Hello, Mrs Bart

[thedaffodils]

Scenario:(About American cartoon -The Simpsons)

A group of little boys who are friends of Bart's went to his home. After hearing the doorbell, Mrs Marge Simpson, Bart's mom, opened the door. One of the boys greeted, "Hello, Mrs Bart."

....

Question:

Is it okay to call Mrs Simpon "Mrs Bart"?

Thanks!

[amigos4]

Scenario:(About American cartoon -The Simpsons)

A group of little boys who are friends of Bart's went to his home. After hearing the doorbell, Mrs Marge Simpson, Bart's mom, opened the door. One of the boys greeted, "Hello, Mrs Bart."

....

Question:

Is it okay to call Mrs Simpon "Mrs Bart"?

Thanks!

Daffodil,

I suppose placing the 'Mrs.' title in front of 'Bart' takes away some of the rudeness that the boy is displaying. However, it is the norm to say "Mrs. Simpson" rather than "Mrs. Bart".

In the show, using "Mrs. Bart" is an attempt at humor.

Cheers,
Amigo

[thedaffodils]

Hello Amigo,

Thank you for your reply. If I went to a home of a friend whose first name is Tom, I don't know his last name, can I call his mom Mrs. Tom?

[amigos4]

Hello Amigo,

Thank you for your reply. If I went to a home of a friend whose first name is Tom, I don't know his last name, can I call his mom Mrs. Tom?

Daffodil,

Calling your friend's mother "Mrs. Tom" would definitely not create a positive first impression!

You have a few options:
* Ask Tom what his mother's last name is and then call her "Mrs. (Last Name)"
* Just say "Hello! It's nice to meet you!" (No name is needed.)
* Follow Tom's lead when he introduces you to his mother. If Tom has any class at all he will say something like "Daffodil, I'd like you to meet my mother, Mildred." Or, "Daffodil, this is my mother, Mildred Jones."

Whatever you do, don't try the "Mrs. Tom" greeting the first time you meet the woman!!!! It will reflect poorly on you.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Amigo

[thedaffodils]

Hello Again, Amigo. Thank you very much for your illustration. I have some related questions as below. Could you please give me a hand again? Thanks!

Q1: If Tom introduced me to his mother by saying, "Daffodil, I'd like you to meet my mother, Mildred", his mother is full name is Mildred Jones, how should I do next?

A. Hello,Mildred.

B. Hello, Mrs. Mildred. (Mod. Ouisch once told me, in the southern American, a kid can call the father of his friend Mr. with his first name. For example, if Tom's father is Peter, I can call him Mr Peter.)

C. Tom, could you tell me what your mother's last name is?

Q2: I am not falimiar with many English names, which I never heard about. I cannot distinguish whether it is the last name or the first name if Tom told me, "This is my mother -Mildred. If there's just one name, can I suppose it is usually the first name? Or I should ask whether it is the first name or last name?

[amigos4]

Hello Again, Amigo. Thank you very much for your illustration. I have some related questions as below. Could you please give me a hand again? Thanks!

Q1: If Tom introduced me to his mother by saying, "Daffodil, I'd like you to meet my mother, Mildred", his mother's (is) full name is Mildred Jones, what (how) should I do next?

A. "Hello,Mildred." Yes! You are following Tom's prompt.

B. Hello, Mrs. Mildred. (Mod. Ouisch once told me, in the southern American, a kid can call the father of his friend Mr. with his first name. For example, if Tom's father is Peter, I can call him Mr Peter.) I won't speak for Ouisch, but the younger a child is the more informality is usually allowed. It would be more polite to say "Mr. Peter" than just "Peter". Above the age of 6 or 7 a proper title like Mr. or Mrs. (Last Name) should be used. "Hi, Mr. Jones."

C. Tom, could you tell me what your mother's last name is? Definitely! It is always wise to think ahead! You know you are going to meet Tom's mother; to avoid the awkward first introduction it makes perfect sense to ask Tom what his mother's first and last names are. When you have this information, ahead of time, you can determine how you want to greet her. First impressions are important!

Q2: I am not falimiar with many English names, which I never heard about. I cannot distinguish whether it is the last name or the first name if Tom told me, "This is my mother -Mildred. If there's just one name, can I suppose it is usually the first name? Yes! If only a single name is provided, 99.9% of the time it will be the person's first name! (I can think of the .1% when good friends may refer to each other using last names or variations of last names. For example, friends' last names could be 'Jones' or 'Smith' and their friends call them 'Jonesy' or 'Smitty'. "Mom, I'd like you to meet my good friends, Jonesy and Smitty!") You would then say "Hello, Jonesy and Smitty. It's nice to meet you." Or I should ask whether it is the first name or last name? You should be able to tell first names from last names by the way they are said to you. Tom would never introduce his mother just using her last name without a title (i.e. Mrs. or Ms.) Tom would never say "Daffodil, this is my mother, Jones." He would say "Daffodil, this is my mother, Mrs. Jones." Or "Daffodil, this is my mother, Mildred Jones."

Cheers,
Amigo

[thedaffodils]

Hello Amigo,

It's very kind of you to take time to answer my questions again and again. I have a last question about addressing which just popped into my mind.

As I knew, not all married American women adopt the family name of their own husband; some women keep their maiden name. For example, if a woman told me her full name is Mildred Simpson, and I noticed her marital status is being married. How should I address her properly? I think there're two possibilities about her last name- her husband's family name or her maiden name. If Simpson is her maiden name, is it okay to address her Mrs. Simpson? or Ms. Simpson? Is there any way that I can address a woman safely for the uncertainty about the last name?Many thanks!

[Barb_D]

It's always safe to say "Ms."

I had to smile reading this thread, because when my children were very little, their friends would say "excuse me, Mrs. Zoe's Mother" as though that were my name. And to them - it was. They knew Zoe, they knew I was her mother, and they knew I was married, so what could be more logical? Note they were about 3 years old when this happened.

Most parents don't mind a bit of confusion on the part of their children's friends. I've remarried so my children have a different last name than I do. Their teammate didn't know all this, so they frequently called me "Mrs. [their last name]" and I simply said, "Actually, it's Mrs. [my last name]" and then answered their question.

[thedaffodils]

Hi Bart_D,

Thank you very much for your help and share the story with me.