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     Table of Contents Chapter 30 30.9 Date in letters
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Chapter 30: Time and Date

  30.9 Date in letters

There used to be a time when people wrote letter, which means that they write something on a piece of paper and send it by post. This custom is almost lost in our modern times. Nowadays messages are sent by email and the date is set by the computer. However, we would like to present this in case you feel bound to tradition.

An example
 
  infos24 GmbH
internet service
Stephanstraße 11
10559 Berlin

An das
Einwohnermeldeamt
Schönhauser Allee 134
13123 Berlin

Berlin, (den) 23.04.2002

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

...

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Andrés Ehmann

 

infos24 GmbH
internet service
Stephanstraße 11
10559 Berlin

An das
Einwohnermeldeamt
Schönhauser Allee 134
13123 Berlin

Berlin, April 23, 2002

Dear Sirs,

...

Yours sincerly

Andrés Ehmann

The date is put in red. If you now wonder what is meant with den please note that it is not necessary to use it anymore. This den can be explained with historic reasons. This den is an Akkusativ that refers to Tag. But this Tag is lost. The same phenomenon we can find with Guten Tag , Guten Morgen (Good morning). In these phrases one could ask why it is not Guter Tag. The explication is the same. This Guten Tag is the remains of a whole phrase, Ich wünsche Ihnen einen guten Tag. With this it is quite clear that Guten Tag is an Akkusativ.
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