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Forms of Address 称呼的方式种类

 

Sometimes people are called by their first name, sometimes by their surname, and sometimes full name. So my question is: could you explain in more detail what is the convention for addressing people's names in different ways?

Frank, Hunan

Imagine you are in Britain and you are introduced to the manager of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson.

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What would you say to him?

Nice to meet you Alex?

Nice to meet you Alex Ferguson?

Nice to meet you Sir Alex?

Nice to meet you Manager Ferguson?

It's not always easy to know which is the best form of address to use when speaking to someone, especially if the person is a new acquaintance.

Forms of Address 称呼的方式种类

How would you address Sir Alex Ferguson?

What about when you are speaking to someone on the phone?

And should you change the form of address depending on whether you are a customer or a client?

Listen to our programme for some tips about how to address people in English.

Don't forget, if you have a question about English, email it to questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. We may answer it on this programme.

Glossary 词汇

manager (足球)教练

Sir 爵士

acquaintance 相识的人

customer 顾客

client 客户