Class 8 English Grammar Chapter 19 Letter Writing. Letters may be written for various purposes and in various ways. But of whatever kind the letter may be, there are certain rules that must be observed in each case. There are ordinarily three kinds of letters. For example, Social Letters, including Friendly Letters to friends, relations, acquaintances and Notes of Invitations. Business Letters, Official Letters, including letters to teachers, editors of news papers and applications for posts.

Standard 8 English Grammar Chapter 19 Letter Writing

Class: 8 English Grammar
Chapter: 19Letter Writing

Parts of a Letter

Every letter consists of the following six parts:

    • (a) The Writer’s Address and the Date .
    • (b) The Salutation or Form of Greeting.
    • (c) The Body of the Letter .
    • (d) The Subscription or the Ending.
    • (e) The Writer’s Name
    • (f) The Superscription or Address on the envelope.

Form of Greeting

The salutation varies a great deal; there is no rule on the subject as it depends entirely on the degree of intimacy between the writer and the person written to.
To members of the family, it will be: My dear Uncle, My dear Sister, etc.
To friends, it will be: My dear Ram, Dear Mr. Shyam or Dear Friend, etc.
The Body. This is the main part of the letter. It. should be written in simple and clear language. It is important to divide it into two or three paragraphs. Each paragraph ought to deal with one or more specific points which are related to each other. Place the first word of the message under the second word of the salutation and begin it with a capital letter.

The Complementary Closing

It should indicate respect, affection or whatever the writer desires to express. If it is penned carelessly, it might offend the person to whom the letter is addressed. So certain forms of leave-taking are prescribed. The following forms indicate the increasing degrees of intimacy.
(a) Yours very truly; (b) Yours very sincerely; (c) Yours sincerely; (d) Sincerely Yours ; (e) Yours affectionately; (f) Affectionately yours; (g) Yours lovingly ; (h) Ever Yours.
The Name: This must come below the subscription and more to the right as Yours very sincerely.
Mr. ABC

The Signature

The Signature should be clearly and fully written so that the receiver may know to whom he is to reply. It is advisable to sign ones full name or to insert it in block letters at the top left hand corner.

Forms of Salutation and Subscription to parents, Brothers, Sisters, Relations

BeginEnd
My dear Mother,Your loving son, or Your affectionate son,
My dear cousin, Yours affectionately,
My dear Brother, Your loving brother, Your loving sister,
My dear Father, Your loving son,
My dear Suresh Yours affectionately.
My dear Uncle or Aunt, Your affectionate nephew or niece,

How to Begin a Letter

Special forms of salutations used in writing to different classes of people have already been given. A general statement is given below:

    1. Sir (Madam) is used for persons of higher rank, for strangers and in formal letters.
    2. Dear Sir (Madam) is used for persons of equal rank, for strangers and in all business correspondence.
    3. Dear Sir, Dear Mr. Chauhan, Dear Mrs Chauhan, Dear Miss Sonam is used for business correspondence.
    4. All the above are correct when the writer is fairly intimate with the person receiving a letter.
    5. My dear Mr Dev is more familiar.
    6. Dear Dagar is the usual salutation between intimate male friends.
    7. My dear Dev should be used between two very intimate male friends.
    8. My darling Dev, My dearest John are the correct salutations for special cases of affection.
    9. Dear Father, My dear Cousin etc. are all intimate forms within the family.
    10. My dear Sir is used when both parties know each other well and are on friendly terms .
    11. When writing to ladies, the most formal form is Madam. Less formal, friendly and intimate forms are in the following order: Dear Urmil, Dear Mrs. Santosh, My dear Miss Parul, My dearest Sapna,

How to Close Letters

    • (a) Yours faithfully is a safe ending for all business and official letters. It conveys a shade of friendliness and is used after Dear sir.
    • (b) Yours truly is the most common and least intimate ending and is correct for business letters and letters to strangers.
    • (c) Yours very truly, Yours very faithfully are more cordial endings.
    • (d) Yours sincerely is a safe ending for most friendly letters.
    • (e) Yours very sincerely, Yours most truly, Yours most faithfully, and Yours most sincerely show that the writer wants to be very cordial.
    • (f) Yours affectionately is suitable for relations, would be relations and between girl friends.
    • (g) Faithfully yours, Truly yours, Yours sincerely, Affectionately yours are a matter of taste and show a greater degree of intimacy than (1), (2), (4) and (6) respectively.
Useful Phrases and Sentences

The following phrases and sentences are used to begin Private Letters:

    1. Your kind note is to hand this morning.
    2. I am sorry I could not write to you earlier.
    3. I am glad to receive your letter.
    4. I could not help smiling as I read your letter.
    5. I was delighted to go through the contents of your letter .
    6. I am in receipt of your letter of the 14 th instant.
    7. It is a long time since I wrote you.
    8. This is merely to inform you …
    9. I am realy very sorry not to have heard from you for such a long time.
    10. I am grieved to learn …
    11. It gives me great pain to learn …
    12. My heart goes out in sympathy for you in this bereavement.
    13. You will be very sorry to hear that …
    14. I heard incidentally that you were …
Closing Phrases according to the sense
    1. With kind regards,
    2. With love and best wishes,
    3. Anxiously awaiting your favourable reply,
    4. Hoping to have better news of your health,
    5. Hoping you will soon be quite well again,
    6. Thanking you for many favours,
    7. Please remember me to your father,
    8. With love to dear mother and yourself
    9. With sincere thanks for your kind invitation,
    10. Thanking you in anticipation,
    11. Believe me, my dear (friend),
    12. With best compliments to the elders and love to the children,
    13. With best wishes to all at home,
    14. I shall be very glad to hear from you from time to time,
    15. Do write and say how you are getting on.
Class 8 English Grammar Chapter 19 Letter Writing CBSE 2023-2024
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Last Edited: January 27, 2022