I am trying to add a bible verse to a formal business thank you letter and am
not sure grammatically how to add it. Do I list the verse in the body of the
letter as a separate paragraph? It is a verse from the Bible regarding those
who give and I want the donor to know how God regards their gift. Do I
write: The Bible says:, then list the verse? I would like to be
grammatically correct. I am using Word 2003. Thanks for all help given.

To: Ms. McNeil,

This is not an issue of grammar (as such), but "style," such as in "The
Chicago Manual of Style" or "The New York Public Library Writer's Guide to
Style and Usage" or whatever stylebook should be used for business letters.

Generally speaking, there are two ways to present a quote: (1) run-in
quotations are set off with quotations marks and run-in as part of a greater
paragraph; and (2) block quotations which are an independent paragraph
(without quote marks) indented from the left, often with a slightly smaller
typeface and decreased leading (spacing between lines). A general rule of
thumb is that run-in quotations are used for shorter quotes, and block
quotations are used for longer quotes. A long quotation is variously defined
as anywhere from 40 to 100 words or more.

I'm unsure which style guidebook you should be consulting, but perhaps my
comment above can serve as a guideline.

Steven Craig Miller

"Ms. McNeil" wrote:

> I am trying to add a bible verse to a formal business thank you letter and am
> not sure grammatically how to add it. Do I list the verse in the body of the
> letter as a separate paragraph? It is a verse from the Bible regarding those
> who give and I want the donor to know how God regards their gift. Do I
> write: The Bible says:, then list the verse? I would like to be
> grammatically correct. I am using Word 2003. Thanks for all help given.