Today we’ll be talking about nouns of address.
These are nouns used in direct speech. We use them to get the attention of the person or group of people we’re speaking to. They are not related with any part of the rest of the sentence.
Nouns of address are often proper nouns:
– John, can I see your camera?
– Sure, Steve, go ahead.
It may be a proper noun that looks like a common noun, if we refer to a particular person. Then it is capitalized:
– I like your suit, Mr. President.
– Thank you, sir, I like yours too. (here it’s not a proper noun)
As you just saw in the last example, nouns of address may be common nouns as well. Some more examples:
– Ladies and gentlemen, I’m really happy to have you here.
– I’m here, my fellow citizens, to answer all your questions.
– Hey, guys, stop talking, I want to hear what the President is saying.
