Forms of address for formal speech in American English |
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| Person | Talking to the person | Talking about the person | Example |
| a man | sir or Mr. + last name (if known) | Mr. + last name/surname | Excuse me sir, do you have the time? I saw Mr. Johnson at the conference. |
| a young woman (under 30) | Miss or Miss + last name (if known) | Miss + first name (regional) Miss + last name/surname |
Excuse me miss, do you have the time? I saw Miss Smith at the conference. |
| a professional woman | Ma'am or Ms. + last name (if known) | Ms. + last name/surname | Yes ma'am, I'll place the order rightaway. Yes Ms. Winfrey, I'll call right after the meeting. |
| an older woman (over 30) or a woman who you know is married | Ma'am or Mrs. + last name (if known) | Mrs. + last name/surname | I gave Mrs. Anderson a present for her birthday. Excuse me ma'am, do you have the time? |
| A teacher at a school | same as above | same as above | Could you please repeat the question Mr. Johnson? My Spanish teacher is Mrs. Anderson. |
| A teacher at a University | Professor or Doctor (if he/she has a doctorate degree) | Professor (or Dr.) + last name/surname | Professor Winfrey, I don't understand, could you give me an example? Doctor Jones teaches Chemistry. |
| A medical doctor or someone with a doctorate degree | Doctor or Dr. + last name (if known) | Dr. + last name/surname | Doctor, my head hurts! Dr. Jackson gave me this prescription. |
| A Judge | Your honor | Judge + last name/surname | yes, your honor. Judge Evans works at the courthouse. |
| A president | Mr./Ms. President | President + last name | President Nixon wasn't very popular. Mr. President, when are the troops going to leave Iraq? |
| A policeman | Sir, officer | ||
| A policewoman | Ma'am, officer | ||
