Çeşitli İngilizce öğretmenleri arasından arama yapın...
Aurelio
For native speakers: kindly as an adjective before reply, reminder - incorrect, old fashioned, regional?

Dear all,

I often see the expression "a kindly reminder" or "thanks for your kindly reply" in emails - typically from China or India. While kindly can be an adjective (a kindly old man, a kindly fairy, a kindly breeze, a kindly disposition) this particular usage feels incorrect to my ears - or is it just old-fashioned and survived regionally, like "please do the needful"?

A quick google only yields a dollop of misinformation like "kindly is used as an adverb here" (nope, reply is a noun in this case) or "kindly can NEVER be used as an adjective" (wrong, see above) before delving into exhaustive lists of how "kind" can be used, which is kind of unrelated ;-). Looking forward to your kind(ly) replies :-P

Thanks,

Aurelio

Yorumlar · 5

3

It's incorrect to my ears, too. You are right. This isn't how we use the adjective 'kindly' in native-speaker English : it should be 'kind reply'.



2

We can use "kindly" when we want to be icily polite and formal while telling somebody in no uncertain terms to stop doing something.

"Kindly stop kicking the back of my airplane seat"

"Kindly refrain from smoking"

"Kindly desist from sending me messages that say nothing but 'hi'"



2
As a native speaker, I rarely hear any other native speakers use "kindly," and never in the context that you mention. I have heard non-native speakers use it, and I always interpret it as "a friendly reminder." The only time I hear native speakers use the word "kindly" is when they say, "Thank you, kindly." In this context, it's old-fashioned Southern dialect, so it's become increasingly rare. 
2

"Kindly reply" "Kindly reminder" is certainly correct. It's quite old - fashioned and you won't generally hear native speakers in the US say it. 

Many non - natives learn from outdated texts,  therefore the old terms and mistakes are spread. However, I would kindly suggest that this is not the end of the world. A native speaker won't look at this old usage and laugh or report you to the dreaded grammar police. 

Note: 'Thank for your kindly reply' is not correct. You could say "Thank you for your kind reply'

"Please kindly reply" would be correct, but it has a different meaning than your example.

Again, dated, but ok. Not recommended though.

0

Dear Jerry, Sara, Su.Ki. and Elizabeth,

Thanks much for weighing in on the topic. Seems like we have transatlantic agreement on "your kindly reply" just being wrong :-). Coming to think of it, the kindly reminder Is not as grating on my ears, so I will chalk it up under "dated, but grammatically correct" like Jerry said. @Elizabeth: love your last example - haven't we all thought that on Italki at times ;-)?

Best regards,

Aurelio

Evden çıkmadan dil öğrenme fırsatını kaçırmayın. Deneyimli dil eğitmenlerimizden oluşan seçkimize göz atın ve ilk dersinize şimdi kaydolun!

Bugün öğrenmeye başlayın