“Please find attached the” and “please find the attached” are very similar phrases. They are used in emails when you have added an attachment for the recipient to look through. This article will explain whether there are differences between them.
“Please find the attached” and “please find attached the” can be synonymous. They both refer to something that is attached to an email. “Please find attached the” tends to work best when the attachment is first mentioned. “Please find the attached” works for later mentions.
There are no direct rules that say one is correct while the other is not. You can say either of the following:
The only slight difference is that “please find attached” works best when you first introduce the attachment:
While “please find the attached” is better for any subsequent mention:
You won’t always need to specify what is attached when saying “the attached,” as it usually would have been mentioned already.
“Please find the attached” is a good way of sharing an attached document. It is best used when you have already spoken about the attachment you’ve included. It acts as a way to remind someone that there is an attachment.
It’s also possible to use “Please find the attached” as its own sentence without specifying what is attached.
While you might have to include “the document” or “the file” when “please find attached the” is used, this does not apply to “please find the attached.”
These examples should make it clearer how to use “please find the attached” in a sentence:
“Please find attached the” is a good choice if you’re introducing the attachment for the first time. It allows you to refer to the attachment (usually because someone has asked for it or was expecting it).
You can use this phrase to refer to the attachment at any stage in the email. It’s a good one to remind someone that there is an attachment.
You do have to make sure you specify what the attachment is, though. You can’t just say “please find attached,” as this is not a complete sentence.
Instead, you can say “please find attached the file” or “the document” (or anything similar to that).
Here are some examples to show you how to use “please find attached the” in a sentence:
According to Google Ngram Viewer, “please find attached the” is used the most. It’s a lot more popular because it works when you are referring to the first instance of the attachment in an email as well as any subsequent mentions.
“Please find the attached” is a little less common because “the attached” works better when you’ve talked about the attachment.
You can use “please find attached the” and “please find the attached” in the same way. Most people prefer “please find attached the,” as it helps to establish what you have attached to the email for someone to read through. There are no rules that value one over the other.
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
