Formal and Everyday English Words
Hi everyone,
Today we would like to share with you the list of informal (every day) and formal words. The list is divided into sections of verbs, transitions, emphasis words, abbreviations, and slang.
We use formal English when writing essays for school, cover letters to apply for jobs, or emails and letters at work. And we use Every day English when we use it with friends, children, and relatives.
Verbs – Every day English & Formal English
| Every day |
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 – Every day English & Formal English
| Every day |
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 |
| All right |
Acceptable |
| Well, |
|
| To top it all off, |
|
| On top of it all, |
|
|
In order to |
Emphasis Words – Every day English & Formal English
| Every day |
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 – Every day English & Formal English
| Every day |
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 – Every day English & Formal English
| Every day |
Formal |
| ASAP |
as soon as possible |
| T.V. |
television |
| photo |
photograph |
| cell |
cell phone |
| net |
Internet |
Slang – Every day English & Formal English
| Every day |
Formal |
| kids |
children |
| bad |
negative |
| good |
positive |
| really big |
considerable |
| right |
correct |
| wrong |
incorrect |
| smart |
intelligent |
| cheap |
inexpensive |
| loaded |
rich |
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