How to Speak Formal English: Just Swap These Polite Words

Formal English isn't a new language or very different from the English you're familiar with. It's just more “official” and grammatically precise. In fact, much ... Everydayinmiddleschool,Iwouldpickupanewslangwordfrommyfriends.Ifeltprettycoolusingthem,untilIaccidentallycursedinfrontofmyparents.Butinsteadscoldingmeformyimpolitelanguage,myparentsgavemealonglecture.Itwasallabout formalEnglish,andhowimportantitistoknowthedifferencebetweenpoliteandinformallanguage.FormalEnglishshouldbeusedattheworkplaceandschool,withpeopleyoudon’tknowverywellandanyothersituationwhereyouwanttoappearprofessionalandpolite.Ofcourse,thelinebetweenformalandinformalEnglishcanbeabitblurryattimes.It’snotsimplyamatterofavoidingrudeslangwords(althoughthat’simportant!).TherearesomeEnglishwordsthatyoumightuseallthetime,withoutrealizingtherearemoreformalalternatives.Inthispost,we’llshowyouhowtoeasilyspeakformalEnglishlikeanativebysimplymakingsomeadjustmentstoyourvocabulary.Download:ThisblogpostisavailableasaconvenientandportablePDFthatyou cantakeanywhere.Clickheretogetacopy.(Download)WhatFormalEnglishCanDoforYouMasteringformalEnglishwilltakeyoualongwayinlife.Herearesomeofthenumerousbenefitsit’llbringyou.Createwonderfulfirstimpressions:Whetherit’saninterview,afirstdayatanewjobormeetingyourin-laws,formallanguageskillswillsurelyimpresstheEnglish-speakersyoumeet.Becomemoreconfident,diplomaticandpersuasive: Whenyouknowhowtospeakpolitelybutfirmly,you’llbecomemorecomfortablewithyourselfasanEnglishspeakerandwillfitinnaturallyinmanysituations.Makevaluableconnectionsinnetworkingevents:FormalEnglishmakesiteasierforyoutoapproachotherpeopleandcommunicateclearly inprofessionalsettings.Automaticallyimproveyourwritingskills: Workemails,coverletters,reportsoressaysallrequireformalEnglishskills.IfyoumasterformalEnglishyourwritingskillswillautomaticallybebetterandmoreversatile.ThisisacrucialskillforanadvancedlearnerofEnglish.Deliverbettertalksandpresentations:Youwon’teverbenervousbeforeaconferenceandpeoplewillactuallybeinterestedinhearingwhatyouhavetosay!5RulesofFormalEnglish(WithLotsofWordsYouCanUseRightAway)FormalEnglishisn’tanewlanguageorverydifferentfromtheEnglishyou’refamiliarwith.It’sjustmore“official”andgrammaticallyprecise.Infact,muchofformalEnglishreliesonsimply substitutingacommon,colloquialwordforamoreformalone.Knowingtherightwordsfortherightsituationisaskillthateveryconfidentspeakerhasmastered.Youcandothesamebygraduallyexpandingyourformalvocabulary.Below,we’llshowyousomeformalalternativestocommoninformalwordsyoumayalreadyuseregularly.Thenwe’llshowyouformalalternativestoothertypesofEnglishwordsinbothspokenandwrittenEnglish.TotrulymasterthedifferencebetweeninformalandformalEnglish,practicewithrealEnglishvideosonFluentU.FluentUtakesauthenticvideos—likemusicvideos,movietrailers,newsandinspiringtalks—andturnsthemintopersonalizedlanguagelearninglessons.YoucantryFluentUforfreefor2weeks.ClickheretocheckoutthewebsiteordownloadtheiOSapporAndroidapp. TryFluentUforFREE!Forexample,comparethecasualEnglishinthisjokesongtothestructured,politelanguageinthisnewsreportabout(very!)youngentrepreneurs.Betteryet,youneverhavetoworryaboutmissingaword.EveryFluentUvideocomeswithinteractivecaptions,flashcards,funquizzes,vocabularylistsandmoresoyouactivelyimproveyourEnglishwhileyouwatch.TakethisimmersivepracticeanywhereontheiOSorAndroidapps.1.RememberTheseFormalAlternativestoCommonInformalWordsThesearejustsomeofthemostcommonformal/informalwordpairingsyoucanconsider. Foralongerlist,youcancheckoutthehelpfulchartsonengVid aswellasthisfreePDFguidethatevencomeswithsomepracticeexercises.Insteadof findout,use ascertain.Weneedtoascertainwhotospeakwithaboutthisissue.Insteadof sorry,use Iapologize.Iapologizeforthetechnicalerrors.Insteadof show,use demonstrate.Thisreportdemonstratestheimportanceofwideningouraudience.Insteadof Ithink,use Inmyopinion.Inmyopinion,thebestcourseofactionis…Insteadof priceyor costly,use expensive.Thatshippingservicemaybetooexpensiveforourbudget.Insteadof let,use permitor allow.Wouldyouallowmetositatthistable?2.SwapFormalforInformalPluralsAvoidcasualwordslike tons,loadsorheaps.Instead,youcanuse many,muchorseveral.Informal:“Ihave tonsofbooksonthistopicathome.”Formal:“Ihaveseveralbooksonthistopicathome.”3.Use“Could”and“May”InsteadofInformalModalsModalverbsareatypeof“helpingverb”thatoftenexpresspermission,necessityorpossibility.Forexample,inthesentence“Timcandirecttheproject,” canisthemodalverbindicatingthatTimhaspermissiontodirecttheproject.InEnglish,somemodalverbsareconsideredmoreformalorpolitethanothers.Somecommonexamplesarebelow.Insteadofcan, usecould.Thisisespeciallyimportantwhenaskingquestions.Wecouldmakeareservationforyourclientsatthebistro.CouldIuseyourrestroom,please?Insteadof might,use may.ImayschedulethemeetingforFriday,dependingonherschedule.Mayisanotherformalalternativefor caninquestionsorwhenexpressingpermission.MayIuseyourrestroom,please?Youmayleaveworkearly.4.AvoidAbbreviationsandShortFormsShortformsandabbreviationsareusuallyspelledoutfullyinformalwrittenEnglish.Forinstance,wesay cellphoneormobilephoneinsteadofcell,examinationinsteadofexam,televisioninsteadoftellyorTVandphotographinsteadof pic.Couldyoupleaserepeatyourcellphonenumber?ThedateoftheexaminationisMarch23.This photograph needsmoreeditingbeforeitispublished.SpelloutcommonabbreviationslikeassoonaspossibleinsteadofsimplytypingASAP andcongratulationsinsteadofcongrats.Couldyousendmethereportassoonaspossible?Thanks!Congratulationsonyournewjob,Tom!Iamextremelyproudofhowfaryouhavecome.Similarly,besuretoavoidtext-speakorinternetslanginformalcontexts, eveninemails.Soifsomeonesaysorwritessomethingfunny,makesureyoudon’treplywith“lol:)”or“lmao”or“omg!”Instead,youcanrespondwith“Thatishilarious!”orsomethingsimilar.5.WritewithFormalGreetingsandFarewellsJustlikehowyoucallothersbytheirtitlesinaformalsetting,asindicatedinthisFluentUYouTubevideo,youalsousesuchtitleswhenitcomestowrittencorrespondences.TolearnmoreabouthowtolearnEnglish,don’tforgettosubscribetoFluentUonYouTube.Inemails,letters,memosandotherformsofofficialcorrespondence,youalsoneedtomakesureyou’readdressingtherecipientpolitely.Beginwithaformalgreeting.UseDear[name/title]asopposedto hey, hi,etc.Dearclients.DearAnush…Keepitformalandsimplebysigningoffwith Sincerely.Avoidmoreinformalsign-offslike cheersor best.Sincerely,Dr.Doe. FormalEnglishisboundbyafewsimplerules,solearningitshouldn’tposeaproblem.Infact,onceyou’reusedtoformalEnglish,switchingbackandforthbetweenformalandinformallanguagebecomeseasy.Developingaformalvocabularywilltakesometime,butitwillbearewardingandenrichingexercise.Learnanduseafewwordseachday!Andifyousupplementyourlearningwithreal-worldconversationswithfriendsandcolleagues,you’reallsettobecomeafluentandconfidentspeakeroftheEnglishlanguage.ArchitaMittra isafreelancewriter,journalist,editorandeducator.Feelfreetocheckouther blog orcontactherforfreelancing/educationalinquiries. Download:ThisblogpostisavailableasaconvenientandportablePDFthatyou cantakeanywhere.Clickheretogetacopy.(Download)FrequentlyAskedQuestionsaboutFluentUSearchPopularPostsCategoriesEnglishLearningResourcesEnglishLearningTipsEnglishVocabandGrammarFluentUUncategorizedEnteryoure-mailaddresstogetyourfreePDF!WehateSPAMandpromisetokeepyouremailaddresssafeClose