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Formal and informal are of course not absolutely separate categories; there are varying degrees of formality, from the very formal (for example, a speech at a conference) to the very informal (for example, a conversation between close friends). Situations which have a certain degree of formality but not enough to be classed as formal can be called semi-formal. An example of a semi-formal situation is that of a student addressing a teacher in a conversation class. Since semi-formal is not treated as a stylistic category distinct from formal and informal but rather as an intermediate stage between them, words classed as either formal or informal may be used in semi-formal situations, but those described as very formal or very informal (highly colloquial) should be avoided.
The following table will show more clearly in what situations formal, informal and semi-formal style are appropriate.
Informal
— addressing friends and relations;
— addressing children;
— among young people, even if they do not know each other well;
— in letters to friends and relations;
— in dialogues between friends and relations, and any young people;
— in compositions and stories told from a personal point of view.1
1 This is the general, traditional tendency. However, the question of style in literary works is in fact more complex, since here the choice depends not so much on external factors as on the individual writer's creative needs. Thus a writer may choose any style which he considers appropriate to his artistic purpose, and change from one style to another in order to achieve a certain effect.
Formal
— addressing strangers and people one knows only slightly, esp. if older;
— addressing people who are more senior (eg at work);
— in speeches, lectures, papers at conferences, etc.;
— in business letters;
— in essays, articles, literary
narrative and description.1 Semi-Formal
— addressing people whom one knows more than slightly but not well, eg teachers, colleagues, neighbours;
— in letters to such people;
— addressing strangers of about the same age or younger.
As regards the illustrative examples in this book and the sentences in the exercises, the situation is given in brackets at the beginning where this is considered necessary. The use of a dash before a sentence (eg — There's a park near our house) to indicate direct speech also generally implies that the situation is informal (or semi-formal) and that formal style is therefore not appropriate here. Readers should naturally not assume from this convention (adopted for convenience) that the spoken language is always informal or semi-formal in style. It is clear from the above table that this is not so. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
COD — Concise Oxford Dictionary ї
SOED — Shorter Oxford English і see Sources
Dictionary J
affirm. — affirmative cf. — compare colloq. —colloquial eg (exempli gratia) —for example и e. (id est) — that is interr. — interrogative intrans. — intransitive neg. — negative no. — number p. — page pi. — plural sg. — singular si. —slang smb. — somebody smth. —something trans. — transitive
TYPOGRAPHICAL CONVENTIONS
Bold type is used for:
— head words and phrases
— important words and phrases discussed in the text (when given for the first time) and those to which the reader's attention is drawn.
Italics are used for:
— emphasis
— all examples
— words and phrases discussed in the text, except those in bold type (see above)
Quotation marks are used for:
— quotations
— meanings of words and phrases
Brackets within examples indicate that the word(s) enclosed may or may not be included. At the beginning of examples they specify the situation where necessary. After examples they include explanations or comments about meaning or style.
An oblique stroke (/) indicates an alternative.
A dash (—) before an example indicates direct speech.
An asterisk (*) before an example indicates that it is incorrect. Accident, Incident
An accident is something that happens unexpectedly or by chance, especially something unpleasant, undesirable.
eg 1. Her father was killed in a car accident.
2. There was a serious railway accident near London yesterday.
3. He had an accident at work. A crate fell on him and injured his shoulder.
(Such accidents are officially called industrial accidents.)
4. — John's left the door unlocked.
— I'm sure it was an accident.
5« — Pm afraid I've broken a glass.
— Ohi don't worry. Accidents will happen.
By accident is used in the same sense as accidentally in such sentences as:
6. Our luggage was sent on to Rome by accident.
An incident is an event, especially one of relatively minor importance. It is not necessarily unexpected or unpleasant.
eg 7. There were several amusing incidents during the journey. In one of ihem Alan got off the train to buy a newspaper and nearly got left behind.
8. She told us about an incident in her childhood which had made a deep impression on her.
