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English

When writing a formal letter in English, I would normally end with something along the lines of

I look forward to hearing from you [soon|as soon as possible|at your earliest convenience].

Regards,
[name]

What would be the equivalent way to end a formal letter in Spanish?

When I learnt Spanish I recall being taught something along the following lines, which I have always used, but I have never seen anyone else use this:

A la espera [de respuesta|de su pronta respuesta] le[s] saluda atentamente,
[nombre]

Also, though this obviously does not carry the "I look forward to hearing from you" meaning, I have had a couple of letters from Argentinian businesses ending along the lines of:

Sin otro motivo, saluda atentamente.

[nombre]

What does "sin otro motivo" mean in this context? Obviously the literal translation, "without any other motive" doesn't mean anything. Also, is it correct to leave out the "le" in "le saluda atentamente", or has the writer made a mistake?

Español

Cuando escribo una carta formal en inglés, normalmente termino con algo parecido al siguiente:

I look forward to hearing from you [soon|as soon as possible|at your earliest convenience].

Regards,
[name]

¿Qué sería la manera equivalente en español para terminar una carta formal?

Cuándo aprendí español, me acuerdo de aprender algo como lo siguiente, y lo uso mucho, pero nunca vi a un hablante nativo usarlo.

A la espera [de respuesta|de su pronta respuesta] le[s] saluda atentamente,
[nombre]

También - aunque claro que no lleva el significado de "I look forward to hearing from you" - he recibido varias cartas de compañías argentinas terminadas más o menos como :

Sin otro motivo, saluda atentamente.

[nombre]

En este contexto, ¿que significa "sin otro motivo"? La traducción literal, "without any other motive", no significa nada en este contexto en inglés... También, ¿es correcto omitir la palabra "le" en el frase "le saluda atentamente", o es un error por parte del escritor?

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I look forward to hearing from you [soon|as soon as possible|at your earliest convenience].

Regards.

If we are politely demanding an answer, we could say

Quedo a la espera de su respuesta [sus comentarios] Atentamente|Saludos cordiales

If we want to stress that we expect a quick response we can add a la brevedad or tan pronto como le sea posible

A la espera [de respuesta|de su pronta respuesta] le[s] saluda atentamente

is also ok.

If we are just inviting or welcoming further messages (but with no obligation) we could simply say:

Espero tener noticias suyas pronto.

Regarding:

Sin otro motivo, saluda atentamente.

"sin otro motivo" (or "sin otro asunto") means basically "Without any further matters to discuss..." , but it sounds a trifle cold/mechanical/inelegant to me, I would leave that out.

is it correct to leave out the "le" in "le saluda atentamente", or has the writer made a mistake?

It's a slight mistake. The correct way is "le saluda atentamente" (or also, preferable in Argentina and other places: "lo saluda atentamente")

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  • Thanks! Good to hear that what I was using isn't actually wrong. And thanks for letting me know that the "sin otro motivo" formulation is somewhat "colder", I will avoid it in my own letters.
    – Caesar
    May 23, 2013 at 18:47
  • Sin otro motivo is a localized very formal, yet quite old formulation. It is being used less every day in Argentina, so you'll be fine avoiding it. As pointed by @leonbloy, the example is even grammatically incorrect. But in general, in Argentina, formalities are not so important as the contents, so it can pass as ok :)
    – user1629
    Jun 18, 2013 at 23:18

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