THE AMERICAN ENGLISH EXPRESS Chapter 8 page 1
or
This chapter provides alternative words for you to use instead of the slang and informal language that in generally is used in everyday speech.
These
are your tools!
Learn them well.
You will use this ‘do’s and don’ts’ list when you are proofreading!
The words listed here have been gathered from years of studying student difficulties. This list is not exhaustive (a complete list), as there are many more words that are problematic in the English language.
You
must work to own the alternatives to these common and informal words. For
formal speaking and writing, NEVER use the slang words and try not to use
the informal one-syllable words. One strategy is to use the slang or informal
words when you write your draft, but then, when you edit, to replace these words
with the proper alternatives.
I always require that my students continue to expand the “do’s and don’ts” list on their own. For your future studies, you should develop your own, expanding the list to include words that you come across and have learned to use.
You
will notice that many of these one-syllable words (such as ‘so’ and ‘like’),
have multiple (more than one) meanings. The fact that these words have many
possible meanings indicates that they are vague and imprecise (they are not
‘precise’ or not ‘exact’). You may recall that in Chapter I we discussed that
formal language is accurate, precise, and clear. This is because formal
communication must be specific in order to communicate technical, legal,
scientific and other complicated concepts. As you progress in your study of
English, you will learn more and more words and will begin to appreciate their
subtle (‘almost imperceptible’ or ‘very slight’) differences in usage and
meaning.
When dealing with words that have several meanings, you must use your reading skills to determine the intended meaning of the word when you read it. You must define the word based on the context. When writing, you must be sure that the way you are using the word in the sentence communicates the meaning that you intend. Larger dictionaries very often provide a sample sentence for each meaning of the word. These sample sentences can help you to learn how to use the word yourself. That is why you need to own these words, and why you always need to look them up!
Near the end of the chapter is a list
of words to avoid and words to use in their place. First, however, the words
will be discussed:
DO’S AND DON’TS LIST EXPLANATION
WORDS NOT TO USE IN FORMAL WRITING
#1: GET
(the past tense is ‘got’): Never, ever use ‘get’ or ‘got’ in formal
writing and speaking. 
The verb ‘to get’ is one of the worst offenders. This little word has so many meanings that we use it constantly. A good exercise for you is to count the number of times you here this word (and others on this list) in a day! Here are some of the most common meanings of ‘get’ and the formal alternatives you should use:
· ‘To get’ can mean ‘to obtain’, ‘to buy’, ‘to purchase’ or ‘to acquire’, as in the sentence:
Informal: “When shopping, please be sure to get the eggs for the cake.”
This informal sentence would be a formal sentence if the word ‘purchase’ was substituted for ‘get’:
Formal: “When shopping, please be sure to purchase the eggs for the cake.”
·
‘To get’ can mean ‘to catch’
or ‘to contract’ as in the sentences:
Informal: “When the ball was thrown, did he get it?”
Formal: “When the ball was thrown to him, did he catch it?”
Informal: “When she was exposed to the disease, did she get it?”
Formal: “When she was exposed to the disease, did she contract it?”
Notice
the word ‘contract’ also has additional meanings:
- as a verb, in addition to the meaning above,
- ‘contract’ can mean ‘to become infected with’
- ‘contract’ can mean “to grow smaller’, ‘to sign up’ or ‘to agree to’.
- as a noun, a ‘contract’ can be a ‘pact’, a ‘deal’ or an ‘agreement’.
· ‘To get’ can mean ‘to move’ or ‘to progress’ as in the sentence:
Informal: “You should really get out of the way!”
Formal: “You should really move out of the way!”
· ‘To get’ can mean ‘to become’ or ‘to grow ’ as in the sentence:
Informal: “When my child gets to be 12, I will tell him about the birds and
the bees.” 
Formal: “When my child becomes 12 years old, I will tell him about the birds and the bees.”
A student wrote the following sentence:
Informal: “One of the major problems foreign born individuals face in the United States is the transition of getting used to American customs and lifestyles.”
Acceptable: “One of the major problems foreign born individuals face in the United States is the transition of becoming accustomed to American customs and lifestyles.”
Better: “One of the major problems foreign born individuals face in the United States is the transition of adapting to American customs and lifestyles.” (Or the verb “acclimating to” could be used as well.)
· ‘To get’ can mean ‘to understand’, ‘to comprehend’, ‘to grasp’, ‘to follow’, or ‘to perceive’ as in the sentence:
Informal: “When the teacher explained clearly, the students finally got it.”
Formal: “When the teacher explained clearly, the students finally understood.”
· ‘To get’ can mean ‘to accomplish’, ‘to attain’, ‘to reach’ as in the sentence:
Informal:
“Students require time to study and get good grades.”
Formal: “Students require time to study and earn high grades.”
· ‘To get’ can mean ‘to find’, as in the sentence:
Informal: “When you looked for the book, did you get it?”
Formal: “When you looked for the book, did you find it?”
These are some the most common uses of the word ‘get’.
DO NOT USE ‘GET’ OR ‘GOT’ IN FORMAL WRITING OR SPEAKING!
NOT EVER!!
NEVER!!
Use the more precise (descriptive, exact) alternatives instead.
Copyright: 2004 English 4 All, Inc.