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Thein Lwin 7291 Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
"Yes, ma'am,"
Here is a passage taken from "Dreams do come true" by Jim Bishop.
My mother and I were dreamers.×××××××
I asked what she dreamed. Jenny Tier Bishop laughed and ruffled my wet hair. "You," she said, "are an inquisitive little boy."
"Yes, ma'am," I said.
In the passage, what does the word "ma,am"refer to, madam or mum? Thanks in advance.
My mother and I were dreamers.×××××××
I asked what she dreamed. Jenny Tier Bishop laughed and ruffled my wet hair. "You," she said, "are an inquisitive little boy."
"Yes, ma'am," I said.
In the passage, what does the word "ma,am"refer to, madam or mum? Thanks in advance.
Top answer
"ma'am" is by derivation a contraction of "madam". It may be used in certain regions and/or certain historical periods as a respectful way of addressing one's mother. It is not used in that way in many parts of the modern English-speaking world.
- "ma'am" is by derivation a contraction of "madam".
- It may be used in certain regions and/or certain historical periods as a respectful way of addressing one's mother.
- It is not used in that way in many parts of the modern English-speaking world.
- Where I live, it would be considered quite odd.
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3 Answers
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"ma'am" is by derivation a contraction of "madam". It may be used in certain regions and/or certain historical periods as a respectful way of addressing one's mother. It is not used in that way in many parts of the modern English-speaking world. Where I live, it would be considered quite odd.
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GPY"ma'am" is by derivation a contraction of "madam". It may be used in certain regions and/or certain historical periods as a respectful way of addressing one's mother. It is not used in that way in many parts of the modern English-speaking world. Where I live, it would be considered quite odd.I think it probably depends on the dialect.In western Ireland, mu
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Thein Lwin 7291I think it probably depends on the dialect.In western Ireland, mum is pronounced as "ma'am".Possibly that would be spelled "mam" (yet another variation).
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