Monthly Archives: May 2012
Formal and Informal English
The most important piece of advice for an English learner is to get lots of input. But not all input is the same. There are, roughly speaking, two basic types of English input: formal and informal.
Formal English is used in “serious” texts and situations — for example, in official documents, books, news reports, articles, business letters or official speeches. Informal English is used in everyday conversations and in personal letters.
Here is an example of formal English that you might come across in a book:
As the price of five dollars was reasonable, I decided to make the purchase without further thought.
The same thought would be expressed quite differently in informal English. Here’s an actual example that I heard from a young American:
It was, like, five bucks, so I was like “okay”.
You need to know formal English because you want to be able to read a book, give a business presentation or write an official letter. You also need informal English because you want to be able to understand and communicate with English speakers in everyday situations.
adapted from http://www.antimoon.com/how/formal-informal-english.htm
Expressing agreement and disagreement
You could agree or disagree completely with the opinions or suggestions given by others. However sometimes, there are moments when you feel that you are sitting on a fence, where you could not decide whether to agree or disagree. Knowing your stand (whether to agree completely, reluctantly agree or to have absolute disagreement) determines the expression you use.
Expressing complete agreement
| Formal situation | Informal situation |
| I agree absolutely/ completely.I certainly agree with you.That’s certainly very true!I fully support the idea.
I couldn’t agree with you more. |
Great idea/ sounds great!Yeah!You are right!Fine with me.
I think you’re right. |
Expressing reluctant Agreement
| Formal situation | Informal situation |
| I suppose you’re rightI guess that’s true.Perhaps you’re right. | I hate to admit it, but you are right.Well, maybe you’re right.If you say so. |
Expressing complete disagreement
| Formal situation | Informal situation |
| I disagree completely.That’s totally unacceptable.That’s absolutely not true.I think you’re totally mistaken. | You’ve got to be kidding/ joking.You can’t be serious.That’s ridiculous!I couldn’t agree less. |
adapted from Aida Mustapha.2011.Be Empowered in English: A coursebook: Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd.
Expressing reservations/ doubts
| I do see your point, but…I get your point, but…I guess that’s true, but… | That’s true, but…That is very interesting, but…Maybe, but… |
Asking for and giving permission
In asking and giving permission politely, you can use ‘can’, ‘could’ or ‘may’. Below are some tips on how you can use these modal auxiliaries;
Can
You use ‘can’ to ask for or giving permission. ‘Can’ is less formal than ‘could’ or ‘may’.
For example:
| Asking for permission | Giving/ refusing permission |
| Can I go to KLCC tomorrow, dad? | Yes, you can but you need to finish your homework before you go. |
| Can I use your handphone, Ita? | I’m sorry you can’t because I’ve left it at home. |
| Can we go now, Miss Nor? | Yes, you can/ No, you can’t. |
Could
You use ‘could’ to ask for and give permission. It is more polite than ‘can’. It is also used to show permission given in the past.
For example:
| Asking for permission | Giving/ refusing permission |
| Could I give my opinion? | Yes, you could/ No, you couldn’t. |
| Could we go back earlier, Miss Akeena? | Yes, you could. |
| When you were small, could you watch television every night? | No, I couldn’t. I could watch television from 5.00 p.m. till 6.30 p.m. during weekdays. |
May
You use ‘may’ in a formal situation when you ask for and give permission.
For example:
| Asking for permission | Giving/ refusing permission |
| Miss Afsyah, may I ask a question? | Yes, you may. |
| May I submit the assignment tomorrow? | I’m sorry. Everyone must submit it today. |
| May I see you at 5.00 p.m. today, Miss Kate? I need to discuss my project paper. | Yes, you may. I’ll be in my office from 2.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. today. |
Making and responding to apologies
An apology is usually made when you feel regret on something that you have done. The simplest and the most common way of apologising are by saying “sorry”. However, the way you apologise and response to it depends on the degree of formality of the situation that you are in.
In a formal situation
| Apologising | Responding to apology |
| I would like to apologise for…. | Your apology is accepted |
| Forgive me. I’m terribly sorry about…. | That’s quite alright! / That’s alright. |
| Please accept my apologies. | Apologies are accepted! |
| I apologise for… | It doesn’t matter/ It’s not your fault. |
| I beg your pardon. | I understand completely. |
In an informal situation
| Apologising | Responding to apology |
| Sorry. I didn’t mean to… | That’s / its okay. |
| I’m sorry about that. | Not to worry. |
| It was wrong of me. I’m sorry. | Forget it. |
| I can’t tell you how sorry I am for/ about… | Never mind. |
adapted from Aida Mustapha.2011.Be Empowered in English: A coursebook: Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd.
Making and responding to enquiries
When you want to know about something, you enquire by asking questions. There are a few ways in which you can ask questions and response to them.
Yes- No questions
When you expect the response t be in the form of “yes” or “no” answer, you can begin your question with a helping verb or modal auxiliary.
Below are some sample expressions and responses:
| Yes- No Questions | Response |
| Do you…….? | Yes I do. (positive answer)No, I do not (don’t). (negative answer) |
| Does she……? | Yes she does.No, she does not (doesn’t) |
| Did you/ did she……..? | Yes, I/she did.No, I did not (didn’t) / she did not (didn’t) |
| Are you/ is she……….? | Yes I am/ she is.No, I am not/ she is not (isn’t) |
| Will you/ will she………..? | Yes I will/ she will.No, I will not (won’t) / she will not (won’t) |
| Have you/ has she…………..? | Yes, I have / she has.No, I haven’t / she hasn’t |
Tag questions
Tag questions are added to the end of a statement in order to ask for confirmation of the truth of the statement.
Below are some sample expressions and responses.
| Tag question | Response |
| Azhan like chicken chop, doesn’t he? | Yes, he does. |
| The lecturer is here, isn’t she? | Yes, she is. |
| Aznil isn’t fussy, is he? | No, he is not. |
| There were not many students in the dining hall, were they? | No, there were not. |
adapted from Aida Mustapha.2011.Be Empowered in English: A coursebook: Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd.
WH- questions
This form of questions leads to responses that provide more information. If you have the intention to know more from your question, you have to begin your question with WH- question, which begins with a WH word. It is important to use the right WH word for the right enquiry.
Below are example of WH -words and its function;
| WH – words | Functions |
| What | Used to ask about something |
| Why | Used to ask for reason/ explanation |
| Where | Used to ask about place |
| When | Used to ask about time |
| Who | Used to ask about person/ persons ( the subject in the sentence) |
| Whom | Used to ask about person/ persons (object of the sentence) |
| Whose | Used to ask about possession |
| Which | Used to ask about choice |
| How | Generally used to ask about manner |
Introducing others
In a conversation, be it in a formal or an informal situation, it is proper to introduce all persons to one another as this will make everyone feel welcome in the conversation. The degree of formality determines the way you introduce others. Unlike informal situations, a proper designation or title of the person that you are introducing, need to be mentioned in any formal situation. Certain protocols have to be observed, especially when introducing someone of a high rank or position.
Introducing others in a formal situation
| Introducer | Response |
| Mr. Faizal, I’d like to introduce Mr. Gray. | It’s a pleasure to meet you. |
| Miss Rasya, may I introduce Morgana to you. She is our new classmate. Morgana, this is our English lecturer. | Pleased to meet you. |
| Datuk Hamid, allow me to introduce our new manager, Puan Salma. | How do you do? |
| Prof. Datuk Dr. Rezza, let me present Dr. Amirul, our guest speaker for this conference. Dr. Amirul, this isour director, Prof. Datuk Dr. Rezza. | Dr. Amirul, how do you do? |
Introducing others in an informal situation
| Introducer | Response |
| Sumayyah, this is Nadia. She’s my new roommate. Nadia this is my best friend, Sumayyah. | Hi Nadia! Glad to meet you. |
| Hey guys! Meet my cousin, Shidrah. She’s from Selangor. | Hello, Shidrah. |
| Azhan, I’d like you to meet faezah. | Nice |
Lets learn English! 