For the syntax geeks

Originally Posted by Stu

You're charging him how much?

OK - this was the bill for signing off on Grinch's photos

Sadly not, I was telling a particularly pedantic client how much is going to be left over on the sale of his old house and the buy of a new one. Well, new to him, he wouldn't be seen dead on 'one of those estates'. He has sent back one of my letters with grammatical corrections. I couldn't believe it. I never but NEVER write addresses with dots and commas like this:

Mr.A. Smith,
23, Acacia Avenue,
Shrewsbury,
SY1 1AA

and never put in the county (Shropshire,), but this is what he did And put a comma after 'Dear Mr Smith'

[Stu]

Write him back...



txt speak

Originally Posted by Ed

OK - this was the bill for signing off on Grinch's photos

Sadly not, I was telling a particularly pedantic client how much is going to be left over on the sale of his old house and the buy of a new one. Well, new to him, he wouldn't be seen dead on 'one of those estates'. He has sent back one of my letters with grammatical corrections. I couldn't believe it. I never but NEVER write addresses with dots and commas like this:

Mr.A. Smith,
23, Acacia Avenue,
Shrewsbury,
SY1 1AA

and never put in the county (Shropshire,), but this is what he did And put a comma after 'Dear Mr Smith'

I am a qualified secretary (honest! and with legal stuff too!) and I can tell you that although you can use either

24th May 2011

Mr.A. Smith,
23, Acacia Avenue,
Shrewsbury,
SY1 1AA

or

24 May 2011

Mr A Smith
23 Acacia Avenue
Shrewsbury
SY1 1AA

and both would be right - but the latter is used most commonly and has been for many years - I always set it out as the bottom one as you obviously do too

HTH

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by Ed

Sadly not, I was telling a particularly pedantic client how much is going to be left over on the sale of his old house and the buy of a new one. Well, new to him, he wouldn't be seen dead on 'one of those estates'. He has sent back one of my letters with grammatical corrections. I couldn't believe it. I never but NEVER write addresses with dots and commas like this:

Mr.A. Smith,
23, Acacia Avenue,
Shrewsbury,
SY1 1AA

and never put in the county (Shropshire,), but this is what he did And put a comma after 'Dear Mr Smith'

I think technically he's correct, from a traditional letter writing perspective. But since the invention of the typewriter (and especially the more recent introduction of the word processor), the "rules" about grammar have been interpreted differently.

As so much is about style nowadays, I don't think you'll ever win.

As for your OP, for this client I would use the comma (option 2), assuming he's UK (and not Europe or US who seem to insist on the comma and point being swapped over).

[Ruffy]

Another thought: Has he asked you to further indent each line of the address on the envelope, rather than having it left justified?
e.g.
Mr.A. Smith,

23, Acacia Avenue,

Shrewsbury,

Shropshire

SY1 1AA

No but I guess it'll be next. He put a comma after 'Yours sincerely' as well, and didn't like me starting a sentence with 'Being' as in 'Being ready to complete, there is little further to do until...' - and changed it to 'As you are ready to complete...'

Tit

Ignore him and carry on as you are Ed - your way is perfectly correct and if he questions it I'll show him my certificates

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by Ed

No but I guess it'll be next. He put a comma after 'Yours sincerely' as well, and didn't like me starting a sentence with 'Being' as in 'Being ready to complete, there is little further to do until...' - and changed it to 'As you are ready to complete...'

Now, you are writing everything with fresh quill and ink in best traditional script, aren't you?

Originally Posted by Ed

Tit

Sounds very much like it.

[mr.anderson]

What about option 3...

£1 000 000.00

[yorkie_chris]

I'd be tempted to write back to him in crayon with something like "deal iz wel dun innit blud"

Originally Posted by mr.anderson

What about option 3...

$1 000 000.00