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Forms of address for formal speech in American English
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| Person |
Talking to the person |
Talking about the person |
Example |
| a man |
sir or Mr. + last name (if known) |
Mr. + last name/surname |
Excuse me sir, do you have the time?
I saw Mr. Johnson at the conference.
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| a young woman (under 30) |
Miss or Miss + last name (if known) |
Miss + first name (regional)
Miss + last name/surname
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Excuse me miss, do you have the time?
I saw Miss Smith at the conference.
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| a professional woman |
Ma'am or Ms. + last name (if known) |
Ms. + last name/surname |
Yes ma'am, I'll place the order rightaway.
Yes Ms. Winfrey, I'll call right after the meeting.
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| an older woman (over 30) or a woman who you know is married |
Ma'am or Mrs. + last name (if known) |
Mrs. + last name/surname |
I gave Mrs. Anderson a present for her birthday.
Excuse me ma'am, do you have the time?
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| A teacher at a school |
same as above |
same as above |
Could you please repeat the question Mr. Johnson? My Spanish teacher is Mrs. Anderson.
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| A teacher at a University |
Professor or Doctor (if he/she has a doctorate degree) |
Professor (or Dr.) + last name/surname |
Professor Winfrey, I don't understand, could you give me an example?
Doctor Jones teaches Chemistry.
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| A medical doctor or someone with a doctorate degree |
Doctor or Dr. + last name (if known) |
Dr. + last name/surname |
Doctor, my head hurts!
Dr. Jackson gave me this prescription.
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| A Judge |
Your honor |
Judge + last name/surname |
yes, your honor.
Judge Evans works at the courthouse.
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| A president |
Mr./Ms. President |
President + last name |
President Nixon wasn't very popular.
Mr. President, when are the troops going to leave Iraq?
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| A policeman |
Sir, officer |
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| A policewoman |
Ma'am, officer |
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