Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Is Sir/Madam proper noun?
Words like Sir, Madam, ladies, gentlemen...are they proper or common nouns?
For instance, if I am talking to someone and I say: I want you to do this, Sir.
I am addressing this person directly. So would it be better to treat 'sir' as a proper noun?
For instance, if I am talking to someone and I say: I want you to do this, Sir.
I am addressing this person directly. So would it be better to treat 'sir' as a proper noun?
Top answer
I assume you're primarily interested in whether or not you should capitalise these words. "Sir" and "Madam" usually function as someone's title (as in your example, when addressing someone thus), and as such I would capitalise these words. If you're referring generically to "ladies" or "gentlemen" then you shouldn't capitalise (for example, "This washroom is for ladies only").
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
0
I assume you're primarily interested in whether or not you should capitalise these words.
"Sir" and "Madam" usually function as someone's title (as in your example, when addressing someone thus), and as such I would capitalise these words.
If you're referring generically to "ladies" or "gentlemen" then you shouldn't capitalise (for example, "This washroom is for ladies only"). W
"Sir" and "Madam" usually function as someone's title (as in your example, when addressing someone thus), and as such I would capitalise these words.
If you're referring generically to "ladies" or "gentlemen" then you shouldn't capitalise (for example, "This washroom is for ladies only"). W
00
AnonymousI want you to do this, Sir.I want to do this, sir. ('Sir' should not be capitalised.)
00
Yes it would be capitalised for it is a proper noun. For the word "Sir" is a word which is formally used to name or address a person
00
0
If the name of the person can be used to replace the sir or ma'am, it should be capitalized. If no name is known to the reader or writer, then either lower or upper case is fine (and debated often, lol)
0