Informal expressions

Expressions that are informal or even colloquial may be too informal for formal academic or business writing or speaking contexts. These are not necessarily wrong, but are dispreferred or considered less appropriate for such types of writing or discourse, and more formal expressions are preferred. It might be okay to use a few of these in certain contexts, but regular or frequent use of these will make a paper sound unprofessional.

1 General characteristics

Informal expressions, compared to their more formal counterparts, may be distinguished by the following characteristics.

Informal expressions	Formal expressions	Informal cf. formal examples
Words that are more general or less precise in meaning	Terms with more specific, precise meaning or scope	people vs. Canadians, voters, participants, etc.
Shorter, more common words (often from the Old Germanic or Old French parts of the English lexicon)	Longer, multi-syllabic terms from Latin, Greek, modern French, or other languages	sick vs. infection
Common, high-frequency words, e.g., high school level vocabulary	Less common, low-frequency vocabulary; specialized vocabulary of certain fields; college or post-graduate level vocabulary	machine vs. laparoscope, EKG, eye tracker
Words that have an emotional, biased, or negative tone	Neutral sounding vocabulary	grammar Nazi vs. pedantic, prescriptivist
Words or phrases that are more metaphorical	More transparent, neutral and precise terminology	don't beat around the bush vs. equivocate, prevaricate
Contractions	Full forms	can't vs. cannot

Some common examples of informal expressions include the following.

Colloquial and slang vocabulary

• That's cool. Just chock it up to experience.
• They're in cahoots with the mafia.

Regional or dialect expressions

• Tell me it ain't so.
• We gotta schlep this couch up the stairs. ("schlep" = New York slang)
• Oy! There's some bloke making off with a TV!

Expletives or taboo expressions

• Bloody hell, it's bloody cold out there.
• I don't give a damn anymore. Let's just go to the pub and get pissed.

Sexist, racist, or discriminatory language

It should be pretty obvious that language that even implies negative attitudes toward women, minorities, ethnic groups, members of the LGBT community, etc. are inappropriate.

Gender-biased language

This includes terms that use masculine words for people who could have female members.

• Postman → letter carrier, postal worker
• Businessman → business people
• Policeman → police officer
• Girl (if referring to an adult woman) → female student, female coworker, etc.

Likewise for possessive adjectives:

• Each student must bring his identification. → his/her identification; OR: All students must bring their identification.

2 Sentence types

Some informal types of sentences can be made more formal.

Using question and answer format in an essay

• This leads to the following questions. Do aliens fly around the Earth? Are they really spying on us? Are they really kidnapping people? The evidence says "no."
• Can they still be considered to have social value? Yes, they can certainly still be appreciated by society.

Using quotation style and quoted expressions to present and develop points.

• Some people on the Internet keep asking questions like "Are aliens spying on us?" or "Are they really kidnapping people?" The evidence says "no."

Overuse of quotations

Sometimes quotations are used when they are not really necessary, especially common quotations. To avoid sounding too informal, they can be deleted if they are not really necessary; otherwise, they can be paraphrased without direct quotations.

• Can they still be considered to have social value? Well, as Shakespeare said, "A rose by any other name is still a rose," so yes, they can still be appreciated by society.

Idioms, clichés (common, overused expressions) and aphorisms (common phrases that convey popular sentiments).

• He's older than dirt.
• I wasn’t born yesterday.
• There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
• He's driving her up the wall.

3 Nouns and pronouns

In many contexts, these terms might be vague or too non-specific, and would be better if replaced by a more specific noun, which will depend on the context.

Informal	More formal
chance	opportunity
cop	police officer
crook	criminal
dad	father
folks	people, family, relatives
girl (if referring to an adult woman)	woman, female coworker, female student, etc.
job	occupation
kids	children, teenagers
man	males, (male) participants / subjects, male voters, etc.
mom	mother
net, the net	the Internet ("Internet" is capitalized)
part	portion, section, sector, segment, aspect
person, people (often vague)	individual, Canadians, researchers, subjects, voters, males, participants
stuff	things, material, objects, matter
thanks	gratitude, appreciation
thing	object, device, item, situation, circumstance, subject, element ...
way (e.g., a way to do something)	manner, method, means, methodology, instrument, aspect
wife	spouse
women	females, (female) participants, etc.

Likewise, the following indefinite pronouns can be replaced with more specific nouns.

• someone, anyone → an individual, a Canadian, a researcher, a particular subject, one particular voter, certain participants
• something, anything → an object, a device, an item, a subject, an element
• somewhere, anywhere → a certain location, some unknown village, the city of Brighton
• everywhere → all locations, all counties of Alberta
• everyone → all the citizens of Liverpool, a majority of residents in Cleveland
• everything → all atoms in the universe

4 Verbs

Second person

The second person you in writing sounds very informal or personal, and it is generally avoided in all forms of academic writing. Likewise, second-person verb forms are avoided, including commands like Do not do this.

First person

The first person I and we can sound informal, especially the singular I and me. These are generally avoided in formal writing, except when the authors need to comment directly, e.g., when explaining their rationale for doing something. First person is rarely used in science writing, occasionally in social science writing, and somewhat more often in humanities writing, such as in literature studies. If first person is really needed, we is better than I.

Standard contractions

It is preferable to write out full forms instead of contractions

• don't → do not
• can't → can not, cannot
• we've → we have

Colloquial contractions

It is better to avoid colloquial contractions such as these.

• ain't
• doncha
• innit? (UK English)

See also

1. Easily confused verbs such as say, tell, talk

4.1 Common verbs

Many common verbs that are frequently used in English may have fairly general meanings, or may sound informal. This can include more idiomatic verbal expressions They can be substituted as follows.

Common verb	More specific
choose	select
free	release
get better	improve
get worse	worsen, deteriorate
give the go ahead	authorize, permit
keep	retain
kid, kidding	joking, jesting
let	allow, permit, grant
need to	require, is required
say no	refuse, reject, deny
show	demonstrate, illustrate, portray, indicate, exhibit
use	utilize, make use of

4.2 Light verbs

These are common, everyday verbs that are rather non-specific in meaning. These are distinguished from other verbs, in that (1) they are the first verbs learned in the language; (2) they have a great variety of meanings, and thus can be less specific semantically; and (3) they are often used in idioms, set expressions, and collocational expressions. In academic writing, many times it is better if these can be replaced with more specific verbs, and the choice will depend on the context. However, in set expressions like 'get married' it may be difficult to replace them.

Light verb	More specific
be	exist, occur, equal, consist of, comprise (of), typify, appear, seem, tend...
do	perform, execute, carry out, implement, manage...
get	obtain, acquire, come into possession (of), capture
give	provide, yield, produce, lead to, impart...
go, run, come	proceed, journey, travel, progress, exceed...
have	possess, contain, exhibit ... In descriptive phrases, have can be replaced with with, e.g. "A patient who had the flu" → "A patient with the flu"
make	create, produce, facilitate...
set, put	place, position, arrange...

4.3 Phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs

When possible, phrasal verbs should be replaced with more formal verbs (often, verbs of Latin origin) with more specific meanings. For example, many ESL students use find out when a better expression for formal writing would be discover, determine, ascertain. Since phrasal verbs often have many meanings, the choice will depend on the context. The same applies to some VERB + PREPOSITION combinations formed with a fairly common verb.

Phrasal / prep. verb	More specific
ask out	invite
be about, it's about	it concerns; in regard to; this deals with, handles, addresses, explicates
blow up	inflate, explode
break down	collapse, implode, suspend, collapse
break off	suspend, adjourn, abrogate, halt
break out	escape; erupt
break up	disintegrate, dissolve; end (their) relationship
bring in	introduce
bring back	return, re-introduce
come after	follow, proceed
come back	return, resume
come in	enter
come up to	reach, attain
deal with	handle, manage, address
drop out (of)	withdraw, cancel, finish, fall
fill in	substitute, inform, complete
find out	find, discover, ascertain, determine, identify, decide on, assess
get away	escape, elude
get by	survive, endure
get in touch with	contact, establish contact with
give back	return
get over	recover
give in	yield
give up	quit, surrender, resign oneself to __
go after	follow, proceed, pursue
go against	contradict, oppose
go ahead	proceed
go around	circumvent, circumnavigate, sidestep, ignore, rotate, gyrate, orbit, circumduct, twist, revolve, meander, ramble
go away	leave, depart
go before	precede
go down	decrease, diminish, abate
go on	continue, persist
go out (of)	exit, diminish, leave, depart, extinguish, cease, die, dim, expire, subside, decline, dwindle, recede, quit, retire, withdraw
go through	undergo, endure, pass through, experience, suffer; examine, inspect
go up	increase, arise
f*** up	bungle, mismanage, mishandle, muddle, spoil, wreck, ruin
keep up	maintain; continue
leave out	omit, delete
link up	connect, get in contact with
look at	examine, observe; regard
look for	seek
look into	examine, investigate
look like	resemble
look up to	respect, admire
make out	discern
make up	fabricate, create, invent; comprise, consist (of)
mix up	mix, confuse
point out	indicate, index, refer to
put in	insert, enter
put down	deposit; euthanize (a pet)
put off	postpone, delay, procrastinate
put down	apply
put up (with)	tolerate, endure
rack up	accumulate
ring up	call, telephone
screw up	bungle, mismanage, mishandle, muddle, spoil, wreck, ruin
set out	depart, leave; display
set up	establish
show up	arrive, appear
slow down	decelerate, decrease speed
speed up	accelerate
stand for	represent; tolerate
take away	remove, excise
take on	challenge, oppose
take out	excise, remove, clear, exclude, omit, extirpate, destroy
talk about	discuss, consider
talk into / out of	persuade, convince
think about	consider, deliberate, ponder
think of	conceive
throw away	discard
throw out	discard, eject
try out	try, test, audition, interview
work on	develop

5 Adjectives, adverbials, & other modifiers

In many contexts, these terms might be vague or too non-specific, and would be better if replaced by a more specific word, which will depend on the context.

colloquial	more formal
a bit, a little bit	slightly, somewhat
a lot of, lots of	much, many, numerous, a large number / amount of
again and again	repeatedly, continually, continuously (See below for continuously vs. continually)
alright (adj.)	adequate, satisfactory
at once	immediately
awesome	awe-inspiring, incredible, exceptional, wonderful
bad	negative, pejorative, poor, ineffective, adverse...
big	large, significant
cheap	inexpensive; poor quality
cheeky	rude, impolite, impudent
childish	immature
crazy	insane, (mentally) deranged, delusional; misguided, questionable, foolish, unwise, mistaken, ill-advised, lacking judgment
dumb	ill-advised, lacking judgment, misguided, questionable, foolish, unwise, mistaken
fed up with __	tired of, dissatisfied with, exasperated with, annoyed by/with
fun	entertaining
funny	humorous
good	sufficient, excellent, optimal, ideal, studious, prime, positive, effective, beneficial
huge	large, significant, enormous, incredible, gargantuan, gigantic, massive
kind of, sort of	somewhat, slightly
laid back	relaxed
later	subsequent(ly), following
loaded	rich, wealthy
main (adj.)	primary, principal
mainly	primarily, principally
maybe	perhaps
next	subsequent(ly), following
okay, OK (adj.)	adequate, satisfactory, sufficient
pretty (adv.)	very, quite (e.g., pretty nice → very nice)
really	very, certainly, definitely
really big	considerable, very large
right	correct; honest, ethical
sick	ill
sick of __	tired of, dissatisfied with, annoyed by/with
smart	intelligent
stupid, crazy, dumb	ill-advised, lacking judgment, misguided, questionable, foolish, unwise, mistaken
tiny	small, very small, minute
whole	entire, complete
worse	inferior
wrong	incorrect; unethical, unjust, unfair, immoral, objectionable

Continuously vs. continually

Continuously refers to one constant state or activity that continuous without interruption. Continually refers to multiple actions in one process, or multiple instances of one state, or an action that is sometimes interrupted but continues. Sometimes they are somewhat interchangeable with only that slight difference in nuance.

• The angry couple argued continually / continuously through the night. (Similar meaning, different nuance; continually suggests one long, unending argument, while continuously implies an unending set of arguments, or multiple instances with breaks in between, that form a whole period of arguing.)

6 Transitional / connector expressions

Some teachers claim that is is "wrong" to start a sentence with a conjunction. This is pedantic and prescriptive, and does not describe how good writers actually write. There is nothing wrong with starting sentences with conjunctions, and good academic and literary writers do so. However, overusing some conjunctions can make a paper sound informal, especially these high-frequency conjunctions and connectors; these can be replaced with others for more variety, better flow, and more specific logical connections among sentences.

1. But → However, ... ; Yet; In contrast, ... ; To the contrary, ... ; Although; Though; While; Meanwhile; Whereas
2. So → Thus, ... ; Therefore, ... ; As a result, ...; Hence, ... ; We thus decided ...

Ordinal transitions

It is not necessary to use the ordinal or enumerative markers First ... Second ... Third regularly in papers. Using them when the are not really needed can sound mechanical or formulaic. These are used when necessary, e.g., (1) when describing a complex process, or (2) when explaining ideas that are abstract, complex, or hard to follow. Also, writers should pay attention to the following style differences.

1. American style: First, ... Second, ... Third, ... Finally, ...
2. British style: Firstly, ... Secondly, ... Thirdly, ... Lastly / Finally, ...
3. Colloquial style: First of all, ...

Topic transitions

The following expressions are often used at the beginning of a clause or sentence for changing topics. They themselves are not necessarily informal, but can sound informal if overused.

• as for
• as to
• as regards
• as concerns
• concerning
• regarding

In essays and academic papers, they might be used to transition to a related topic, or a previously mentioned topic. Sometimes they can be deleted, or replaced with an appropriate prepositional phrase or other modifier.

• As for San Francisco, if the buildings had been built to code ... → If these buildings in San Francisco had been build to code ...
• As for the experimental group, no difference was found. In the experimental group, no difference was found.

Here are some other expressions that can sound informal, especially if overused.

colloquial	more formal
Actually,	In fact,
And (at the beginning of a sentence)	This can be deleted, or if needed, replaced with one of the following: Also, Then, Additionally, In addition
anyway, anyways	This is used informally for changing topics; in formal writing, simply starting a sentence with a full noun topic, or starting a new paragraph, will often suffice. Sometimes, if it used for making a contrast, it can be replaced with the following. still, notwithstanding, nonetheless, nevertheless, yet
ASAP	as soon as possible, at your earliest convenience
besides	More formal alternatives are ‘in addition to’ or ‘furthermore’ - e.g., “In addition to these factors, ...”.
first of all	first
in a nutshell	in summary, to summarize, in conclusion
in the meantime	meanwhile, in the interim
in the end	finally, at last
like	(is) similar to; for example, as, such as (As a connector, like can seem slightly colloquial. However, as a conjunction before verb phrases, or as a preposition, like is generally fine in contemporary formal English)
nowadays	currently, recently
plus	also, in addition, and, and ... as well, as well as
whether or not	whether

Here are some examples of the more informal like, and more formal counterparts. Here, the informal like is used as a conjunction.

• Don't do like what she did. → Do not do as she has done.
• Activities like smoking and drinking are not allowed here. → Activities such as smoking and drinking are not allowed here.

Some examples of like that are perfectly fine, particularly when it is used as a preposition.

• We don't want any characters like him around.
• She looks just like me.

7 See also

1. Easily confused verbs such as say, tell, talk
2. Colloquialisms