00:00Hmm, which one do you prefer? Formal English or Informal English?
00:14Hello, my name is Matti from POC English and in this lesson we are going to learn
00:20some formal English vocabulary. First, one question. Which one is better?
00:28Formal English or Informal English? The answer is, well, there is no better one.
00:37Both of them are good depending on your audience. Who are you writing to or who
00:44are you talking to? If you are casually talking to your friend, you should speak
00:50informally. You don't want to be too formal with your best friend. If you are
00:55talking to your grandparents, you might want to be semi-formal just to be
01:01respectful. Or if you are talking to your boss or maybe your university professor,
01:07you want to be formal. So, it totally depends on your audience. And now, let's
01:14start learning some formal alternatives to not so formal words. Have a look at
01:21this text. Technology can ease every person's life. There are many tech
01:30gadgets that we can use every day. Now, almost everyone has a smartphone to meet
01:40their modern life needs. This text is not formal and it is not informal. It's a
01:48semi-formal text. But we are going to try to make it more formal. What can you do?
01:56Well, number one, instead of can, you can say be able to. Now, be stands for am, is,
02:05are, or maybe was, were in the past. I can use a laptop. I can use a laptop.
02:14Instead of can, say be able to. I am able to use a laptop. This is more formal.
02:22Number two, what does ease mean? Well, to ease something means to make it easier.
02:31Instead of ease, you can say facilitate. Facilitate. For example, you can join an
02:39online course to ease the learning process. Instead of ease, say facilitate,
02:46you can join an online course to facilitate the learning process. It means
02:52to make it easier. Number three, instead of person, you can use individual. For
03:00example, every person has rights which should be respected. Instead of person,
03:08say individual. Every individual has rights which should be respected. This is
03:17more formal. Number four, instead of many, you can say numerous. Numerous. For
03:25example, there are many mistakes in your text. Instead of many, say numerous. There
03:33are numerous mistakes in your text. Number five, instead of use, say utilize.
03:42Utilize. This is more formal. For example, we must use all the resources we have.
03:51Instead of use, say utilize. We must utilize all the resources we have. Number
04:00six, instead of every day, what can you say to make it more formal? You can say
04:06on a daily basis. On a daily basis. For example, I read books every day or I read
04:17books on a daily basis. Number seven, what can you say instead of now? You can say
04:25currently. Currently is an adverb that can be used instead of now. For example,
04:31now I'm working on a project. Currently, I'm working on a project. And number eight,
04:39instead of needs, say requirements. For example, you don't meet the needs to
04:47apply for this job or you don't meet the requirements to apply for this job.
04:55And now, let's use the new alternatives we have learned to rewrite the story.
05:03Technology is able to facilitate every individual's life. You see how formal it
05:14became? There are numerous tech gadgets that we can utilize on a daily basis.
05:24Currently, almost everyone has a smartphone to meet their modern life
05:32requirements. Now, this is a formal text. And now, let's have a look at another text.
05:39Surveys show that about 23% of adults don't know how to use any tech gadgets.
05:49These people are called digitally illiterate people. To make digital literacy better in
05:58society, governments have started public workshops. So, these people should go to
06:06the workshops to gain enough knowledge and skills. Now, this text, again, is semi-formal.
06:16It's not very informal. But let's try to make it more formal by substituting some
06:22of its informal or not-so-formal words. Instead of about, you can say approximately.
06:30Approximately, which means not exactly. For example, the project will take about three
06:40weeks. The project will take approximately three weeks. Instead of called, say referred
06:50to as. For example, this city is called Little Paris. This city is referred to as Little Paris.
07:02Instead of make better, you can say promote. For example, the government wants to make digital
07:12literacy better in society. The government wants to promote digital literacy in society.
07:20Instead of start, you can say initiate. Initiate. For example, they have recently started a new
07:31campaign. They have recently initiated a new campaign. Instead of so, say therefore. For
07:40example, the company was going bankrupt, so they changed the manager. The company was going
07:49bankrupt, therefore they changed the manager. Instead of go to a workshop, you can say attend
07:59a workshop or take part in a workshop or participate in a workshop. Three alternatives. For example,
08:08I'm going to a workshop this evening. I'm participating in a workshop this evening.
08:14I'm taking part in a workshop this evening. I'm attending a workshop this evening. And instead of
08:22enough, you can say sufficient or adequate. For example, the city doesn't have enough funds to
08:32make more roads. You can say the city doesn't have sufficient funds or adequate funds to make
08:40more roads. And now it is time to use the new vocabulary we have learned in order to make the
08:47text more formal. But before that, if you want to receive free lesson summaries of this video
08:54and every other video when I post them on YouTube, what you need to do is to give me your email
09:00address. How? Go to my website POCEnglish.com. The link is in the description. Click on the link,
09:08go to my website, type in your email address and click subscribe. You will receive the PDF files
09:14when I post a video on YouTube. And now time to read the text. Surveys show that approximately
09:2523% of adults don't know how to, instead of use, we could say utilize, remember,
09:34how to utilize any tech gadgets. These people are referred to as digitally illiterate people.
09:44To promote digital literacy in society, governments have initiated
09:52public workshops. Therefore, these people should attend the workshops, take part in the workshops,
10:02or participate in the workshops to gain sufficient knowledge or adequate knowledge and skills.
10:11And that's it, guys. I hope you have enjoyed this lesson. Don't forget to give it a thumbs
10:16up and click subscribe if you're new to my channel. See ya.
Comments