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If I call a person doctor, instead of Doctor XXX, will this person assumes that I forget his name?

When I talk with another person, I said:" I wish to study in doctor's lab." At that time, the doctor is just next to me.

Neo
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    I have the impression that this is more common in India. Also: We did that in Sir's class. We learned that from Miss. These are uncommon in the US. – GEdgar Dec 03 '15 at 16:08
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    @GEdgar well, not only uncommon, I would actually say ungrammatical (in American English), but I'm not exactly a language expert. Perhaps something on [english.SE] addresses it. – David Z Dec 03 '15 at 20:16
  • @GEdgar I should say it is indeed uncommon in my country, China. I hope it is not offensive in the US. – Neo Dec 04 '15 at 03:47

1 Answers1

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It is not common in my experience (first-language English speaker in the US) to call anyone just "Doctor" unless they are a medical doctor. In non-medical settings, you should always use their surname after the title.

On the other hand, it is OK to use just "Professor", if you are speaking to the person.

So you could ask, "Professor, can I take the exam tomorrow?" But not "Doctor, can I take the exam tomorrow?"

If you are talking to someone else, you should always use the surname, don't just call the person "professor" or "doctor" as if that was a name.

Oswald Veblen
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    @neo don't worry no one in the really cares – StrongBad Dec 03 '15 at 14:04
  • @StrongBad I hope so. I am afraid he would thought I had forgotten his name, since it's my first time to meet him. – Neo Dec 03 '15 at 14:11
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    I agree that this is not likely to cause anyone offense. Especially in academia where we are used to second-language speakers. – Oswald Veblen Dec 03 '15 at 14:49
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    @Neo Honestly, if the person has made it to being a professor they have forgotten so many people's name at this point that it likely didn't even occur to them that you forgot their name, and even if they thought you did they probably wouldn't be deeply hurt by it. They'd have to be amazingly thin-skinned, and that kind of person rarely makes it all that far in academia. – BrianH Dec 03 '15 at 15:28
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    And if you use "Doc", people will think you're Bugs Bunny. – JAB Dec 03 '15 at 15:29
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    @jab that or Marty Mcfly! – Joseph Rogers Dec 03 '15 at 21:49
  • I admit I'm not a native speaker, but I think that in some cases it is fine to use "Doctor" by itself when addressing someone, like in: "Good evening, Doctor". On the other hand, I agree that I would never refer to someone by their title alone when talking about them with a third person. – A.P. Dec 03 '15 at 23:46
  • @A.P. - yes, that is OK, but only when the person is a medical doctor. It would sound completely out of place if the person works in some other area such as engineering or humanities. – Oswald Veblen Dec 04 '15 at 01:29
  • @A.P. I feel Oswald Veblen is right. – Neo Dec 04 '15 at 03:38
  • I agree, except I do use it with engineering PhD graduates sometimes, completely ironically and for comedic effect. – Lightness Races in Orbit Dec 04 '15 at 03:39
  • @JAB can you tell me why Bugs Bunny? – Neo Dec 04 '15 at 03:40
  • @Neo https://youtu.be/pwLn_His9Yw – A.P. Dec 04 '15 at 08:03