Appeal in English: forms, spelling rules, examples

2024 Author: Angel Austin | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:14

On the one hand, it may seem that the addresses in English are not particularly complicated: Mr., Mrs., Miss. However, even here there are difficulties that should not be overlooked, but, on the contrary, to parse and understand all the subtleties of English addresses.

Remember how you can address people differently in Russian. After all, the closeness of communication and social status depend on how you address them. You are more likely to call the boss Ivan Ivanovich, the best friend - Vanya, and the five-year-old child - Vanka. After all, we greet people in completely different ways.

Roughly the same thing happens in English. The English are known to be quite polite in communication. Let's try to figure out what forms of address exist in English.

Ask the interlocutor how to address him

The safest and most reliable way to properly address a person- ask him himself what his name should be. In English, a similar phrase is built something like this:

What should I call you? - What should I call you?
Should I call you by your first name? - Should I call you by your first name?
What should I call your mother/brother/teacher? - What should I call your mother/your brother/your teacher? (You can substitute any word for a person here.)

The previous three options are polite and formal. And in order to build a more friendly, informal phrase, you should use this:

What's your name? - What's your name?
Can I call you… - Can I call you…
Is it okay if I call you… - It's okay if I call you…

And if you are asked how to contact you, you can answer as follows:

You can call me… - You can call me…
Please, call me… - Please, call me…
Just call me… - Just call me…

Punctuation and address: is there a comma?

Are the titles in English stand out?

You probably know that in Russian all addresses are separated by commas. What about addressing in English: does this rule work here?

At school they would tell you: yes, it works. However, many English speakers simply ignore the native language rule. Although, of course, in the case when the appeal is at the very beginning, a comma is placed after it:

Mike, do you play tennis? -Mike, do you play tennis?

However, if the address was at the end, many English people would write like this:

Do you play tennis Mike? - Do you play tennis, Mike?

In real life, an Englishman simply wouldn't put a comma before a word in English. However, this punctuation rule is taught in all Russian schools and other textbooks. Therefore, if you are taking any exam or test, write an essay or an essay, remember: the address in English is separated by commas.

Do you play tennis, Mike? - Do you play tennis, Mike?
May I come in, Alice? - May I come in, Alice?
Wow, you are really good at it, dude! - Wow, you're really good at this, man!

Polite in English

With strangers and in business style, you should address adults like this: Sir [se] (sir; for a man), Madam [´madem] (madame, for a woman). If your interlocutor asks to address you differently, call him the way he asked.

Remember:

Sir - address for an adult male.
Madam - an appeal for an adult woman. Usually this is what men call a woman, the representatives of the weaker sex rarely address each other in this way. The only exception is the appeal of the servant to his mistress.

Here are some simple examples:

Sir, you dropped your wallet! - Sir, you dropped your wallet!
You are so beautiful, Madam! - You are so beautiful, madam!

Mister, missis,miss

There are three popular addresses in English that probably everyone knows: mister, missis, miss. But we will explain once again in what cases they are used.

At the very beginning, it is worthwhile to understand that all these three addresses are used only together with the surname after the address itself. If you call a man, for example, just mister, it will sound quite rude. Something like: "Hey mister!" We advise you to avoid this if you do not want to become rude.

Mister (last name) - this is how they refer to a man. (abbreviated as Mr)
Missis (surname) - referring to a married woman. (Mrs)
Miss (surname) - referring to a young or unmarried woman. (Ms)

Let's give simple examples in which these words are used:

Mr. Jones is sick, please come later. - Mr. Jones is ill, please come back later.
Sorry, Mr. Smith, I think I've forgotten my chemistry homework… - Sorry Mr. Smith, I think I forgot my chemistry homework.
Mrs. Collins called us for dinner. - Mrs. Collins invited us to dinner.
Ms. Brown was crossing the road, when I saw her. - Miss Brown was crossing the road when I saw her.
Mrs. Carter was always too kind… - Mrs. Carter was always so kind…

How else can you turn to a stranger?

In addition to the usual "Mr" and "Mrs", there are other addresses that you can use bytowards an unfamiliar man or woman.

Let's find out what kind of addresses you can use to strangers:

Son, sonny, boy is how older people like to address younger guys.
Young man - a young man. As in the previous example, this address is used mainly by older people in relation to young men.

And appeals to women:

Miss can also be used without a surname, unlike "Mr" and "Mrs". Usually referred to as a teacher or staff.
Dearie, Dear, Love, Ducky - this is how older people often refer to young girls.

How to address a person in a letter?

There are several ways you can address a person at the very beginning of a letter. In a business letter, the following word is usually added: dear (dear, respected). This is the most common letter in English.

If you do not know the name of the person you are addressing, you should address the person like this: Dear Sir (dear sire; for a man); Dear Madam (dear madam; for a woman)
If you know the name of the person you are addressing, you can say: Dear and name. For example, Dear Alex - dear Alex, dear Alex.
In a business letter, it's okay to address a person by their first name only if you've already communicated before.
You can also address a person using Mr, Mrs, Ms. Remember that this official address should always be shortened.

In lessofficial correspondence, you can use the following addresses:

Dear Colleague - Dear Colleague!
Dear Editor - Dear Editor!
Dear Publisher - Dear Publisher!
Dear Reader - Dear Reader!

Appeals to people holding a position

In English, there are also appeals to people based on their position or profession.

Your Majesty - Your Majesty. This title is used for kings and queens.
Your Highness - your highness. Used for dukes, princes.
Your Lordship - This is a title used for a lord and also for a judge of the Supreme Court.
Your Honor is your honor. This treatment is also available in Russian, so it is not difficult to understand that in English it is also used in relation to the judge.
General - general, used mostly with family name.
Captain - used with family name.
Officer - an officer, used in relation to policemen and also with a surname.
Professor - professor. In the UK, this is only addressed to those who have a degree or the title of professor. But in the United States of America, this is how you can contact a teacher of any higher educational institution.

Give different examples with all the above words:

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
His Highness wants you to see. - His highness wants to see you.
You Honor, I should tellwhat really happened. - Your part, I should tell you how it really happened.
They chose Adamson as their captain. - They chose Adamson as their captain.
Captain Bell, I want to see you in my cabinet. - Captain Bell, I would like to see you in my office.
Officer Janson, there is misunderstanding! - Officer Jenson, there's a misunderstanding here!
Professor Robinson entered the class and we all stopped talking. - Professor Robinson walked into the classroom and we all stopped talking.

Appeals to a group of people

It also happens that you need to address a group of people, a whole team, and not an individual person. In Russian, we say: "guys!", "class!", "colleagues!". And English has its own words to know.

Ladies and gentlemen! - This is probably one of the most popular English addresses that absolutely everyone knows. It translates, you guessed it, like this: ladies and gentlemen.
Guys! - Guys! Used in informal settings.
Dear friends! - informal address: dear friends!
Esteemed colleagues! - This is how they address their colleagues at work in English.

Tenderness

Most often we use various addresses in an informal setting. We call people close to us cute, kind, suns and so on. There are cute ones in English tooappeals.

Honey - can be translated in different ways: dear, beloved, dear. This is a very affectionate term that can be used towards a loved one or a child.
Sweetie - sweet, cute. For a loved one or child.
Sweetheart - also for a loved one.
Darling - dear / dear.
Baby - of course, many people know this appeal. Translated as "baby".
Sunshine - literal translation: "sunshine", "sunshine". In Russian there is a similar word-address: "sun".

Informal appeals

In English, there are a huge number of informal, everyday addresses with which you can turn to a friend, friend or person close to you. However, it is important to know that American and British English spellings are completely different. Using a British word in an American environment or vice versa would be quite embarrassing!

Let's start with British appeals:

Chap - old man, old man, buddy.
Mate - buddy, friend. This term is also popular in Australia and New Zealand.
Crony is a buddy.
Pal is also a popular address in the United States, which can be translated as friend.

And now let's move on to American appeals. As you know, the American language is more informal than English, so there are more "cheeky" references.

Homie - friend, friend, quite close to youfriend.
Amigo - amigo, friend.
Dude - dude, buddy - pretty classic in American terms.
Bestie is the best friend.

Pronoun Thou: referring to God

Let's talk about speaking to God in English. Have you heard of the pronoun "thou"?

In general, this pronoun was familiar to Great Britain and its inhabitants until about the 17th century and was translated as the pronoun "you". Now it can only be found in the works of early classical literature and various sonnets: