Chapter 8 page 2

THE AMERICAN ENGLISH EXPRESS Chapter 8 page 2

DO’S AND DON’TS LIST EXPLANATION

WORDS NOT TO USE IN FORMAL WRITING

(Continued)

#2 ‘LIKE’: try not to use this word, which has several different meanings in English:

· As a verb, ‘to like’ can mean 'to be fond of', 'to enjoy', or 'to be partial to'

This is the only acceptable use of ‘like’ in formal writing, as in the sentence:

“The teacher likes that student most of all; she is the teacher’s pet!”

It is almost always better to substitute a formal alternative, such as:

“The teacher is fond of that student most of all; she is the teacher’s pet!” or

“The teacher is most fond of that student; she is the teacher’s pet!”

· As a preposition, ‘like’ can mean 'similar to', 'akin to', ‘approximating’, ‘reminiscent of’, ‘resembling’, as in the sentence:

Informal: “The little girl wanted an ice cream just like her sister had.”

Formal: “The little girl wanted an ice cream similar to the one her sister had.”

Formal: “The little girl wanted an ice cream resembling the one her sister had.”

In these two cases, and you must substitute more than one word in order to use the formal alternatives.

· As an adjective, ‘like’ can mean 'similar', 'comparable' or ‘approximately’, as in the sentence:

Informal: “She gave her a present like that.”

Acceptable: “She gave her a present of like kind.”

Better: “She gave her a similar present.”

· In slang usage, ‘like’ can mean ‘such as’ or ‘for example’, as in the sentence:

Informal: “The man went to the store and bought fruit, like apples, oranges and bananas.”

Formal: “The man went to the store and bought fruit, such as apples, oranges and bananas.”

Better: “The man went to the store and bought fruit, for example, apples, oranges and bananas.”

Do not use the expressions ‘sort of like’, or ‘kind of like’.

Use the acceptable formal substitutes: ‘for example’ or ‘such as’.

Never, ever, ever use ‘like’ to mean ‘for example’ in formal writing!

#3 ‘SO” is an informal word that has several meanings in English.

DO NOT USE THIS WORD!

· ‘So’ can mean ‘very’ or ‘extremely’, as in the sentence:

Informal: “The girl told her boyfriend that she loved him so much.”

Formal: “The girl told her boyfriend that she loved him very much.”

Informal: “The student studied so hard that he passed the exam.”

Formal: “The student studied extremely hard and he passed the exam.”

Notice, again, in the second example, that the substitution (change) is not merely one word for another. The sentence must be slightly altered (changed) to allow for (accommodate) the formal language. This is one of the changes that indicates that the language is formal. Sometimes one must use more words to express their thoughts in a formal way in order to be more exact and specific.

· ‘So’ can mean ‘an abundance of’ as in ‘so many’:

Informal: “When the student consulted the thesaurus for synonyms of the word ‘formal’, there were so many that she didn’t know which to choose.”

Formal: “When the student consulted the thesaurus for synonyms of the word ‘formal’, there was such abundance that she didn’t know which to choose.”

· ‘So’ can be informally joined with other words, such as ‘so that’ in the sentence:

Informal: “The hardworking students read all the assignments given by the professor so that they would learn everything required of them.”

Formal: “The hardworking students read all the assignments given by the professor to insure that they would learn everything required of them.”

Formal: “The hardworking students read all the assignments given by the professor in order that they would learn everything required of them.”

Formal: “The hardworking students read all the assignments given by the professor in an effort to learn everything required of them.”

· ‘So’ can be used to signify causality: it can mean ‘therefore’, ‘consequently’, ‘as a result’, ‘for this/that reason’, ‘thus’, ‘hence’, or ‘accordingly’ as in the sentence:

Informal: “The student was late for class so he missed the instructions for the exam.”

Formal: “The student was late for class; consequently he missed the instructions for the exam.”

Informal: “So, Socrates drank the hemlock rather than cease his pursuit of the truth.”

Formal: “Therefore, Socrates drank the hemlock rather than cease his pursuit of the truth.”

· ‘So’ can be used to signify causality in time: it can mean ‘subsequently’, as in the sentence:

Informal: “An agreement was reached, so the peace treaty was signed by the British and Americans, ending the revolutionary war.”

Formal: “An agreement was reached; subsequently the peace treaty was signed by the British and Americans, ending the revolutionary war.”

Better “Subsequent to reaching an agreement, the peace treaty was signed by the British and Americans, ending the revolutionary war.”

#4 ‘TOO’: Never, ever use this very informal word in formal writing for any of its meanings! This is an extremely overused adverb with many meanings:

· ‘Too’ can mean ‘and’, ‘also’, ‘ as well’, ‘in addition’, ‘besides’, ‘moreover’, as in the sentence:

Informal: “Although she read the chapter too, she was not able to answer the questions in class.”

Formal: “Although she read the chapter as well, she was not able to answer the questions in class.”

· ‘Too’ can mean ‘very’, ‘excessively’, ‘overly’, or ‘exceedingly’, as in the sentence:

Informal: “The teacher had to tell the students the same thing too many times.”

Formal: “The teacher had to tell the students the same thing an excessive number of times.

NEVER USE THIS WORD IN FORMAL DISCOURSE!

I know I have repeated this several times, but students make this mistake so often that it bears repeating! ‘Too’ also appears among the dangerous homonyms listed in the next chapter.