Essential Formal English Vocabulary and Expressions

Hi and welcome back to Love English i'm Leila and  in today's lesson we are going to be focusing on   rather formal vocabulary and expressions yes  that's right today is all about formal English not   slang not neutral English but English that will  make a good impression English that will help you   stand out in a crowd. English that will help you  in an interview situation or just in general when   you want to make that great impression remember  formal english is generally considered to be   more polite as well so many of these expressions  these alternative vocabulary choices will help you   be more polite in various situations now before  we commence with the lesson i'd like to share   with you an amazing opportunity to help you boost  your english level in a very short space of time   our long-term and trusted partners lingoda  are bringing back the lingoda language sprint   this high-intensity language course helps you  achieve amazing results in only three months   online learning now more than ever has helped  students around the globe study english continue   their learning whether at school or university or  indeed even start new courses now lingoda is an   online language academy studying online with  lingoda teachers is an amazing opportunity   it's an investment in your future to help improve  your work prospects get that promotion you want   help you with your university or school work  or it may be that you simply want to boost   your conversation skills now as an added bonus  and exclusively for love english subscribers   i will be offering you three zoom conversation  classes for those of you who sign up to the ngoda   language sprint i will be doing a conversation  class at the beginning of the sprint in the middle   and at the end now why would i choose to do this  well not only do i want to reward your loyalty   to our channel but i'd also like to see for myself  just how quickly your language progresses you'll   just need to contact us with proof that you've  signed up to the lingoda language sprint using   our link and our special discount code win 20 to  save 10 euros 11 off your deposit now what does   this three month intensive language course include  well you'll be learning with native professional   teachers in small online classes of no more than  five people now let's look at the details and pay   attention for some formal language that i casually  drop in as i explain more the sprint will commence   on january the 15th 2021 and you can sign up and  register until the 28th of december this year 2020   now there are two sprint options number one the  super sprint where yes you will be studying for 30   lessons per month one lesson each day so pretty  intensive and if you feel that that is too much   then you can always do the regular sprint where  you will be having 15 classes per month that's   over again the three month period and again  only one class per day now with the super sprint   you can get 100 of your money of your cash of your  tuition fees your wonga that's not very formal is   it yes you can get 100 of your money back refunded  or more formal reimbursed with the regular sprint   if you attend all your classes you can get 50  of your tuition fees back reimbursed you just   have to attend all your classes all the agreed  classes that you schedule attend them and you get   well up to 100 of your money back you can  join or enroll on the lingoda language sprint   by clicking the link in the description  box and of course using our code again   win 20 to save 10 euros on your 49 euro deposit  and don't forget for everyone that uses our link   and our code win 20 to sign up for the sprint  you will be invited to three zoom conversation   catch-ups with me at the beginning middle and  end of your lingoda course for me to check your   progress and to show that lingoda really can help  you achieve amazing results in a super short time   right so on with the lesson let's get formal you  can see i've dressed a bit more formally for you   today words phrases expressions formal english  that you can use on a daily basis that will help   you in the workplace at university in formal  situations and help you make a great impression   right one to five greetings and goodbyes let's  keep it simple to start with so number one   hello hello nothing wrong with it perfectly  neutral high higher hey would be the more   informal slang but if you would like to be  a little bit more formal then why not try   good morning good afternoon good evening simple  but effective number two how are you how are you   now you could use how do you do how do you do this  is very formal i would say it would be used more   with people that you don't know that you feel are  in a more senior position perhaps so how do you do   less commonly used but certainly still possible  and a nice alternative to a simple how are you   how do you do how do you do in response fine thank  you yes no problem with that it's more neutral but   you could use very well thank you very well thank  you how do you do very well thank you number four   goodbye to say goodbye goodbye is perfectly  acceptable again however if you'd like to be   a little bit more formal maybe a little bit more  polite farewell farewell then it was lovely to   see you a little bit more formal than i would  usually use but certainly it is possible and of   course nice to see you nice to see you you might  want to choose it was a pleasure as always or   pleasure as always meaning it was a pleasure to  see you or it was wonderful talking with you it   was wonderful to talk with you i must be going i  must be going another alternative actually there   to goodbye right now looking at some common  day-to-day vocabulary we use starting with yes   yes now absolutely nothing wrong with  using yes but you could choose certainly   absolutely of course would you like to go out for  dinner tonight of course absolutely absolutely   does sound a little bit more enthusiastic  but all of these alternatives are slightly   more formal than the neutral yes no no now no  actually does have some negative connotations   it can sound quite strong quite hard so why not  try i'm afraid not i'm afraid not or i'm afraid   i can't or as an alternative to can't you can use  unable to i'm afraid i'm unable to help you with   your request i'm afraid i'm not free for the party  so i'm unable to make it number eight thank you   thank you i appreciate i appreciate i appreciate  your consideration i appreciate your gratitude   i appreciate your support you could also use my  sincere appreciation the noun or my sincere thanks   it does sound more formal and actually probably  more formal than the first example i gave you   i appreciate i appreciate your time i appreciate  your support help all of these are great examples   so i appreciate plus a noun whatever it is they've  done or my sincere appreciation my sincere thanks   my sincere gratitude you could say i'm extremely  grateful i'm extremely grateful for i'm extremely   grateful for your understanding so when we are  using these more formal alternatives to thanks   you can see we're often explaining in a little  bit more detail exactly what we are thankful for   sorry sorry nothing wrong with sorry good to  use it but if you would like to sound a little   bit more formal or indeed more polite  you could use one of two alternatives   i apologize i apologize for my behavior i  apologize for being so late or my apologies my   apologies both of these can be used on their own  or you could use them with a noun my apologies   for my lateness or my apologies for being late  for doing something that i shouldn't have done   my apologies i apologize number 10 you're  welcome you're welcome neutral polite but   a little bit more formal it was a pleasure it  was a pleasure you're not just saying you're   welcome but you're saying you were happy to do it  you enjoyed whatever it was whatever you helped   them with it was a pleasure now be careful with  these two wrong or using the word mistake wrong   the adjective mistake the noun both of these  although quite neutral can actually sound quite   strong quite hard a little bit like no instead  of wrong you could use incorrect incorrect   now as an english teacher i often have to explain  to students that they're not quite right and i   don't want to use the word wrong and indeed i  don't want to use the word mistake so instead of   wrong i would say incorrect or not quite right  and instead of mistake i would use the word   error error there's just a small error on  your homework you made one of your answers is   incorrect why don't you check it again so wrong  and mistake incorrect or error number 13 and 14   so boring good and bad good and bad two words two  adjectives that drive me crazy when students use   them because they are so so simple there are many  alternatives but to keep it really nice not too   complicated why not try positive good positive it  was a good experience it was a positive experience   you wouldn't necessarily use it to describe  something in detail for example the food was   good but you wouldn't say the food was positive  the same with bad you wouldn't say the food was   negative you might say it was not very pleasant  but alternatively you could just use the word   negative the adjective negative positive  negative when talking very very generally   when you want to go into more descriptions  of things then you might want to look more   carefully at the adjectives you choose  now on a similar theme expensive and   cheap very very common adjectives that we use  on a day-to-day basis but instead of saying   that was a rather expensive coat you could say  costly costly now costly obviously means it costs   a lot but it's a nice alternative so you could  say it was rather a costly meal not it was very   expensive sounds like you're complaining a little  bit too much there if you want to talk with rather   more flamboyant strong language but still be using  formal english you could use the word extortionate   the prices were extortionate it's a lovely  word it's a nice adjective but it basically   means exceptionally expensive when used to talk  about money now instead of cheap or low cost   you might choose inexpensive inexpensive again it  doesn't sound so oh i don't know what's the word   cheap is rather informal it can sound quite  negative so try inexpensive inexpensive i   think i think there's nothing wrong with using i  think i reckon is common english but more informal   alternatively in a more formal situation you  could use in my opinion or more formal than that   i'm of the opinion i'm of the opinion everyone  should have an education now the final one here   let let he let me go out will you let her help use  allow or more formal permit permit referring to   permission of course she permitted me to  leave class early for my doctor's appointment   right now number 19 as i'm sure many of you  realize and know phrasal verbs are used less   frequently in formal english there are of  course many exceptions for example carry out   research but as a general rule avoid them when you  want to sound more formal as an example you might   say to your boss i need to find out who's working  this friday rather you can use i need to ascertain   ascertain discover would be the more neutral  choice but ascertain is much more formal and   not necessarily polite but certainly it gives a  sense of seriousness to what you are doing we need   to ascertain who would be best for the role indeed  another example number 20 point out point out you   could use this in a more neutral way with show she  pointed out the mistake the error she showed me   the error or she indicated there was an error in  the report she indicated there was an error in the   report now of course there are many more phrasal  verbs in english why not comment below use a   phrasal verb and search for its formal equivalent  online you probably will be able to do this and of   course if you comment below use the sentence with  the phrasal verb and then the more formal verb   i'll be sure to correct it for you now number 21  it's not one specific word but we're talking about   plurals quantifiers rather than using tons loads  a lot even you could use much many or several   several i have tons of books on this topic at  home i have several books on this topic at home   so be careful what quantifiers you use often  in english we use very informal quantifiers   tons loads heaps but these are very  much informal using much many or several   will help you sound more formal remember much with  uncountable nouns and many with countable nouns   and several means well three or more 22 looking at  modal verbs now modal verbs we have many of them   but did you know that some are more formal than  others for example kurt is more formal than can   could you help me can you help me may is more  formal than might i may go to the shops later   i might go to the shops later and instead  of using should you should do your homework   you can use you ought to you ought to do your  homework remember after those motor verbs pay   attention to the structure that is the infinitive  verb after the modal verb or in this case ought to   go or to do the preposition ii could i use your  restroom please restroom a nice alternative to   toilet or bathroom i may schedule a meeting for  this friday what are your thoughts now number 23   this is a grammar point that i'm going to squeeze  into one minute probably less using indirect   questions indirect questions they really are what  they sound like it's basically asking a question   but in a roundabout annoying way really but it's  more formal more polite can i borrow that pen   would you mind lending me that pen could i borrow  that pen so indirect questions are really going   to help you sound much more formal and much more  polite in english could i just ask where did you   get that lovely top rather than where did you  get that lovely top would you mind telling me   where the nearest bus stop is rather than where  is the nearest bus stop indirect questions i hope   you agree sound much much more formal and polite  now number 24 this is something that really does   irritate me using text talk acronyms when you  speak or even in formal emails please don't put   lol if it's a formal email to your boss so as  an example acronyms that are commonly used lol   l what is it lmao laughing my ass off oh  okay omg shock horror rather than using those   acronyms just simply say that's hilarious that's  hilarious hilarious is a more formal alternative   to funny or indeed you could use how shocking how  shocking rather than i'm shocked so avoid acronyms   particularly when you speak and of course informal  emails text messages go ahead use them but please   remember formal situations don't do it right now  let's get down to some meaty vocabulary in this   second half verbs let's look at some very common  verbs and they're more formal alternatives i agree   i agree i'm in agreement i'm in agreement i  really think that girl needs more homework   i disagree i beg to differ i beg to differ i beg  to differ dogs are not better than cats start   begin or more formal commence commence  stop cease or more formal decision desist   desist hate hate i hate him i abort him aboard  loathe or detest all of those pretty unpleasant   of course hate not the nicest verb anyway so any  formal synonym is still going to be pretty strong   love i love or i adore i  adore the chocolates delicious   like to like i'm fond of i like playing tennis  i'm fond of playing tennis i like you i'm rather   fond of you i want i want i'd like i would like  or desire i desire remember some of these words   do have slightly different connotations so with  desire often it's maybe more romantic maybe more   sensual you really wouldn't use desire when you're  talking about food i desire a biscuit no you might   say i'd like a biscuit but you wouldn't say desire  in that situation and a great one need rather use   require we require your attendance at the meeting  today we need you to attend the meeting now some   common adjectives happy happy elated i was elated  to hear her news or overjoyed overjoyed sad   well you could use depressed depressed which  does indicate a stronger more long-term sadness   or despondent despondent i was rather despondent  when you didn't want to come to the party   angry angry you might use cross or much  better i like this one irate irate she was   completely irate when she heard the news annoyed  annoyed the children annoyed me or the children   exasperated me exasperated me i was so annoyed i  didn't know what to do or irritate i was irritated   to irritate is to annoy the verb but i was  irritated i felt annoyed tired fatigued   fatigued or weary i quite like weary i think  it's not too formal but just formal enough   i'm rather weary today after working so hard 39  excited excited enthused enthused or thrilled   thrilled i'm always thrilled to see her confused  confused perplexed perplexed i was perplexed by   her request and interested nothing wrong with  it perfectly good but more formal a little bit   more creative fascinated fascinated or intrigued  intrigued now remember i am using the ed version   of these adjectives so if you want to describe the  thing that makes you feel then you would add ing   it was a fascinating movie i was fascinated  and finally some nice formal adverbs some   lovely alternatives to common adverbs we use on a  day-to-day basis so carefully she worked carefully   trying diligently diligently she worked diligently  my favorite and one you'll often hear me use   rather than very rather rather it was rather a  lovely party she's rather nice isn't she 44 badly   badly you could use poorly he performed badly in  the test he performed poorly in the test rarely i   rarely exercise seldom i seldom exercise and  finally often often or often yes many of you do   question the correct pronunciation often is fine  with the tea or often so i often eat chocolate i   often eat chocolate or more formal i frequently  i frequently eat chocolate and there we have it   i think about 46 words phrases expressions  greetings that we use in every day english   yes you now can sound a little bit more  formal and of course if you did enjoy the   lesson make sure you give it a thumbs up  and i'll be making one very soon on formal   verbs i'll be expanding on this lesson and  adding to your formal vocabulary and don't forget   if you'd like to improve your vocabulary even  further use some of these words learn more formal   vocabulary and expressions then don't forget  to sign up for that lingoda language sprint   before the 28th of december and use our code  win 20 to save 10 euros on your deposit and   of course get the chance to have three zoom catch  up conversation sessions with me for those of you   that enter the language sprint exclusively  for love english subscribers thank you so   much for watching i look forward to seeing you  very soon with plenty more formal english bye

Channel: Love English with Leila & Sabrah

Views: 70,925

Keywords: Love English with Leila & Sabrah, Love English with Leila & Sabrah YouTube, YouTube Love English with Leila & Sabrah, learn English, love English, English, formal English, formal English vocabulary, formal English words, formal English expressions, English formal, informal vs formal English, formal spoken English, learn formal English, academic English, advanced English, advanced English vocabulary

Id: Oh1PtTb6Ifo

Length: 25min 8sec (1508 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 27 2020