Greeting vs. Greetings

Question

Thank you for the greeting.Thanks you for the greetings.1.  If a person greets me on a special occasion, which of the above should I reply with?  I wonder if the word 'greetings' should always be in plural form with an 's' like "Greetings to you" at the beginning of a letter, and not "Greeting to you".2.  If more than two people greet me, I believe I should definitely use the plural form "greetings".  Is this correct?Thanks in advance for your response.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Thank you for the greeting.-- This means 'thank you for saying Hello'.

Thanks you for the greetings.

1. If a person greets me on a special occasion, which of the above should I reply with?-- If it is just 'Hello', use the first.

I wonder if the word 'greetings' should always be in plural form with an 's' like "Greetings to you" at the beginning of a letter, and not "Greeting to you"-- Yes, you are right.

2. If more than two people greet me, I believe I should definitely use the plural form "greetings". Is this correct?-- Not necessarily. If they both say the same thing, then you can use the singular.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Thank you for the greeting.

Thanks you for the greetings.

1. If a person greets me on a special occasion, which of the above should I reply with? I wonder if the word 'greetings' should always be in plural form with an 's' like "Greetings to you" at the beginning of a letter, and not "Greeting to you".

2. If more than two people greet me, I believe I should definitely use the plural form "greetings". Is this correct?

Althoiugh we do speak of 'a greetings card', we don't use the verb 'greet' in the way that you are trying to.

eg If you tell me that Tom greeted you yesterday, it sounds to me like he said 'hello'.

Here are examples of more idiomatic ways to speak.

Tom gave me a birthday card yesterday.

Tom wished me a happy birthday yesterday.

Tom wished me a Merry Christmas.

Thanns you for the card(s).

Thank you for your kind wishes.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, Mister Micawber and Clive, for your explanations. I just have some additional questions about your replies.

Mister Micawber2. If more than two people greet me, I believe I should definitely use the plural form "greetings". Is this correct?-- Not necessarily. If they both say the same thing, then you can use the singular.

3. So if they say different things, for example, one says "Merry Chrismas" and the other says "Happy New Year", then I should use the plural form "greetings". Please confirm.
4. However, can I also simply use the singular "greeting" to mean each of their different greetings, ie. "Thank you for the greeting," ?

CliveThank you for your kind wishes.

5. In this sentence, should "wishes" always be in plural form?
6. Is it possible to say "Thank you for your kind wish" it's really only one wish? To my ear, "kind wish" doesn't sound right.
7. If "Thank you for the greeting(s)" is less idiomatic, is "Thank you for your greeting(s)" fine?

Please advise. Thank you.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Clive

“Thank you for your kind wishes.”

5. In this sentence, should "wishes" always be in plural form? Yes, that's the idiomatic way to say it.

6. Is it possible to say "Thank you for your kind wish" it's really only one wish? To my ear, "kind wish" doesn't sound right. Nor to mine.

7. If "Thank you for the greeting(s)" is less idiomatic, is "Thank you for your greeting(s)" fine?

As I tried to explain, we normally don't use 'greetings' in this way. Typical things to say are

eg Thank you for the (birthday) card.

eg Thank you for your birthday good wishes.

Clive

Mister Micawber · Answer

3. So if they say different things, for example, one says "Merry Chrismas" and the other says "Happy New Year", then I should use the plural form "greetings". Please confirm.
4. However, can I also simply use the singular "greeting" to mean each of their different greetings, ie. "Thank you for the greeting," ?

3. Yes
4. Yes
However, as Clive says, it is not common; we would greet back: 'Merry Christmas!' - 'And a Merry Christmas to you, too!' 'Greetings' appears mostly on greeting cards.

Anonymous · Answer

Hi Clive and Mister Micawber,

Thanks so much for your clarifications. This is perfectly clear to me now.

Anonymous · Answer

What if it's my birthday and plenty of people say "Happy Birthday" to me, eg on Facebook. How could I thank that? "Thanks for your greetings / birthday greetings" would be ok?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Just say "Thank you."

"Thanks for your greetings / birthday greetings" would be ok? Yes, that's OK, too.

Anonymous · Answer

Anonymous.

Thank you for the greeting.
Thanks you for the greetings.

1. If a person greets me on a special occasion, which of the above should I reply with? I wonder if the word 'greetings' should always be in plural form with an 's' like "Greetings to you" at the beginning of a letter, and not "Greeting to you".
--> Yes, correct.

2. If more than two people greet me, I believe I should definitely use the plural form "greetings". Is this correct?
--> First of all, "Thank you" .
And basically, greeting is not that grateful but ordinary. You don't even need to say so. But if you still wanna show how big the gratitude you feel is, just say "Thank you guys for the greeting!".

Anonymous · Answer

At the beginning of a letter, what should I write?

Dear Mr. Santos:

Greeting. or Greetings.?

Greeting vs. Greetings

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