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Know the differences between Mr. and Mrs. in English

Abbreviations are a common part of our lives, they save us time and space in written communication. They are the short forms of words, and as in Spanish, they are also used in English.

You will find them in almost all disciplines and areas of life, from words commonly used in names, phrases or titles for people, such as Pres. for president (President in English always goes with a capital “P”).

Some of the common abbreviations that you will come across in everyday English use are:

• approx. - approximately (approximately)
• appt. - appointment
• apt - apartment
• ASAP - as soon as possible
• dept. - department (department)
• DIY - Do it yourself
• its T. -established _
• ETA - estimated time of arrival
• min. - minute or minimum
• misc. - miscellaneous (diverse)
• Mr. - Mister (sir)
• Mrs. - Missus (Mrs.)
• no. - number (number
• phone - phone (telephone)
• vs. - versus (word of Latin origin to say against)

Although an abbreviation generally consists of a letter or group of letters taken from a word or phrase, that is not always the case. In this article we will focus on the difference between Mr. and Mrs., as well as their meanings and origins.

Mr and Mrs, how to use them in English

Mr. and Mrs. are titles used before surnames or full names as a sign of respect in English.

Mr. is a title used before a man's surname or full name, whether he is married or not.

The word Mr. is an abbreviation for Mister, it is pronounced the same as it is written (Mister). The abbreviation Mr. has been in use since the 15th century, and is a variant of the word master.

Mrs. is a title used before a married woman 's surname or full name. Mrs. is an abbreviation for the word Missus, pronounced "mises". The abbreviation Mrs. has been in use since the 16th century, and is a variant of the word mistress.

The answer to how to use titles for men and women lies in the marriage between manners and personal preferences. A man always goes by "Mr." or "Mister", regardless of his marital status, while the way to refer to a woman can offend some, so it's best to ask if you're not sure.

Let's see below how to use each of these abbreviations of the melodic English language.

How to refer to men in English

The most common is to use " Mr. " when referring to a man in English, regardless of whether he is married or not. Historically and currently, men are not concerned that their marital status changes the way they are addressed.

On the other hand, some refer to boys as " Master ", but this word is never used for adult men. For example, if you're sending a birthday party invitation to an 8-year-old, it's okay to send it to: "Master [First Name] [Last Name]".

If you're not referring to a boy, address adult men as "Mister" or "Mr." The British English abbreviation is " Mr " (without the period at the end).

How to refer to women in English

First, a historical perspective could shed light on just how far we've come with women's titles.

Historically, people referred to men as Mister and used the feminine form Mistress for women, which did not reveal whether or not a woman was married. This word is not currently used, since it has been transformed into various contractions to distinguish marital status.

In fact, in America, "mistress" today describes a woman having an affair with a married man, so be careful!

Today the most common is to use Miss to refer to young women or single women. As we explained earlier, Mrs. is short for missus and refers to married women.

Mrs. emerged in the 1950s as women sought to differentiate themselves by marital status, and gained prominence in the 1970s. Today, it is more common to refer to a woman as " Ms. " (pronounced mis) regardless of your marital status.

The reason there is an "R" in "Mrs."

It was already clear that the word "missus" means lady and its abbreviation in "Mrs."

Since English speakers tend to shorten words using contractions, the word was pronounced mises in the late 18th century. And it was probably for the best, since "mistress" received a new definition: the one we know today in relation to extramarital affairs. As we said before, confusing the terms could lead to some problems.

Furthermore, in addition to being a word used to refer to married women, some widowed or divorced women still refer to themselves as "Mrs." .

You cannot assume that someone who uses the title Mrs. has a husband. Especially for older widowed women, you might offend them if you called them Ms (pronounced "my").

Understand when to use "Miss", "Mrs." and "Ms." it can help you avoid misunderstandings and offending some women.

The way women identify reveals how they think about their identity and sense of self. Since there is no hard and fast rule for solving this, proper etiquette requires you to ask.