Writing Rules: Mr Miss Mrs Ms

Writing Rules: Mr, Miss, Mrs, Ms

Grammar and Writing
Writing Rules: Mr Miss Mrs Ms

Writing Rules: Mr, Miss, Mrs, Ms. You may have heard of Mr., Miss and Mrs., but have you heard of Ms.?

History of Ms.

The idea of Ms was originally presented by publishers as early as the 1900s who wanted to avoid embarrassment by mistaking a woman’s status. It wasn’t until the 1960’s, however, that Sheila Michaels supported the idea of using Ms as a way for women to not have to be identified by their marital status. Read more about Sheila Michaels. Ms. was later used as the title of a famous feminist magazine in the US in 1971. Take a look at the online Ms Magazine here. However, Ms was not used in the New York Times until the 1980s. Today, the term is used quite frequently.

MR.

  • Used to formally present or address a man.
  • You can use Mr. with or without the man’s last name.
    • I would like to present Mr. Smith.
    • I met Mr. O’Donnell yesterday.
  • Used to formally address someone in a letter or email, especially if you do not know the person’s name.
    • Dear Mr. Potter,
    • Dear Mr. Harry Potter,

MISS

  • Miss has previously been used to refer to someone of a younger age.
  • Today we use Miss to refer to an unmarried woman, young or old.
  • As with Mr, use Miss with or without the first name.
    • Miss Philips will address the crowd at the concert this weekend.
    • Dear Miss Anita Jones,

MRS.

  • Previously, Mrs. related to an older woman.
  • Today we use Mrs. to refer to a married woman.
  • As if the case with Mr and Miss, use Mrs. with or without the first name.
    • Mrs. Patel is presenting the awards tonight.
    • Dear Mrs. Lucy Johnson,

MS.

  • Use Ms. To address a woman when you do not know her marital status.
  • Women who may not want you to know their marital status may also use Ms.
  • It is quite common today for someone to use Ms.
    • Hello Ms. Hintz. I would like you to meet my partner Mr. Williams.
    • Dear Ms. Rita Brown,

PRONUNICATION

It is quite important to know the difference between Miss, Mrs. and Ms.

  • Pronounce the ‘s’ in Miss like the ‘s’ in snake
  • Mrs is pronounced as if it was written misses,
    • the first S sounds like snake, but the second sounds more like a z in buzz
  • Pronounce the ‘s’ in Ms with a ‘z’ sound only.

Writing Rules

Now that you have seen Writing Rules: Mr Miss Mrs Ms, take a look at our other writing focused posts:
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