Letter writing format in French
Answers
Answer:
The golden rule
"Vous" is always used for a formal letter, never "tu".
French salutations
The salutation is also very formal and includes the recipient’s title when appropriate, as in Monsieur le Directeur. Alternately, use Monsieur, Cher Monsieur, Messieurs or Madame, Chère Madame or Mesdames.
Content
The body of the letter should be concise, to the point and formally polite.
If you are following up on a previous letter, you might start with, “Suite à ... je vous écris pour…” or “Nous vous remercions de votre lettre du …”.
If your letter is a request for something, you can use “Je vous serais reconnaissant de ... “ or “Je vous prie de ...”.
Signing off
You might end with, “Dans l’attente de votre réponse ...”, then sign off with one of these phrases, which sound much more formal than the accepted “Yours sincerely” in English but are de rigueur in a French formal letter:
Je vous prie d’agréer, Monsieur le Directeur, l’assurance de ma considération distinguée
Veuillez accepter, Messieurs (or Monsieur or Madame), mes salutations distinguées
Croyez, cher Monsieur (or chère Madame), à l’expression de mes sentiments les meilleurs
French personal letters
French personal letters are much more informal. Your return address sits at the top right of the page and below it your location and the date, but the recipient’s address is not required.
French Informal LetterYou may also use “tu” for anyone you would address that way in person and start with Cher or Chère followed by a given name.
Some useful phrases to start with include:
Je te remercie de ta lettre ...
Ça m’a fait plaisir d’avoir de tes nouvelles.
Or, if you’re a procrastinator:
Je suis désolé de ne pas t’avoir écrit plus tôt.
The body of the letter can be as chatty and friendly as if you were talking to the person.
Sign off affectionately with:
Je t’embrasse bien affectueusement
Grosses bises (very informal)
Or more simply with:
Bien amicalement
À bientôt
To include other friends or family in the letter, you might add:
Embrasse Sophie pour moi.
Paul te fait ses amitiés.
Addressing the envelope
If you’re mailing your letter, here are guidelines for addressing the envelope, line by line:
1 – Recipient’s name
Begin with Monsieur, Madame or Mademoiselle followed by the recipient’s full name, as in Monsieur Jacques Untel. This is polite form for both formal and informal letters. For a married couple, use Monsieur et Madame Untel.
On a business letter envelope, you can use the person’s title instead, for example, Madame la directrice.
2 – Recipient’s title
If you’ve used the person’s name in the first line, use the second line for his or her title, for example, Directrice, Service à la clientele.
3. - Company or organization
Use the full name or accepted abbreviation, as in Hôtel Au Bon Accueil and SNCF.
4 – Number, name and type of street
Full street names can be abbreviated, e.g. av for avenue, as in 45 av de la République, or bd for boulevard, as in 15 bd de Beaumanoir. If there’s no street address, this is where you put the post box number.
5 – Postcode and town or city
The postcode comes before the name of the town, as in 75010 Paris.
Return addresses should be written on the back of the envelope with the abbreviation "Exp.” (short for Expéditeur/-trice).
Answer:
1- Starting Your French Letter
Before you even start writing your French letter, you need to select the correct title.
(1)If you don’t know who you are writing to, start your letters by “Messieurs”.
(2)If you are addressing your letter to “le (3)Responsable des livraisons” but you still don’t know his/her name, start your letter with “Monsieur,” (even if you don’t know whether the person is a man or a woman).
(4)If you know the name of the person, start your letter by “Monsieur X, or Madame X,”.
(5)If it is someone you know, you met, or if you are answering to someone who wrote you first, then you can start with “Cher Monsieur X,” or “Chère Madame X,” if you feel like being a bit more friendly, not if you write to complain!
(6)If it’s a friend, start with “Cher Pierre,” ” Chère Anne,” [adblock]