Key Idea: Personal texts go to people you know or to your followers: an email, a blog, a diary and a social media post. Each one has five parts in a fixed order and its own register.
Informal email
- Reader: one person you know. Register: warm and informal, with du.
- Parts: greeting → opening → body → question to the reader → sign-off.
- {{Liebe …, … Liebe Grüße, deine …|Dear …, … Lots of love, your …}}
- After the greeting comma, the next word starts with a small letter.
Blog
- Readers: many people. Register: informal but public, with ihr.
- Parts: catchy title → hook → body → question for readers → upbeat close.
- {{Hallo zusammen! … Bis zum nächsten Mal!|Hi everyone! … See you next time!}}
Personal diary
- Reader: only you. Register: intimate, with ich.
- Parts: date → opening → what happened → feelings → looking ahead.
- Start with the date and {{Liebes Tagebuch|Dear diary}}, and reflect honestly.
Social media post
- Readers: your followers. Register: direct and lively, with du or ihr.
- Parts: hook → message → reason → call to action → hashtags.
- No greeting and no formal sign-off.
- {{Wusstet ihr…? … Teilt diesen Beitrag!|Did you know…? … Share this post!}}
Your reader picks the pronoun: du for a friend, ihr for many readers, ich for your diary. Never skip the parts that open and close the text.
Which text has no greeting and no sign-off? The social media post.
Why does a blog use ihr? Many people read it.
What do you ask near the end of an email? Something for your friend to answer.
What is the last part of a diary entry? Looking ahead.
How does a social media post end? With hashtags, after the call to action.