formal and informal

Status
Not open for further replies.

david11

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Tamil
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
In dictionaries we use, There is formal and informal written at the side of some words. Most of the words have no remark like that.

Can we use those words in our formal writings?

For example:

Some phrases.

1) Ask for some thing. - Jodie asked for a guitar for her birthday.

2) Grapple with something. - This is an issue that is being grappled with by the council.

3) Nail somebody down - He says he will come, but I can't nail him down to a date.

These are the examples from Oxford Dictionary, Indian version.
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
You should be safe to assume that unlabelled words and phrases could be used both formally and informally.

Having said that, #3 above is definitely informal and #2 is borderline in my opinion.

Rover
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top