if you do not expect to communicate with someone in the near future.

22. I kiss you deeply– It’s quite suitable for family and loved ones.

23. With fatherly tenderness– You can, but only if you are really a father and have just learned what the Internet is.

24. Yours forever– It’s better to leave this for the registry office.

25. Have a nice weekend“This is usually written by those who are diligently trying to spoil them for you by sending a letter at the end of the working day on Friday indicating the things that need to be done. In general, it’s possible, but only when you don’t burden someone, otherwise it smacks of sarcasm.

26. Warm regards– It is acceptable if you used to address each other as “comrade”, but not for everyone else.

27. Your humble servant– It strongly smacks of sycophancy and it’s hard to imagine a situation where this would really be appropriate.

28. Sincerely devoted to you– The same problems as “Your humble servant.”

29. With hope for further fruitful cooperation– A little long, but acceptable, for example, for the first letter, when writing to a stranger.

30. Kisses– If you write to your other half, then it is permissible.

Do you know any other options? Write to us at

QUOTE:

There was also a question about whether it is necessary to put a comma after the phrase... when you are in a letter... so, you finish the letter and write “With respect.” And they asked me to provide, as it were, a theoretical justification. So, I’ll say right away that a comma is always used : “With respect – comma – such and such.” But, unfortunately, there is no theory on this matter, there is always a comma there, and it is simply accepted.

Marina Koroleva in the program “Speaking Russian” on the radio “ Echo of Moscow» 06/29/2014

A COMMENT:

As always, categorically, Marina Koroleva stated that after the expression (not the phrase!) “With respect” at the end of the letter, a comma is supposedly always placed before the signature. She could not explain this “as if theoretically,” but refers to the fact that it is “simply accepted.”

If you put such a comma and “accepted”, then it is not for everyone and, I’m afraid, not for those from whom you should take an example. However, I must admit that the problem is complex. M. Koroleva’s opinion is shared by the Gramota.ru website:

Of course, Gramota.ru is a respected site, and we know that Echo of Moscow journalists are friends with it. But it is still not the ultimate truth; the certificates on this site are written by ordinary people who also make mistakes. And let me remind you that there are other people who are doing the same thing, for example, the website “Gramma.ru”. He takes the opposite view:

This certificate quite correctly noted that this comma was thoughtlessly transferred by our businessmen from the rules for writing letters in English.

As for the theoretical justification for the absence of a comma, there is precisely one. Imagine that you wrote on the line: “ Regards, Ivan" This spelling makes the name Ivan circulation, i.e. it turns out that it is not you - Ivan, but the one to whom you are addressing. But a signature is not an address, and the words “with respect” are not an introductory phrase. These words are an incomplete sentence, a fragment of the implied phrase: “Ivan wrote this letter with respect to you.” By the way, “With respect” is not the only form of ending a letter; in the same way - without a comma before the signature - the phrases “With greetings”, “With love”, “With best wishes”, etc. are written.

And to completely dispel doubts, it is best to turn to authoritative sources. Such in this case will be letters from undoubtedly educated people. Let me first give two examples: