Email Writing: How to Use ‘Attachment’ & ‘Attached’ Correctly

In the context of email communication, ‘attached’ and ‘attachment’ are two words that frequently pop up.

They are closely related but also significantly different in terms of grammar. So what are the correct ways to use them? Well, that’s the topic to be covered in today’s post!

Attachment is…

A noun that describes something affixed or connected to something else.

More specifically, a digital attachment is a file fastened to an email or SMS message. It could be a PDF, basic text document, image, or any other type of electronic file. This word is a countable noun with a standard plural form (‘attachments’).

Examples:

This message contains an attachment.

Some important attachments can be found below.

The report should be submitted as an attachment.

Attached is…

An adjective that means appended to something else.

This adjective can be placed before a noun to indicate the same idea that ‘attachment’ conveys. Common examples include attached file and attached document.

‘Attached’ must be paired with a noun that it modifies in a sentence.

Incorrect:

❌ Please see the attached.

❌ The attached is for your reference.

❌ Did you check the attached?

Correct:

✔️ Please see the attached document.

✔️ The attached file is for your reference.

✔️ Did you check the attached photo?

Attached is also…

A verb. That’s right!

This word is a conjugated version of the verb ‘attach’. It serves as the simple past tense form as well as the past participle (often for present perfect sentences).  

Examples:

✔️ I attached an audio recording yesterday.

✔️ The vendor attached a quote for us to go over.

✔️ Every candidate has attached a resume and CV.

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