Ms, Mrs, Miss

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Hi,

I'd greatly appreciate anyone's help.
What should I use for addressing to a woman in a coverletter when it does not tell us?
Ms, Mrs or Miss.
Dear madam/ sir could be used if there was no name.
However usually, there is a name e.g., Contact: Amanda Moore

There might have been a post in the past asking similar question. I'm not sure, you can direct me to the older post. There are way too many for me to search. If you don't mind you can explain to me again?

Thank you in advance.
New Member27
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Approved answer (verified by )
If you don't know. use Ms. as it is neutral regarding marital status.

Miss is for unmarried women.

Mrs is for married women.

Ms is for 'unknowns' and any woman who wishes to use it.
Veteran Member11,782
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Anonymous:
no brainer with MS you can go wrong..been their
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Anonymous:
what would you use for a widowed woman?

i know divorced is ms, so would it be the same for a widower?
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A widower is a man. Most widows, I think, prefer Mrs. Nor do divorced women necessarily use Ms-- Miss is also available for those who prefer it.
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Anonymous:
Hi,

If it does not say which to use, your best option is to use Ms. as this courtesy title is regardless of her marital status.
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Anonymous:
Hi!

As a dutch girl, pronunciation is sometimes a bit tricky for me.

Is there a difference between Ms and Miss?? ( does it end in /z/ or /s/?)
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the Z sound.
Veteran Member26,534
Proficient Speaker: Users in this role are known to maintain an excellent grasp of the English language. You can only be promoted to this role by the Englishforums team.Retired Moderator: A moderator who has retired.Trusted Users: Trusted users are allowed to use additional capabilities of the site such as private messaging to all users and various other advanced features. You cannot join this role unless you are promoted by an administrator.
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Anonymous:
just wanted to thank you. im writing christmas cards at the moment and did not want to offend anyone. you helped me out alot! Emotion: smile
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