Formal-and-Informal-Styles

ThefollowingaresomespecificfeaturesthatdistinguishthesetwotypesofEnglish.1.Contractionslikedon’t,mustn’t,he’s,I’ve,etc.,aregenerallyusedininformalwriting.Informalwritingthefullformsarepreferred:donot,mustnot,etc.2.ForindefinitereferenceyouisoftenusedininformalEnglishwhileoneisoftenusedinformalEnglish.3.IninformalEnglishwhocanbeusedinsteadofwhomasanobjectinquestions.e.g.Whoisthesecretarytalkingwith?Withwhomisthesecretarytalking?(Formal)4.IninformalEnglishthatcanoftenbeleftoutbeforeanobjectclause,especiallyafterverbsofsayingorthinking,e.g.Shesaid(that)shewouldcome.Hetoldme(that)helikedthehouse.5.Informalstyletheyisoftenusedasapronounreferringtoeveryone,everybody,someone,somebody,anyone,anybody,noone,nobody,e.g.Haseveryonefinisheddoingtheirexercises?Haseveryonefinisheddoinghisorherexercises?(Formal)6.WhenthesubjectisIorhe(she,it),wascanbeusedinsteadofwereinthesubjunctivemood(虚拟语气)ininformalstyle:Theoldladytreatedhimasifhewasherownson.Iwishhewasherewithus.7.Participialphrases(分词短语)aregenerallyusedinformalstyle:Havingbeenwarnedofimpendingstorm,thecaptaindecidedtoputoffthevoyage.Whenthecaptainheardastormwascoming,hedecidedtoputoffthevoyage.(Lessformal)8.Nominativeabsoluteconstructions(独立主格结构)aregenerallyusedinformalstyle:Theweatherbeingfine,alargenumberofpeoplewenttoclimbtheWesternHillsAstheweatherwasfine,alargenumberofpeoplewenttoclimbtheWesternHills.(Lessformal)9.Adjectivalandadverbialphrasesplacedbeforethesubject(形容词/副词短语置前)oftenmakethesentenceformal:Afamousprofessorofbiology,Dr.Joneswasthenewpresidentoftheuniversity.10.Parentheticalremarks(插入语)oftenmakeasentenceformal:Thisvillagehasbuilt,inlessthantenyears,severalsmallfactoriesthatbringinmoreincomethanthefarmproduceeveryyear.11.Aseriesofnouns,verbs,oradjectivesmaymakeasentencesoundformal:Shehasexperiencedloveandhate,griefandhappiness.12.Thefollowingtypesofsentencesareoftenusedinformalstyle:Longsentences;Compound-complexsentences;Sentenceswithparallelconstructions;Balancedsentences(对仗句);andPeriodicsentences(工整句).13.Asforvocabulary,everydaywordsaremainlyofAnglo-Saxonorigin,whilewordsofGreek,FrenchandLatinoriginsaremostlyformalorlearnedwords.FormalInformalcommencebeginprofounddeepfortunateluckyterminateendproceedbegin/continueelevateraiseexplicitclear14.Phrasalverbsarecolloquialandoftenusedinconversationalstyle:PhrasalVerbsSingleVerbsgooncontinue(v.i.)carryoncontinue(v.i)lookintoinvestigatecomeacrossmeetputupwithbear,enduregetawayleave,escape15.Shortenedwordslikephoto,ad,bike,gym,prep,pop,andvetarecommonlyusedineverydayconversation.Theyarenotoftenusedinformalwriting.16.Slangwordsandexpressionsareoftentoocasualandinformaltobeusedinformalwriting.SlangCommonlousybad,terribleswellgood,excellentinhotwaterintroubleshootthebreezespendtimechattingtalksomeone’sheadoffspeaktoomuch