the Mom/mom finally told her little girl

[diamondcutter]

Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, ‘Well, if God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.’

Source: https://viralgfjokes.com/pastor-had-a-kitten/

I’d like to know whether the word “Mom” in the sentence above should be “mom”. That is to say, the first letter of the word should be in lower case.

 

[teechar]

Yes, I agree. Also, note that "mom" is AmE. Other varieties use "mum".

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, I agree. Also, note that "mom" is AmE. Other varieties use "mum".

There are variations within BrE. My friends from the West Midlands and the Black Country use "mom". My Irish and Scottish friends use "mam".

 

[Tdol]

I can't feel strongly about the use of title case here.

 

[diamondcutter]

Hi, Tdol.

Do you mean "the Mom" is also acceptable to you?

 

[teechar]

My friends from the West Midlands and the Black Country use "mom".

Ah. I always assumed that that was the northern accents' rendition of "mum".

My Irish and Scottish friends use "mam".

Right, but in Irish English "mum" is also used, and "mam" is kind of casual.

 

[emsr2d2]

Ah. I always assumed that that was the northern accents' rendition of "mum".

I wasn't sure until I realised that those friends always used "mom" in texts, emails and WhatsApps to me.

 

[diamondcutter]

Kitten From Heaven

It's a Miracle Kitten from Heaven story. What could be more fun than a little girl wanting a kitty cat? And what if she prayed really hard for God to send a kitty to her from heaven? And what if God answered her prayer immediately? Read on to see what happens.

www.atimetolaugh.org

The Pastor's cat - iRV2 Forums

The Pastor's Cat The Pastor had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc. The kitty would not come down. The tree was

www.irv2.com

Kitten from Heaven

A Pastor had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed and offered warm milk. The kitty would not come down.

llerrah.com

I've found some more versions. They all used "the Mom" with the capitalized “M”. Maybe it's acceptable in American English? Or maybe all of them didn't notice the mistake?

 

[jutfrank]

All three of those versions come from a common source, and they've each copied the incorrect capitalisation.

 

[Tarheel]

Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, ‘Well, if God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.’

The whole thing is wrong. I would say:

A few days before that the little girl asked her mom once more if she could have a cat. Her mom said, "Well, if God gives you a cat I'll let you keep it."

Then the girl went outside and prayed for a cat, and the cat flew the air and landed at her feet. A miracle!

 

[emsr2d2]

The only way that "the mom" would work for me (without the capitalisation) is in a piece where all the people involved have been referred to with an article of some kind. For example:

In this picture, there's a mom, a dad, a boy and a girl. The mom is wearing a green dress, the boy and girl are playing with a ball and the dad is taking photos.

 

[diamondcutter]

Hi, Tarheel.

I couldn't find anything wrong with the original sentence: Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the mom finally told her little girl, ‘Well, if God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.’
Do you think the past perfect is wrongly used?

And I have a question about your version. I wonder if the word "that" after "a few days before" is not necessary.

 

[tedmc]

Hi, Tarheel.

I couldn't find anything wrong with the original sentence: Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the mom finally told her little girl, ‘Well, if God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.’
Do you think the past perfect is wrongly used?

And I have a question about your version. I wonder if the word "that" after "a few days before" is not necessary.

We use the past perfect tense to distinguish the order of events. We don't use it (but use the past tense) if it is clear what comes first.

I prefer having a "that" after "a few days", followed by a comma. A few days before what?

P.S. I find "Then a few days before" contradictory. "Then" is about things that happen after, not before.

 

[Tarheel]

In my humble opinion, the original is totally unnatural.

First, there's "A few days before". A few days before what? Then there's "the mom" which is totally unnatural. That's just two things.

I've been doing this for about 20 years. Two things I have noticed is that ESL learners tend to be overly fond of perfect tenses and also adverbs. Both of of those crop up in that piece.

There is no reason to use "suddenly" there, which is why I omitted it in my rewrite. (When I saw the word "suddenly" my response was "Compared to what?")

 

[Ostap]

Hello. If I'm writing/telling a story involving some family members (fictional or not, but not related to me), is it appropriate at all to use titles like Mom/Dad (without determiners and capitalized)? Or would it look like they were related to me? Would I have to say "the mom/the dad" instead?

 

[Tarheel]

If you say my mom or my dad it will certainly seem like they are related to you. (Similar would be Ostap's mom or Ostap's dad .) Otherwise, it's Mom or Dad if it's used as an identifier.

 

[Ostap]

If you say my mom or my dad it will certainly seem like they are related to you. (Similar would be Ostap's mom or Ostap's dad .) Otherwise, it's Mom or Dad if it's used as an identifier.

I.e., I should avoid using "Mom" or Dad" when referring to someone else's parents, right?

 

[emsr2d2]

If you're writing about a third person (or third persons), I'd save the capitalised versions for direct speech.

She asked her mom if she could watch TV.
"Can I watch TV, Mom?", she asked.
She asked Mom if she could watch TV.

I would use the first two but not the third.