Forms of Address .

When addressing people in English we usually call our friends by their first name, for example, John or Mary. If we are speaking to someone whom we know less well we use Mr. // Mrs. // Miss followed by the surname, for example:

Mr. Brown - to a man;

Mrs. Brown - to a married woman;

Miss Brown - to a girl or unmarried woman.

NOTE: Ms. [ miz ] with the surname (eg. Ms. Smith) is increasingly used in writing about a woman when it is not known (or not important) whether she is married or not. However, as a form of address it is comparatively rare, being mainly restricted to those women who are known to dislike the traditional forms Mrs. and Miss.

Mister, Missus and Miss alone (without the surname) are sometimes used but are not polite, although Miss is generally accepted as a form of address to a woman-teacher by primary – school children.

Other forms of address are:

Sir - used to a man who is clearly older and / or more senior than oneself.

Sir is also used:

1. by shop assistants, waiters, etc. to their male customers;

2. by schoolchildren to men-teachers;

3. as a polite form of address to a stranger, even if not older or more senior. However, this is not common nowadays in Britain, where the usual way of addressing a stranger (either a man or a woman) is Excuse me, please. In America Sir is more common in this situation;

4. in the armed forces, to an (superior) officer;

5. as a title (for knights and baronets), followed by the first name, for example, Sir William.

Madam - used by shop assistants, waiters, etc. to their female customers. Except for this type of situation, however, madam is less widely used than sir. It is not used when addressing women-teachers (here Mrs. / Miss with surname is used), nor when addressing an older or more senior woman. It is only rarely used to address a stranger, “ Excuse me, please “ being the usual form.

Doctor - used alone only to medical practitioners. When addressing a person with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Science, for example, the surname is always included, for example, Dr. Brown.

Professor - used either with or without the surname, depending on how formal or informal one wishes to be. (Simply Professor is more formal.)

General // Colonel // Captain, etc. - also used either with or without the surname.

Ladies and Gentlemen - to an audience;

Mr. / Madam Chairman - to the chairman of a meeting.

Waiter / Waitress / Porter / Nurse, etc. - to people in certain occupations. However, this usage is now becoming rare, at least as regards Waiter / Waitress and Porter. Instead people simply try to catch the waiter’s eye, for example, or say Excuse me, (please).

Officer - to a policeman. If one knows his rank, one may also address him as, for example, Constable, or Inspector. In practice, however, most people approaching a policeman for information or help use Excuse me, (please), withoutany form of address.

Note: Commercial and administrative titles such as director and manager are never used as forms of address.