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Torsten
Learning Coach
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 #18 (permalink) Thu Jun 04, 2009 23:59 pm Ms, Mrs, Miss? |
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"Maybe you can give me some examples where you would use "Ms" and "Miss" so I get a better idea of what you mean."
Here is an example of when Ms and Miss are used in a typical situation, and how they can carry certain connotations/feelings for people.
Recently, I went to the DMV to renew my driver's license. The employee asked me if I was "Ms", "Mrs," or "Miss." Not yet married, and not wanting to go by the young-sounding "Miss", I replied, "Ms."
The man gave me an odd expression and asked me to repeat my answer three times. When I again said "mzzz" (to emphasize "ms"), he said, "So you've been divorced."
"No," I say.
"Well," he replies, "you better not go by 'Ms.' because you'll scare all the boys away." He then put me down as "Miss."
I had never heard that meaning of "Ms." before; in fact, most of the women I know go by "Ms." and haven't been divorced. The man was trying to be helpful (and funny?), I'm sure, but in the end, the exchange just frustrated me.
No real moral to that story, just an example of how those terms come to play in every day life. I associate "Miss" with young girls, "Ms." with either married or unmarried women, and "Mrs." with married women. Any boys who run away when I call myself "Ms." can keep running. Because that's just silly. |
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Pooka3
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| #19 (permalink) Fri Jun 05, 2009 0:09 am Ms, Mrs, Miss? |
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Very good points, Ms Pooka-- welcome to English-test.Net.
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Mister Micawber
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| #20 (permalink) Fri Jun 05, 2009 6:57 am Ms, Mrs, Miss? |
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I know it's a bit off-topic but I just got a bit curious here.
Why would boys run away from divorced women? Is that a general trend in the US?
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Daemon99
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| #21 (permalink) Fri Jun 05, 2009 7:48 am Ms, Mrs, Miss? |
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Don't think it would happen anywhere Daemon.
As a point of interest, I always used the approach when writing :-
Miss, for a young unmarried girl/woman.
Ms, for a more mature unmarried woman, (a spinster) and therefore not necessarily divorced.
Kitos.
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 Kitosdad
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| #22 (permalink) Mon Jul 20, 2009 22:04 pm Ms, Mrs, Miss? |
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Ms. = "mizz". A "Z" sound...like in zipper
Mrs. = "missus"
Miss = miss
I know that when I'm speaking, I use the correct pronunciation. |
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Mean
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| #23 (permalink) Tue Jul 21, 2009 2:40 am Ms, Mrs, Miss? |
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Hi!! I just wanted to add that I do not think any of the forms could really offend any woman. I use "Ms" for myself, as I am married- however I have kept my maiden name. So, I am not technically a Miss anymore, and I am not a Mrs either, since I do not have my husband's last name. Traditionally, Miss is used for an unmarried woman and Mrs for a married woman who takes her husband's last name, that is why it is for example "Mr and Mrs John Smith"(formal)."Ms" can be conveniently used in all other cases:) where the marital status of a female is not clear or kept "strictly confidential" so to speak. |
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Natasha81
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| #24 (permalink) Tue Jul 21, 2009 3:02 am doubt -ms-mrs-miss |
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| 'ms' may be the form one should use nowadays. The married-unmarried distiction is given only to the woman and not to the man. So it is better to stop using miss and mrs and use only ms recognizing woman's equality with man and her importance in society. |
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Nanucbe
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| #25 (permalink) Tue Jul 21, 2009 14:49 pm Ms, Mrs, Miss? |
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| Torsten wrote: |
| Also, why have three different titles for women if there is just one for men? |
Historically, women were considered auxiliary persons. Their titles meant the daughter of (Miss Smith) or the wife of (Mrs. John Smith). Their social status was entirely dependent on their marital status. It was not so with men. Patriarchal society, you know.
| Torsten wrote: |
| If you address a woman with "Ms" she might actually be more offended than if you would have used "Mrs" because you are implying that she might not be married. |
How do you propose to address a woman if you know that she is Mary Smith, but do not know her marital status? I think, Ms. is a very practical solution here.
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Milanya
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| #26 (permalink) Tue Jul 28, 2009 22:37 pm Ms. or Mrs? |
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| I need to know how to address the mother-of-the-bride in a wedding invitation. The bride's parents are divorced and the mother is divorced for the second time. |
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Ryantb
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| #27 (permalink) Wed Jul 29, 2009 8:35 am Ms, Mrs, Miss? |
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As far as I know miss is a woman who has never been married.
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Someone
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Natasha81
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| #29 (permalink) Fri Jul 31, 2009 12:39 pm Ms, Mrs, Miss? |
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I don't like to be called miss...
/Maria |
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MariaEbb
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| #30 (permalink) Sat Aug 01, 2009 1:43 am Ms, Mrs, Miss? |
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| Torsten wrote: |
| How often do you address people using those titles? |
Nowadays I don't know anyone from my generation who uses these titles except in formal writing, with a mock surname such as "Mrs Clever", or by people in a subservient role. In my kids' school the children address the teachers using their first name only, no titles.
| Mister Micawber wrote: |
| I suggest that you do a poll regarding what would offend women, rather than assuming it. |
My mother would be furious if someone were to call her Ms. "How dare they address me as though I were someone who would wish to cloak my civil status". |
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Tele Addict
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| intention with passive verb | For or At |
