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Iasadih Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Mr. plus last name and the convention in UK

Hello
I am editing a reference letter and it makes a mention of the person in the form of Mr. Jack White three times in total. Are variations advisable, say Mr. White? I have heard it seems impolite to Britons.

Here is the letter

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

My name is Ewa Majcher.
For the last four years, I have been working as a Polish teacher in “Accent” language school run by Mr. Jack White
.
Our cooperation was excellent.
Mr. Jack White is a solid person, very well organized with a high professional attitude.
I sincerely recommend Mr. Jack White to anyone as a reliable cooperative.

I will be happy to answer any questions. Please write me at: Email Removed">.......
  

Top answer

iasadih Are variations advisable, say Mr. White? I have heard it seems impolite to Britons.

— GPY

  • iasadih Are variations advisable, say Mr.
  • White?
  • I have heard it seems impolite to Britons.
  • I don't know where you heard that, but it's totally wrong.
  • I recommend that you write "Mr Jack White" in full the first time and then "Mr White" thereafter.
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9 Answers
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iasadihAre variations advisable, say Mr. White? I have heard it seems impolite to Britons.
I don't know where you heard that, but it's totally wrong. I recommend that you write "Mr Jack White" in full the first time and then "Mr White" thereafter. It becomes tiresome reading "Mr Jack White" over and over.

"a reliable cooperative" is not right. A perso
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iasadihI have heard it seems impolite to Britons.
Except in newspaper headlines, we rarely use the word 'Britons'. We prefer 'the British' or 'British people'.
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Thank you.

Where I took it? From two sources: Tom Sawyer and an English person who said he hated being referred to as Mr. Fryar. But if you say it is advisable to avoid Mr Full Name, that's even better.

What word could replace "cooperative"? I mean it to be someone to work with but in one word.

PS. Britons, in turn, I took from my promotor when studying English philolog
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iasadihan English person who said he hated being referred to as Mr. Fryar.
This is very atypical. Also, if someone hates being referred to as "Mr + family name" then I would guess this is not in contrast to "Mr + First name + Family name", but just because for some reason they do not like "Mr".
Actually, I meant to mention, of course, that you can also con
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It seems a good option to be less formal as you proposed but I would rather look for something less equal than colleague because - partly out of convention in our country and partly because the difference in age), I remained explicitly her employer, which I would like to have maintained in the letter, however, in a lighter form.

As a non-native speaker, though, I am not quite sure of the
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iasadih I remained explicitly her employer,
This sounds as thought you are writing about a woman. "Mr. Jack White" is a man's name.
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Yes, let me make it clear Emotion: smile

I am her ex employer. She is a Polish teacher my firm sent to teach Polish to the president of a
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iasadihYes, let me make it clear
Please do.

Are you writing a reference for yourself as if it were written by a former employee of yours?
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Yes, she agreed to sign but would rather have me write. Is it a normal practice in other countries?
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