Year 6 English: Formal and informal English: what is different
Part of the Year 6 English formal and informal english and the subjunctive chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Formal and informal English: what is different
Language changes with the register: the level of formality that suits the situation, the audience and the purpose. Informal English is used with friends and family. Formal English is used for letters, reports and official notices.
Informal English often uses contractions (can't), slang, and ellipsis, where a word is left out, such as Looks good instead of It looks good.
Informal and formal
| Informal | Formal |
|---|---|
| kids | children |
| get | obtain |
| ask for | request |
| a lot of | many |
| talk about | discuss |
| find out | establish |
Key ideas
- Register is the level of formality that suits the situation and the reader.
- Informal English uses contractions, slang and ellipsis.
- Formal English uses full words, full sentences and no slang.
Method. Look for a word that is left out.
- Look at the sentence. The subject it is left out, so the sentence begins with looks.Looks good
- Name the feature. Leaving out a word the reader can work out is ellipsis.ellipsis
- Write the answer. ellipsis
Check. The subject is left out: ellipsis. ✓
Method. Find the word that is very casual.
- Find the casual word. Cool is a casual word for good.cool
- Check formality. A formal report would not use cool to mean good.cool
- Write the answer. cool
Check. cool is slang. ✓
Method. Look for full words, and no contractions, in formal writing.
- Check the first sentence. Kids is informal, and can't is a contraction.kids, can't
- Check the second sentence. Children and cannot are full words, with no contraction.children, cannot
- Decide. The second sentence is more formal.The children cannot attend.
- Write the answer. The children cannot attend.
Check. The second sentence is formal. ✓
Watch out
Watch out: a formal sentence is not the same as a long sentence. Formal English uses precise words and no slang, but it can also be short.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to rewrite a text message to a friend as a short letter to a grandparent. Ask which words changed.
Exercise 7A Practice: formal and informal English
Method. Think about the meaning, and choose a word that suits formal writing.
- Find the meaning. kids means the same as children in a formal text.kids
- Choose the formal word. children suits formal writing, and it is not slang.children
- Write the answer. children
Check. children is more formal than kids. ✓
Watch out. Formal writing avoids slang and very casual phrases.
Method. Think about the meaning, and choose a word that suits formal writing.
- Find the meaning. get means the same as obtain in a formal text.get
- Choose the formal word. obtain suits formal writing, and it is not slang.obtain
- Write the answer. obtain
Check. obtain is more formal than get. ✓
Watch out. Formal writing avoids slang and very casual phrases.
Method. Think about the meaning, and choose a word that suits formal writing.
- Find the meaning. ask for means the same as request in a formal text.ask for
- Choose the formal word. request suits formal writing, and it is not slang.request
- Write the answer. request
Check. request is more formal than ask for. ✓
Watch out. Formal writing avoids slang and very casual phrases.
Method. Think about the meaning, and choose a word that suits formal writing.
- Find the meaning. a lot of means the same as many in a formal text.a lot of
- Choose the formal word. many suits formal writing, and it is not slang.many
- Write the answer. many
Check. many is more formal than a lot of. ✓
Watch out. Formal writing avoids slang and very casual phrases.
Method. Think about the meaning, and choose a word that suits formal writing.
- Find the meaning. talk about means the same as discuss in a formal text.talk about
- Choose the formal word. discuss suits formal writing, and it is not slang.discuss
- Write the answer. discuss
Check. discuss is more formal than talk about. ✓
Watch out. Formal writing avoids slang and very casual phrases.
Method. Think about the meaning, and choose a word that suits formal writing.
- Find the meaning. find out means the same as establish in a formal text.find out
- Choose the formal word. establish suits formal writing, and it is not slang.establish
- Write the answer. establish
Check. establish is more formal than find out. ✓
Watch out. Formal writing avoids slang and very casual phrases.
Method. Find the two words that the contraction stands for.
- Find the two words. The apostrophe shows that letters have been left out of can't.can't
- Write the full form. The full form is cannot.cannot
- Write the answer. cannot
Check. can't stands for cannot. ✓
Watch out. Formal writing does not use contractions, so write the full form.
Method. Find the two words that the contraction stands for.
- Find the two words. The apostrophe shows that letters have been left out of it's.it's
- Write the full form. The full form is it is.it is
- Write the answer. it is
Check. it's stands for it is. ✓
Watch out. Formal writing does not use contractions, so write the full form.
Method. Find the two words that the contraction stands for.
- Find the two words. The apostrophe shows that letters have been left out of won't.won't
- Write the full form. The full form is will not.will not
- Write the answer. will not
Check. won't stands for will not. ✓
Watch out. Formal writing does not use contractions, so write the full form.
Method. Find the two words that the contraction stands for.
- Find the two words. The apostrophe shows that letters have been left out of didn't.didn't
- Write the full form. The full form is did not.did not
- Write the answer. did not
Check. didn't stands for did not. ✓
Watch out. Formal writing does not use contractions, so write the full form.
Method. Look for a word that is left out.
- Look at the sentence. The subject it is missing.it
- Name the feature. Leaving out a word that is understood is ellipsis.ellipsis
- Write the answer. Ellipsis, because the subject it is left out.
Check. The subject is left out. ✓
Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.
- Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
- Test the choice. Unable to attend uses full words and no contraction.I am unable to attend the party. fits
- Reject the other choices. Can't is a contraction, which is informal.I can't come to the party. do not fit
- Write the answer. I am unable to attend the party.
Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓
Method. Change each informal word for a formal word.
- Change kids. Children is the formal word for kids.children
- Change get and a lot of stuff. Obtain and many items are more formal.obtaining many items
- Write the answer. The children are obtaining many items.
Check. The new sentence uses formal words. ✓
Method. Compare formal and informal writing.
- Think about the reader. A headteacher expects formal, precise language.formal reader
- Think about the features. Contractions are informal, so they are avoided.no contractions
- Write the answer. A formal letter uses full words, because contractions are informal
Check. Contractions are informal. ✓
Method. Change the contraction and the informal phrase.
- Change can't wait. Look forward to is a formal phrase.look forward to
- Change the exclamation. A formal letter uses a full sentence with a full stop.visiting the new park.
- Write the answer. I look forward to visiting the new park.
Check. The sentence is formal. ✓
Method. Look for slang.
- Look at the words. Really and cool are informal.really, cool
- Decide. Cool is the most informal, because it is slang.cool
- Write the answer. cool
Check. cool is slang. ✓
Method. Find the two words that the contraction stands for.
- Find the two words. The apostrophe shows that letters have been left out of they're.they're
- Write the full form. The full form is they are.they are
- Write the answer. they are
Check. they're stands for they are. ✓
Watch out. Formal writing does not use contractions, so write the full form.
Method. Think about what informal writing does.
- Name one. A contraction, such as can't.contraction
- Name another. Slang, such as cool, or ellipsis.slang
- Write the answer. Contractions and slang, or ellipsis.
Check. Two features are named correctly. ✓
Method. Use the meaning, then choose a formal word.
- Use the meaning. Find out means to discover the facts.discover
- Choose the formal word. Establish suits a formal report.establish
- Write the answer. establish
Check. establish is formal. ✓
Method. Say what it means in a sentence.
- Think about the choice. Writers choose formal or informal language.formal or informal
- Name what it depends on. The choice depends on the situation, the audience and the purpose.situation, audience, purpose
- Write the answer. Register is the level of formality that suits the situation, the audience and the purpose
Check. Register depends on the situation and the reader. ✓