FORMAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE DO'S AND DON'TS LIST EXPLANATION

by Professor Jon Saul

 

WORDS NOT TO USE IN FORMAL WRITING

 

#1: GET (the past tense is 'got'): Never, ever use 'get' or 'got' in formal writing and speaking.

 

The verb 'to get' is one of the worst offenders. This little word has so many meanings that we use it constantly. 

 

A good exercise for you is to count the number of times you here this word (and others on this list) in a day! 

 

Here are some of the most common meanings of 'get' and the formal alternatives you should use:

 

A. 'To get' can mean 'to obtain', 'to buy', 'to purchase' or 'to acquire', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "When shopping, please be sure to get the eggs that are required for the cake."

 

This informal sentence would be a formal sentence if the word 'purchase' was substituted for 'get':

 

Formal: "When shopping, please be sure to purchase the eggs that are required for the cake."

 

 

B. 'To get' can mean 'to catch' or 'to contract' as in the sentences:

 

Informal: "When the ball was thrown, did he get it?"

 

Formal: "When the ball was thrown to him, did he catch it?"

 

Informal: "When she was exposed to the disease, did she get it?"

 

Formal: "When she was exposed to the disease, did she contract it?"

 

Notice the word 'contract' also has additional meanings:

 

as a verb, in addition to the meaning above,

 

- 'contract' can mean 'to become infected with'

- 'contract' can mean 'to grow smaller', 'to sign up' or 'to agree to'.

as a noun, a 'contract' can be a 'pact', a 'deal' or an 'agreement'.

 

 

C. 'To get' can mean 'to move' or 'to progress' as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "You should really get out of the way!"

 

Formal: "You should really move out of the way!"

 

 

D. 'To get can mean 'to become' or 'to grow' as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "When my child gets to be 12, I will tell him about the birds and the bees."

 

Formal: "When my child becomes 12 years old, I will tell him about the birds and the bees."

 

A student wrote the following sentence:

 

Informal: "One of the major problems foreign born individuals face in the United States is the transition of getting used to American customs and lifestyles."

 

Acceptable: "One of the major problems foreign born individuals face in the United States is the transition of becoming used to American customs and lifestyles."

 

Better: "One of the major problems foreign born individuals face in the United States is the transition of adapting to American customs and lifestyles." Or the verb 'acclimating to' could be used as well.

 

E. 'To get' can mean 'to understand', 'to comprehend', 'to grasp', 'to follow', or 'to perceive' as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "When the teacher explained clearly, the students finally got it;"

 

Formal: "When the teacher explained clearly, the students finally understood."

 

 

F. 'To get' can mean 'to accomplish', 'to attain', 'to reach' as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "Students require time to study and get good grades."

 

Formal: "Students require time to study and earn high grades."

 

 

G. 'To get' can mean 'to find', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "When you looked for the book, did you get it?"

 

Formal: "When you looked for the book, did you find it?"

 

These are some the most common uses of the word 'get'.

 

DO NOT USE GET OR GOT IN FORMAL WRITING OR SPEAKING. NEVER.

 

Use the more precise (descriptive, exact) alternatives instead.

 

 

 

#2 'LIKE': try not to use this word, which has several different meanings in English:

 

A. As a verb, 'to like' can mean 'to be fond of', 'to enjoy', or 'to be partial to'

 

This is the only acceptable use of 'like' in formal writing, as in the sentence:

 

"The teacher likes that student most of all; she is the teacher's pet!"

 

It is almost always better to substitute a formal alternative, such as:

 

"The teacher is fond of that student most of all; she is the teacher's pet!" or

 

"The teacher is most fond of that student; she is the teacher's pet!"

 

B. As a preposition, 'like' can mean 'similar to', 'akin to', 'approximating', 'reminiscent of', 'resembling', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "The little girl wanted an ice cream just like her sister had."

 

Formal: "The little girl wanted an ice cream similar to the one her sister had."

 

Formal: "The little girl wanted an ice cream resembling the one her sister had."

 

In these two cases, and you must substitute more than one word in order to use the formal alternatives.

 

C. As an adjective, 'like' can mean 'similar', 'comparable' or 'approximately', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "She gave her a present like that."

 

Acceptable: "She gave her a present of like kind."

 

Better: "She gave her a similar present."

 

D. In slang usage, 'like' can mean 'such as' or 'for example', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "The man went to the store and bought fruit, like apples, oranges and bananas."

 

Formal: "The man went to the store and bought fruit, such as apples, oranges and bananas."

 

Better: "The man went to the store and bought fruit, for example, apples, oranges and bananas."

 

Do not use the expressions 'sort of like', or 'kind of like'.

 

Use the acceptable formal substitutes: 'for example' or 'such as'.

 

Never, ever, ever use 'like' to mean 'for example' in formal writing!

 

#3 'SO' is an informal word that has several meanings in English.

 

DO NOT USE THIS WORD!

 

A. 'So' can mean 'very' or 'extremely, as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "The girl told her boyfriend that she loved him so much."

Formal: "The girl told her boyfriend that she loved him very much."

 

Informal: "The student studied so hard that he passed the exam."

Formal: "The student studied extremely hard and he passed the exam."

 

Notice, again, in the second example, that the substitution (change) is not merely one word for another. The sentence must be slightly altered (changed) to allow for (accommodate) the formal language. This is one of the changes that indicates that the language is formal. Sometimes one must use more words to express their thoughts in a formal way in order to be more exact and specific.

 

B. 'So' can mean 'an abundance of' as in 'so many':

 

Informal: "When the student consulted the thesaurus for synonyms of the word ‘formal’, there were so many that she didn't know which to choose."

Formal: "When the student consulted the thesaurus for synonyms of the word 'formal', there was such an abundance that she didn't know which to choose."

 

C. 'So' can be informally joined with other words, such as 'so that' in the sentence:

 

Informal: "The hardworking students read all the assignments given by the professor so that they would learn everything required of them."

 

Formal: "The hardworking students read all the assignments given by the professor to insure that they would learn everything required of them."

 

Formal: "The hardworking students read all the assignments given by the professor in order that they would learn everything required of them."

 

Formal: "The hardworking students read all the assignments given by the professor in an effort to learn everything required of them."

 

D. 'So' can be used to signify causality: it can mean 'therefore', 'consequently', 'as a result', 'for this/that reason', 'thus', 'hence', or 'accordingly' as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "The student was late for class so he missed the instructions for the exam."

Formal: "The student was late for class, consequently he missed the instructions for the exam."

 

Informal: "So, Socrates drank the hemlock rather than cease his pursuit of the truth."

Formal: "Therefore, Socrates drank the hemlock rather than cease his pursuit of the truth."

 

E. 'So' can be used to signify causality in time: it can mean 'subsequently', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "An agreement was reached, so the peace treaty was signed by the British and Americans, ending the revolutionary war."

 

Formal: "An agreement was reached; subsequently the peace treaty was signed by the British and Americans, ending the revolutionary war."

 

Better: "Subsequent to reaching an agreement, the peace treaty was signed by the British and Americans, ending the revolutionary war."

 

#4 'TOO': Never, ever use this very informal word in formal writing for any of its meanings! This is an extremely overused adverb with many meanings:

 

A. 'Too' can mean 'and', 'also', 'as well', 'in addition', 'besides', 'moreover', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "Although she read the chapter too, she was not able to answer the questions in class."

Formal: "Although she read the chapter as well, she was not able to answer the questions in class."

 

B. 'Too' can mean 'very', 'excessively', 'overly', or 'exceedingly', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "The teacher had to tell the students the same thing too many times."

Formal: "The teacher had to tell the students the same thing an excessive number of times."

 

NEVER USE THIS WORD IN FORMAL DISCOURSE!

 

I know I have repeated this several times, but students make this mistake so often that it bears repeating! 'Too' also appears among the dangerous homonyms listed in the next chapter.

 

#5 A LOT OF: this is a terrible phrase - NEVER USE IT! And you shouldn't use the expression 'plenty of' either.

 

I can't tell you how many times I mistakenly use 'a lot' in class and then must excuse myself. This word is used a lot of times to mean a lot of things!

 

A. In formal language, the noun 'lot' can mean a 'parcel of property', a 'piece of land', or a 'group of articles'. In an auction, several paintings sold at once are referred to as 'a lot'. These are the acceptable formal uses of the term. 

 

B. "A lot of" can mean 'many', 'numerous', countless, 'several', 'various', or 'scores of', as in the sentence: (Note: a 'score' is a quantity, meaning 20.)

 

Informal: "A lot of times, students do not succeed because they do not read, read, and read!"

Formal: "Many times, students do not succeed because they do not read, read, and read!"

Better: "Countless times students do not succeed because they do not read, read, and read!"

 

WORDS TO USE LESS OFTEN

 

 

The next set of words are acceptable for formal writing, but you should use these words as little as possible and certainly don't overuse them. Do use the substitutes indicated.

 

#6 AND: This is a fine word that you will use constantly. For this reason, you should have a supply of alternatives ready to use so that your writing does not become boring:

 

A. 'And' can mean 'also', 'as well', 'in addition', 'besides', 'moreover', 'additionally', 'furthermore', as in the following sentences:

 

Acceptable: "And the teacher explained why the word 'and' when written over and over again can be boring."

 

Better: "Furthermore, the teacher explained why the word 'and' when written over and over again can be boring."

 

Acceptable: "And there is a way to study better, the teacher said, by taking notes in addition to reading."

 

Better: "Moreover, there is a way to study better, the teacher said, by taking notes in addition to reading."

 

Acceptable: "And the teacher said that students should always re-read any sentences or paragraphs that are not immediately understood."

 

Better: "In addition, the teacher said that students should always re-read any sentences or paragraphs that are not immediately understood."

 

Please note: 

 

Do not use the slang word 'plus' to mean 'and'. 

 

Use 'plus' only when discussing addition, as in the sentence:

 

"Two plus two is four."

 

#7 BUT: This is another perfectly acceptable word that you will use constantly. Consequently, you should have a ready supply of alternatives ready to use to show the strength of your vocabulary.

 

A. 'But' can mean 'yet' or 'still'. The better alternatives are 'however', 'although', 'though', 'moreover', 'nevertheless', 'on the contrary', 'nonetheless', 'conversely', and 'in spite of this'.

 

Informal: "The teacher asked the students to read, but they did not."

Acceptable: "The teacher asked the students to read, yet they did not."

Acceptable: "The teacher asked the students to read, still they did not."

 

Formal: "The teacher asked the students to read, nevertheless they did not."

Formal: "The teacher asked the students to read, however they did not."

 

B. 'But' can mean 'other than', 'except', 'aside from' or 'excluding' as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "They threw out everything but the kitchen sink."

Formal: "They threw out everything except the kitchen sink."

 

C. 'But' can mean 'only', 'just', 'merely', 'solely', 'exactly' as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "It has been but one second since he left us."

Formal: "It has been merely one second since he left us."

 

Do not confuse 'but' with 'butt' which, means "one's rear end".

 

#8 JUST: This is another of those little words that has many, many meanings. There is only one meaning of the word 'just' that you should use in formal writing, and that is when the word is used as an adjective.

A. 'Just' can mean 'fair', 'impartial', 'honest', 'honorable', 'righteous', 'moral', or 'truthful', as in the sentence:

Formal: "The student felt that the grade he received was a just one."

 

All of the other meanings of 'just' are adverbial ('just' is used as an adverb) as in the following sentences:

 

B. 'Just' can mean 'a minute ago', 'a moment ago', 'only this minute', 'in the past few minutes', 'a short time ago', 'recently', 'lately', or 'scarcely', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "Didn't that just happen?"

Formal: "Didn't that happen a moment ago."

 

C. 'Just' can mean 'now', 'immediately', or 'presently', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "The student just came into the classroom."

Formal: "The student immediately came into the classroom."

 

D. 'Just' can mean 'only', 'merely', 'simply', or 'solely', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "The student just peeked at the answers once."

Formal: "The student only peeked at the answers once."

 

E. 'Just' can mean 'barely', 'hardly', 'scarcely', or 'slightly', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "The student had just peeked at the answers when the teacher came back to the room."

Formal: "The student had hardly peeked at the answers when the teacher came back to the room."

 

F. 'Just' can mean 'really', 'truly', 'definitely', 'empathically', 'clearly', 'entirely', 'absolutely', 'completely', or 'perfectly', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "It was lucky for the student that she had just finished peeking at the answers when the teacher came back to the room."

Formal: "It was lucky for the student that she had completely finished peeking at the answers when the teacher came back to the room."

 

G. 'Just' can mean 'exactly', 'precisely', or 'right', as in the sentence:

 

Informal: "The student had just enough time to peek at the answers before the teacher came back to the room."

Formal: "The student had precisely enough time to peek at the answers before the teacher came back to the room."

 

#9 SINCE: there are two uses of this word and only one is acceptable in formal writing:

 

A. 'Since', when used as a conjunction, can mean 'as', 'because', 'given that', 'seeing as', 'in view of the fact that', or 'while', as in the following sentence:

 

Informal: "Since the student peeked at the answers, the teacher thinks he should take the test again."

Formal: "The teacher thinks he should take the test again because the student peeked at the answers."

 

As you can see, I have 'turned the sentence around' in order to use the word 'because'.

 

DO NOT use the word 'since' to mean 'because' in formal writing.

 

B. 'Since', when used as an adverb, can mean 'from the time when', or 'ever since', as in the sentence:

 

Formal: "Ever since the student peeked at the answers, the teacher does not trust him."

 

This is the only acceptable usage of the word 'since' in formal writing.

 

#10 DO: you will need to use this word frequently. It is acceptable to use this word in formal writing and speaking. However, whenever possible you should substitute with a more specific alternative:

 

The verb 'to do' has three meanings:

 

A. 'Do' can mean to 'accomplish', 'complete', 'engage', 'perform', 'act', 'achieve', 'complete', 'execute', or 'make'.

 

B. 'Do' can mean to 'see to', 'fix', 'prepare', 'organize', 'sort out', 'look after', or 'make sure of'.

 

C. 'Do' can mean to 'solve', 'work out', 'resolve', 'figure out', or 'puzzle out'.

 

A final note on vocabulary: 

 

I have found that many students confuse one word with another because they have only heard the words used and pronounced by someone else. The first thing to realize is that many people mispronounce words. Therefore, when you learn a word by listening to someone else use it, you cannot always learn the proper spelling of the word.

This is yet another reason for you to own your words and look them up! You must know the proper pronunciation and spelling. The spelling of words will help you to recognize the different words you see. Many words in English have only one letter that is different from another word, but the meaning is entirely different.