Informal Formal

1. Kid, kids -> Child, children

2. Guy, fellow, dude, bloke-> People, individuals, one

3. Big deal-> An important step

4. Stuff, thing-> Aspects, ways, issues

5. A lot of, lots of-> Many/much, A (large) number of, The majority of

6. A few/quite a few-> Some, several, a small number of, A bit of, A couple of

7. Kind of/ sort of-> "Don’t use these" Use: The results were sort of unclear.

8. America -> The United States of America, the United States, the USA

9. UK-> Britain, the UK, the United Kingdom

10. So on, etc.., so forth -> Formula: A, B and C

11. Great, huge, amazing, awesome-> Considerable, exceptional, extraordinary, Sizable, significant, serious, special,
pronounced, extensive, expansive, powerful, dominant, influential, expert, skillful/Skilled, essential, crucial, critical,
pivotal, vital, beneficial

12. Awful, ugly, horrible, terrible, useless -> Poor, unsatisfactory, inadequate, unacceptable, imperfect, harmful,
damaging, detrimental, undesirable, dangerous, unhealthy, unwelcome, unfortunate, unfavorable, adverse

13. Obviously, of course -> "Don’t use these" (at the starting of sentence)

14. To get -> Receive/obtain/earn/find

15. Get -> Purchase, acquire, earn

16. Get (location) -> Reach, arrive at (location name)

17. Get (disease) -> Contract (disease name)

18. Very, really, so, too -> "Leave them" It is so important, a really strong, a very dangerous.

19. Also, And, But, So (beginning) -> Moreover, Additionally, However, Therefore

20. I, me, my, we, our, ours -> Task1 Academic: Never use I and we, Task 1 General: Use Freely, Task 2:
Limit the use of "I" and "we", I agree, I believe, In my opinion

21. Avoid addressing 'reader' as you -> You can clearly see the results. Correct one: One can clearly see the results

22. Contractions (It can't, I’m, it isn’t, doesn’t, it’s, I’d, won’t, shan’t) -> Use full form (It cannot, am, is not, does
not, is, has, had, would, will not, shall not)

Collected: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dodiYOTgZAc

Formal English: We use it when writing essays for school, cover letters to apply for jobs, or emails and letters at
work.

Informal English: We use it with friends, children, and relatives.

The following list will help you to recognize the informal and formal ways of saying the same thing. The list is divided
into sections of: verbs, transitions, emphasis words, abbreviations, and slang.
 Informal Formal
say sorry apologize, apologise
go up increase
go down decrease
set up establish
look at examine
blow up explode
find out discover
bring about cause
put off postpone, delay
rack up accumulate
make up fabricate
stand for represent
find out discover, ascertain
leave out omit
point out indicate
go against oppose
get in touch with contact
It’s about It concerns, It’s in regards to
need to required
think about consider
get obtain
put up tolerate
deal with handle
seem appear
show demonstrate, illustrate, portray
start commence
keep retain
free release
get on someone’s nerves bother
ring up call
show up arrive
let permit
fill in substitute, inform
block undermine
give the go ahead, greenlight authorize, authorise

Transitions – Informal & Formal

Informal Formal
Anyways Nevertheless
Plus/Also Moreover/ Furthermore
But However
So Therefore/Thus
Also In addition, Additionally
ASAP as soon as possible/at your earliest convenience
Okay, OK acceptable
In the meantime In the interim
I think In my opinion,
In the end, Finally
To sum up In conclusion,
In a nutshell/Basically To summarize,
Anyway, Notwithstanding
 Informal Formal
All right Acceptable

Emphasis Words – Informal & Formal

Informal Formal
lots of/ a lot of much, many
tons of, heaps of large quantities of, a number of
totally completely, strongly
really, very definitely

Letter Expressions – Informal & Formal

Informal Formal
Hi Robert, Dear Sir or Madam
Just wanted to let you know… I am writing to inform you…
Love, Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully,
Cheers,
Yours Truly, Best regards, kind regards
Hope to hear from you soon I look forward to hearing from you
You can call me if you need anything Please do not hesitate to contact me

Abbreviations – Informal & Formal

Informal Formal
ASAP as soon as possible
T.V. television
photo photograph
cell cell phone
net Internet

Slang – Informal & Formal

Informal Formal
kids children
bad negative
good positive
really big considerable
right correct
wrong incorrect
smart intelligent
cheap inexpensive
loaded rich

Collected: https://www.engvid.com/english-resource/formal-informal-english/

Writing formal vocabulary is a must in the IELTS exam. This list would be quite handy.

Informal (Avoid) Formal (Writing)

Stuff Items, Possessions
Folks Relatives
Kids (younger) Infants, Offspring
Kids (older) Adolescents, Youths
Guy Male
Old people Senior citizens, Retirees
– Supervisor, Superior
Cops Law enforcement
Crooks Offenders, Lawbreakers
OK, Alright Acceptable, Satisfactory
Great, Awesome Preferable, Desirable
Rubbish, Useless Unsatisfactory, Unacceptable
– Considerate, Agreeable
– Sociable, Neighbourly
Nasty, Cheeky (person) Abusive, Disagreeable
Stupid, Crazy, Dumb (idea) Misguided, Questionable
Stupid, Crazy, Dumb (person) Misguided, Mistaken
– Satisfied, Delighted
– Satisfying, Delightful
– Regretful, Distressed
– Regrettable, Distressing
Sick of, Fed up with Dissatisfied with
– Developing, Poverty-stricken
– In poverty, Underprivileged
– Wealthy, Developed
– Wealthy, Privileged

Collected: https://webberz.in/blog/ielts-formal-vocabulary/

What do we mean by formal and informal language?

When you first learn English, you are just learning a language. You probably don’t think much about different types
of English. However, there are different versions of most languages, and often this revolves around the idea of
polite vs casual speech.

In some countries, like Japan or Korea, it is very important to choose the correct form of language when speaking
with someone else, or you might cause serious offense. English speaking countries tend to be quite modern and
liberal, so you won’t cause much offense if you speak to someone in an informal manner. However, it is still
important to make an effort.

Formal language is generally used in business, education, and for most serious matters. Informal language is more
appropriate for friends, but it appears to be spreading into the wider world.

When it comes to IELTS, you are being tested in terms of specific English skills. For the academic test, you need to
know very basic academic practices, and for the general test you need to know more informal approaches.

Informal (Avoid) Neutral (Speaking) Formal (Writing)

Stuff Things Items, Possessions
Folks Family Relatives
Kids (younger) Babies, Children Infants, Offspring
Kids (older) Teenagers Adolescents, Youths
Guy Man Male
Old people Elderly people Senior citizens, Retirees
– Boss, Manager Supervisor, Superior
Cops Police Law enforcement
Crooks Criminals Offenders, Lawbreakers
OK, Alright Fine Acceptable, Satisfactory
Great, Awesome Good Preferable, Desirable
Rubbish, Useless Bad, Poor Unsatisfactory, Unacceptable
– Nice, Polite Considerate, Agreeable
– Kind, Friendly Sociable, Neighbourly
Nasty, Cheeky (person) Rude, Impolite Abusive, Disagreeable
Stupid, Crazy, Dumb (idea) – Misguided, Questionable
Stupid, Crazy, Dumb (person) – Misguided, Mistaken
– Happy (person) Satisfied, Delighted
– Happy (situation) Satisfying, Delightful
– Sad (person) Regretful, Distressed
– Sad (situation) Regrettable, Distressing
Sick of, Fed up with Tired of Dissatisfied with
– Poor (country) Developing, Poverty-stricken
– Poor (person) In poverty, Underprivileged
– Rich (country) Wealthy, Developed
– Rich (person) Wealthy, Privileged

Bonus tip 1: Contractions such as don’t are fine in IELTS Speaking but it is better to use do not in the Academic
Writing module. Avoid very casual contractions such as gonna and dunno completely.

Bonus tip 2: Don’t use too much formal vocabulary in IELTS Speaking or your answers will sound very stiff and
unnatural. Just be yourself.

Collected: https://ielts-academic.com/2012/07/06/informal-formal-vocabulary-for-ielts/#

What is the Difference Between Formal and Informal Language?

There are many differences between formal and informal language and you really don’t need to know them all.
However, I would recommend studying some of the most common features, as misusing these could prove costly.

Here are a few differences:

Features of Formal Writing Features of Informal Writing

No (or few) contractions Contractions

Some use of passive voice Little use of passive voice

No slang Some slang

Structures like participle clauses Straightforward language

Mostly correct grammar Lots of “lazy” grammar

Few personal pronouns More personal pronouns

Occasional idioms Frequent idioms

Proper transition words Casual transitions

Collected: https://ted-ielts.com/formal-and-informal/