"Dear Roland!" vs. "dear Roland, "

[Van Khanh]

Hi all,

Please tell me what is the difference between :

Dear Roland,

and

Dear Roland!

Thanks
Khanh

[Tom]

Hello Van Khanh

So today it is proved that great minds think alike! I myself have been toying with the idea of sending this question, but could not really form it/ design it.

You will see that:

Mister Micawber writes: Hi, Tom
Amy writes: Hi Tom
Alan writes: Hi Tom,

Lets see other possibilities also:

1 - Hi Tom.
2 - Hi Tom!
3 - Hi Tom:
4 - Hi Tom;

Now we badly need one of the moderators to explain all of them to us.Not the future moderator, of course, i.e, myself

Tom

[Yankee]

[Tom]

Thank you, Amy

But why does Mr. Micawber write it in a different way? Is this style American or British?

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

I don't remember having seen MM begin a post the way you mentioned. In fact, I thought Mr. Mic was one of the people who usually omitted that part.

What you should keep in mind is the fact that the forum is not a letter. It's also not particularly formal. You can see that it's not formal by the use of "Hi". You should never begin a formal letter that way.

I don't use any of the "standard" expressions (such as Regards, Best regards, etc.) when I end an e-mail to someone in my family or to a friend. The "standard" format would sound too formal. So, instead I might write "See ya later" or "Bye for now." In those same e-mails, I also don't worry too terribly much about commas.

Amy
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Van Khanh]

Hi Amy,

Please compare between :

Hi Tom.
Hi Tom:
Hi Tom;

Thanks

[Conchita]

[Jamie (K)]

Conchita is right. Those are all punctuated incorrectly.

[Van Khanh]

Hi Conchita,

Thanks for your response. I'm always look for your the response of any person.

Thanks.
Van Khanh