A personal letter usually begins with 'Dear Tom', 'My dear Tom' or for special cases 'My darling Tom'.

Business letters usually begin with 'Dear Mr Jones'. It is important to find out the name of the person you are writing to if at all possible, if not then you should address it to 'Dear Sir' or 'Dear Madam'. When writing to a company, it is correct to either address the letter 'Dear Sirs' or 'Messrs...'.

For personal letters, the sender will usually sign off either with 'Best wishes', 'Kind regards', 'With love', or another suitable close. Take care when ending with 'Yours' as this can sound cold.

For business letters that begin with 'Dear Sir, Messrs, or Madam' you should close with 'Yours faithfully'. Where your letter has opened with 'Dear Mr Jones' you should close with 'Yours sincerely'.

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