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Year 10 English — Formal and informal register

Choose formal or informal wording to suit who you are writing to.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.Match each everyday phrase to its formal equivalent.

    • find out
    • put off
    • ask for
    • get better
    • look into
    • put up with
    • investigate
    • discover
    • tolerate
    • request
    • postpone
    • improve

  2. 2.Rewrite "kids" with the more formal word.

  3. 3.Write a single formal verb that means "find out".

  4. 4.Which feature belongs to informal writing?

    • a) formal vocabulary such as commence
    • b) contractions such as don't and can't
    • c) long noun phrases
    • d) full forms such as do not and cannot

  5. 5.In a formal letter of complaint, which sentence is better?

    • a) I want a refund.
    • b) Give me my money back.
    • c) Refund me quickly please.
    • d) I would be grateful if you could arrange a refund.

  6. 6.Which greeting suits a letter to a principal you have never met?

    • a) Hello you
    • b) Dear Sir or Madam
    • c) Hey Principal
    • d) Hi there

  7. 7.Which closing suits a formal letter?

    • a) Later
    • b) Cheers
    • c) Sincerely
    • d) Bye for now

  8. 8.You are writing to a company about a faulty product. Which opening is right?

    • a) Hi, your thing broke.
    • b) Hey, fix this.
    • c) Your product is useless.
    • d) I am writing to report a fault in a product I purchased from you.

Answer key — Year 10 English — Formal and informal register

  1. 1. find out → discover; put off → postpone; ask for → request; get better → improve; look into → investigate; put up with → tolerate
  2. 2. children
  3. 3.
    • discover
    • ascertain
    • determine
    • establish
  4. 4. b) contractions such as don't and can't
  5. 5. d) I would be grateful if you could arrange a refund.
  6. 6. b) Dear Sir or Madam
  7. 7. c) Sincerely
  8. 8. d) I am writing to report a fault in a product I purchased from you.