Questions tagged [formality]
This tag is for questions about formal (versus informal) words and usage. The question must identify a particular concern about the formality of the word or phrase at issue, and specify the target context or audience.
918 questions
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Need help with “who/whom” question [migrated]
_______ is the lady Jim was talking to?
a.) Who
b.) Whom
Hi all, may I know what is the answer to the above question? From my understanding of grammar rules, Jim is the subject and the lady is the ...
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'I('ll) bet': optionality of will
I bet (you) can be used in an informal style to mean ‘I think it’s probable that'
I'll bet... is also possible and, in an informal style, present verbs are often used with future meanings after I bet/...
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Is using "guys" to address mixed-gender groups still acceptable in professional contexts? [duplicate]
I often hear and read phrases like:
“Hi guys,”
“What do you guys think?”
“Thanks, guys!”
This seems common—even in formal academic or tech settings—to refer to mixed-gender groups or even entirely ...
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Is there a difference between “despite the fact that” and “although”?
In academic writing, I often see both “despite the fact that” and “although” used to introduce contrast or concession. For example:
Despite the fact that the method is widely used, it remains ...
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Preparatory it + -ing: informal
According to Swan's Practical (BrE),
When the subject of a clause is an infinitive expression, preparatory
it is common before be + adjective/noun, or with for + object + infinitive.
However, ...
- 4,151
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Specific phrase validation: ash vs ashes
This is a very specific question for native speakers. I have a phrase in some text I'm writing that says:
Born from ash of dying suns.
It's meant to be poetic and epic in a "conversation" ...
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'How': inversion in formal indirect questions in written
According to Swan's Practical,
In formal writing inversion is sometimes used with be in indirect questions after how, especially when the subject is long:
(302) I wondered how reliable was the ...
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What's the equivalent of "guy" for the female gender? [duplicate]
I'm Italian, and in my country, I can say "questa signora," for example, as a generic term, but in English, "gal" is derogatory, and I think I can use "lady" to show ...
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What is the level of formality of the sentence 'I can see it's a lovely place, too much hustle and bustle, though.'?
How formal is the sentence below? Is this structure acceptable?
I can see it's a lovely place, too much hustle and bustle, though.
The phrase hustle and bustle is not marked as informal in ...
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Is the pronoun "one" ever used in conjunction with contractions?
Now that I think of it, I've never seen or heard someone use "one'd" (One would, one did, one had), "one'll" (one will/shall), or "one's" (with the meaning "one is/...
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Is ‘drop by’ formal language?
Today I had a session with my Japanese language partner and she told me this:
After buying the present for my father's birthday, we dropped by at the bakery to buy cake.
I feel like drop by is ...
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Can one use "this" when asking a question about a novel one has forgotten the title of?
In a different community (Science Fiction & Fantasy) I have asked a "story identification" question.
I started my question with the sentence
I read this great novel about 30 years ago.
...
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What is a more formal way of saying "to the point of…"
I don't wanna make it worse to the point of destroying it.
Is this sentence grammatically correct despite the "wanna"? Is there a more formal equivalent of "to the point of"? I ...
user555414
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Formal written form for a 2x something? [closed]
In a sentence where I want to say a title or position that has been awarded twice, how do I phrase it? For instance "He was a 2x runner-up for the Champion title", would it be "two time&...
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Use of generic "one" without having to revel the gender
I want to say the following:
The more one knows about a subject, the more one realizes how little he knows about it.
I want to make it formal and general, thus my use of "one" instead of &...
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