BBC LEARNING ENGLISH

English Masterclass
Formal and informal English

Sian
Hi, Sian here for BBC Learning English. In this Masterclass we're going to look at some
differences between formal and informal English.

Hey, how's it going? Good afternoon, how are you? Sometimes formal and informal can
seem like two different languages. In the same way you wouldn't normally wear shorts and a
t-shirt to a job interview, if you use language that's too formal or too informal, you can give
a bad impression.

Let's look at some differences between formal and informal English. Now, I received an
email this morning. Have a look at this email - do you think the language is formal or
informal - and why?

Dear Mrs Brown,

I'm writing to find out whether you have any jobs in your company this summer.

At the mo I'm studying Economics at uni.

I have been working part-time in a shop and recently they promoted me to the role of
manager.

I am enthusiastic. I work hard. I pay attention to detail.

Ok, so that email used informal language - and it's too informal for this style of letter.
We're going to look at four features that make this informal and we're going to change it to
make it more formal.

Number one. In informal English we use more common words and more phrasal verbs. For
example here we have a phrasal verb find out it would be better to use a more formal
equivalent like enquire. Same with jobs, this is quite informal, so instead let's
use vacancies here. Instead we have "I'm writing to enquire whether you have any vacancies.

Number two: abbreviations. It's more common in informal language to use abbreviations,
contractions, shortened forms of verbs. Let's have a look. So, here we have at the mo,
which is short for at the moment. This is OK when you're speaking, but not when you're
writing. Here, we could use currently - which is even more formal. Same here, uni is short

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for university, so don't use this short form in a letter. "Currently, I am studying Economics
at university."

Quite often in formal language we choose passive structures over active. Let's have a look
here The active sentences they promoted me is quite informal - it'd be much better to use
a passive form here, to make it more formal: I was promoted. So: Recently, I was
promoted to the role of manager." This doesn't mean don't use active structures in a formal
letter, but have a think about whether a passive one is more appropriate.

Finally, in informal English, short, simple sentences are much more common, whereas in
formal English we use more complex sentence structures. Take a look at this one. Here we
have three short, simple sentences and this is fine in informal English, but in formal English
it's better to use a complex structure. We can do this by adding relative pronouns or
linkers, for example: "I am an enthusiastic person who works hard and pays attention to
detail."

So, would you kindly visit our website - ah, we're friends - that's too formal! Go to our
website bbclearningenglish.com for more information about this and to practise formal and
informal English. See you soon, goodbye!

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