Ms. and Mrs.

Status
Not open for further replies.

jiang

Key Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2003
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
Dear teachers,

I have problem understanding grammar in the following sentence:


Many younger people assume that Ms. is a title for unmarried women too old to use Miss.

Does it mean:
Younger people don't like the title Ms. because it is too old and they prefer to use Miss.
Shouldn't it be "too old to use"? I mean the word "Miss " should not be included in the sentence. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I'm afraid you are wrong on both issues.
It means that some younger people think (wrongly, by the way) that if a woman is unmarried and older, she should not use "Miss" and should instead use "Ms."

Many people assume "Kate" is the nickname used by women too fun-loving to use "Katherine." -- Can you follow that sentence?
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Dear teachers,

I have problem understanding grammar in the following sentence:


Many younger people assume that "Ms" is a title [which should be used] for unmarried women [who are] too old to use [or too old to be addressed by] "Miss".

Does it mean:
Younger people don't like the title Ms. because it is too old and they prefer to use Miss.
Shouldn't it be "too old to use"? I mean the word "Miss " should not be included in the sentence. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

I have added some words in brackets and some punctuation, all in red. Do those help you to understand the sentence?
 
Last edited:

yousrati

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Arabic
Home Country
Algeria
Current Location
Algeria
Hello,
As far as I know :
Mrs: used for married woman's .
Miss used for women who is not married in order to speak politely.
Miss /m I z/ : when you don’t know the statue of the women (whether married or not).
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
Hello,
As far as I know :
Mrs: used for married woman's .
Miss used for women who is not married in order to speak politely.
Miss /m I z/ : when you don’t know the statue of the women (whether married or not).

Mrs can be used for married women.
Miss can be used for unmarried women.
Ms can be used for any woman. (In AmE it is pronounced /mɪz/, but in BrE it is /mʌz/)
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
As far as I know :
Mrs: used for married women.
Miss used for women who are not married.
Miss /m I z/ : when you don’t know the status of the women (whether married or not).

Please state that you are not a teacher, yousrati.

Rover
 

jiang

Key Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2003
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
Dear Barb_D,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I understand it. I should add "who are" to the sentence then it should be:
Many younger people assume that Ms. is a title for unmarried women who are too old to be addressed as Miss. Is that right?


Your sentence should be:
Kate is the nickname used by women who are too fun-loving to use Katherine.
That means fun-loving women use Kate. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang
 

jiang

Key Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2003
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
Hi emsr2d2,

Thank you so much for your explanation. It's easy to understand.

Have a nice weekend,

Jiang
 

jiang

Key Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2003
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
Dear Todl,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

I can't see the difference between American and Britishi pronuonciations. I shall consult the dictionary.

Have a nice weekend.

Jiang
 

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Incidentally jiang, this isn't really a question of grammar. The issue is 'Why should a woman have to announce her marital status when a man doesn't?' This is a good question, but it's not to be discussed here: you know the usage.

b
 

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Incidentally jiang, this isn't really a question of grammar. The issue is 'Why should a woman have to announce her marital status when a man doesn't?' This is a good question, but it's not to be discussed here: you know the usage.

b
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top