bri_like_the_chz

bri_like_the_chz t1_j0j8t3v wrote

Please and thank you will get you very far in English. We don’t have a formal version of “you.” (We used to actually, “thee/thou” used to be the familiar version while “you/your” was the formal; I guess English has become more polite over time!)

A boss, older brother, older sister, cousin, parent, aunt, uncle, grandparents, random strangers out in public, everyone is addressed as “you.”

In some regions, it may be polite to say “sir” or “ma’am” if you are trying to convey respect, but this can very greatly depending on culture. When I lived in the Midwestern United States, almost no one said sir/ma’am. Now I live in Texas, and younger people especially address me as ma’am.

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