How to write cards

　　R: And these are special event cards, for love even ts. At one, you can see a picture of a little bride and groom so that's for weddings. And I'm sure in China you send wedding cards as well. Often they're enclosed with money. And then this one is happy anniversary. My paren t's anniversary is in the part of the year when I'm not usually home to see them and share their anniversary wi th them. It's forty something years this year. And so I always send them cards. And so I always send them cards . And if you know someone, especially at that time, if you're remembering their wedding or if you were in thei r wedding perhaps, you might send them a card to remind them. And what's the right thing to write?

　　E: Well if somebody is getting married, we always s ay "Congratulations", don't we? "Congratulations on you r happy day or on your wedding!"

　　R: And "Congratulations on your anniversary!"

　　E: After the wedding comes the next card. "Congratu lations on your new baby!"

　　R: This one says "a little boy". But anytime there' s a birth of a child, you could write "Congratulations on the birth of your new baby" or "On the birth of your child."

　　E: There're other kinds of congratulations that you might want to do. For example, if someone moves to a ne w home, you might write someone a little card and say " Congratulations on your new home", or……

　　R: Or your new job. That's very common because peop le do change jobs. Usually you change for the better, g et a better job. So it's nice to remember somebody with a card. This one just says "Congratulations". I recentl y sent it to a young man who graduated from school. And I think this is a standard note. My whole family signed it and we told him "good luck in the future", since he had just finished school.

　　E: That's a good thing to say.
 　  

  　R: Our last category is very important for those cr azy foreigners who are always saying "thank you".

　　E: Do you remember what we're said about that? In o ur Western culture, one of the most important thing is to say "please" and "thank you".

　　R: So in a "thank you" card you might begin by sayi ng, "Dear……" good friend, good neighbor, their name. An d then say thank you for whatever it was, you buying me dinner, helping me with something.

　　E: Do you notice the size of this card? It's not ve ry big. And I think that is usual, isn't it? Because wh en you write a "thank you " card you don't have to writ e a lot. And inside it's bland; "thank you" is on the o utside. You just write "Thank you for the lovely dinner "; "Thank you for the wonderful outing".

　　R: The nice gift.

　　E: "Thank you for the lovely gift. I'm sure I'll us e it many times."

　　R: Those are all good. My mother always said you sh ould have at least two "thank you's" in the note, at th e beginning and at the end. So it does seem like too mu ch. But we want to go over how to close these. Some end ings would be……You might end a love card with "I love y ou " or "Much love". But you might end a friendship car d with "fondly", which means fondness and friendship, o r "Your friend, Rebecca", or "I'm thinking of you, Elyn ." And "thank you", you would end with "Thanks again".

　　E: Yes, this is a good one to remember, because in a "thank you" card, at the beginning you might say "Tha nk you for the wonderful evening", "We had such a good time being with you", and whoever, "in your new house." Thanks again.

　　R: And a more formal one you might say, say it's yo ur boss's son who graduated, you don't know him well. H e is not a personal friend. But you send a card, you mi ght say "Best regards".

　　E: Or "Best wishes".

　　R: Or "All the best". Those are all good ways to fi nish the note and then sign your name.

　　E: So if you have to write a card and you need to w rite it to an English speaker, now this should give you some good ideas on what to say inside your cards.