Lesson
If you look out for this phrase, you will see it`s written in all manner of ways. It would be useful to know which is right and wrong and why.
Thank you
This is the verb ‘to thank’ with a direct object ‘you’.
You know that they are two separate words.Iif you use the full sentence which is hidden underneath – ‘I thank you.’
From this comes the shortened version which we hear daily – ‘thank you’. It is always two words.
Examples:
- Thank you for coming today to this talk on written communications.
- Thank you for your letter of 23 June 2004.
Thankyou
This is the noun ‘a thankyou’.
Examples:
- He gave a great big thankyou to all concerned.
Thankyou
This is also the spelling for the adjective, describing something (a noun) to follow.
Examples:
- He gave a thankyou card to his mother.
- The thankyou speech was most moving.
Thank-you
So, why do we see ‘thank-you’ written?
Some dictionaries are still using the ‘thank-you’ form, while others show the more inevitable ‘thankyou’ form for the noun.
So, `Thank-you`is a hyphenated compound noun as if you say `A thank-you`
Another interesting fact about spelling the word `TODAY`
I’ll bet you don`t know that another word has different spelling.
It started as open (1) ‘to day’ – from Middle English times and Old English before that ‘to + dœge’ meaning ‘on this day’.
After this, it became hyphenated (2) ‘to-day’, which was used for several hundred years and can be seen in writings and manuscripts of the time.
Nowadays, it is the closed spelling (3) ‘today’ which we use – and most people would never know any different!
Have a pleasant time while reading the lesson!
