口语词汇和书面词汇对比.doc

口语词汇和正式词汇对比表a) 动词Verbs to use Verbs to avoid Commentsbuy purchase leave, go depart help assist need require ask for request start, begin commence live reside get obtain get, gain acquire watch observe please gratify Gratify and the noun, gratification are unnecessarily formal in speaking. For example: She accepted the gift with much gratification. Just say, She was very happy to accept the gift. or, She was very pleased to accept the gift. own possess To say, I possess a computer and many books. sounds much too formal. But the noun, a possession is normal, not formal sounding. fix repair Repair is a little formal. For example, “Im going to repair this broken chair” sounds unnecessarily formal but, “I got my shoe repaired” doesnt sound too formal. Why? Fix is probably more suitable when the item to be fixed is composed of simple, solid parts, like a chair and one part is broken. In other words, if something is broken, its suitable to talk about fixing it. But if, for example, your shoe is losing some of its stitching, we dont normally say it is broken. In this case, it sounds normal to say, I got my shoe repaired. want desire stop cease let permit tell inform The noun, information is not overly formal. answer, reply respond write to correspond with start again resume seem appear (a little formal) For example: You appear to be tired today. sounds formal. It is better to say, You seem to be tired today.ask enquire, inquire For example: I enquired if there was a room available. sounds unnecessarily formal. It is better to say: I asked if there was a room available. try endeavour think deem The word deem is very old-fashioned. It is not even suitable for the Writing test and is definitely unsuitable for most spoken language. would like to, want to wish to For example, “I wish to study in Britain” sounds too formal. Avoid this usage of wish. will, lets, should shall In England, “shall” is used in everyday speech with “I” or “we” but for other English speakers, the word shall is only used in formal situations or situations when one is trying to be exceptionally polite. If you know your examiner is from Britain, using shall to mean will, Lets . or should is ok. But if you know your examiner is not from Britain, I suggest not using it. (If . +) would(If . +) shouldFor example, “I should say so” when used to mean, “Id say so” (= I would say so) is overly formal. Similarly, I should be worried if I were you. is too formal. Instead, it is more normal to say: Id be worried if I were you.b) 名词Nouns to use Nouns to avoid Commentssome helpsome assistancea homea residencethe beginning, the startthe commencementa drinka beveragehigh schoolsecondary schoolThe words, secondary school might be used by the examiner but unless the examiner first uses it, you should use high school. (Middle school, a term sometimes used in the U.S.A., is unfamiliar to most British and Australian examiners.)peoplepersonsSaying something such as , five persons . sounds like officialese (公文体的文字). It is best to avoid this word. Of course, the singular noun, person is normalpeopleindividualsThe word, individual is normal to use as an adjective or when we are talking about a single person and emphasizing the uniqueness of the person or the character or personality of that person. For example, Hes a very strange individual. But I suggest not using it as a substitute for person when not emphasizing the individualistic or unique nature of that person.Using individuals to mean people is unnecessary and it sounds like officialese (公文体的文字).b) 其他词和词组Use Avoid Comments a)people say that . (many people say that .)It is said that .The example here, (It is said that .) is an example of using the passive voice (被动语态) of a reporting verb to indicate a generally held belief or opinion. Other examples are, It is believed . and, It cannot be denied . These expressions are used in very formal writing and are not suitable for speech, even educated speech. In general, English speakers try to avoid the passive voice (被动语态) whenever possible when speaking everyday language because it can sound too impersonal. (However, as shown below, there are occasions when the passive is suitable in everyday speech.)Ive got to . orI have to .orI mustIt is necessary for me to .This is similar to using the passive voice. Even though this includes the word, me it sounds too impersonal. b)a lot of,lots of, a large amount ofmuchThe sentence, “There was much snow on the ground after the heavy snowfall” sounds too formal. That is, avoid speaking much in an affirmative sentence (肯定句). I even suggest avoiding this usage in your Writing test because the Writing test is not as formal as many people think.Much used this way is suitable for a formal speech or formal writing. For example, here is a suitable but formal usage of the word much: We have made much progress in the past year. This sentence is suitable to use in a situation such as when a company CEO is making a speech to a meeting of company shareholders or when the president of a country is giving a speech to the whole nation.Your high school teachers told you there were only two choices, many and much but your high school teachers were not really teaching you spoken English - they were mostly teaching you written English because the College Entrance Exam has no English speaking test. A lot of is quite natural in spoken English and, lots of is also used although it is a little more informal.Although this usage of much sounds formal, the following are normal in everyday speech:Used in questions: how much?, Do you have much food at home?, Is there much snow on the ground?Used in Negative Sentences: (否定句): I dont have much food at home., Theres not much snow on the ground. YesOf course!For example, when the examiner says, “Could I see your identification please”, dont reply with, “Of course!” This sounds falsely formal and besides, it is not a true Yes/No question. whilewhilstwhenuponFor example, “When she entered the room, she . ” sounds much better than, “Upon entering the room, she . ” interesting placesplaces of interestPlaces of interest sounds like a written advertisement. (Its also overused in China.) Just say, interesting places or tourist sites if thats what you mean.Its immense.It is of immense size.Saying, be verb + of + adjective is formal. For example: Its of great interest to me. Better sentences are: I find it interesting. Or, Its interesting.On top of that, . orAs well as that, .orIn addition (to that), . (a little formal)Moreover,It is best to only use, Moreover in academic (i.e., formal) writing.So, . Consequently, . (a little formal)Those examples I have labeled as a little formal are suitable to use when you are speaking about deeper, more serious topics, using language that is a little more formal than when talking about more everyday topics. For example, in the following sentence, so is better to use than, consequently.Too formal = Ive been playing football ever since I was seven years old and consequently Im very good at it now.More natural = Ive been playing football ever since I was seven years old so Im very good at it now.But in the following example, consequently is suitable: Many new factories have opened up in China in the past few years and these factories play a crucial role in reducing unemployment, which is a serious problem here. Consequently, people tolerate the pollution that the factories produce because they think its an acceptable price to pay.For that reason, . orThats why .orso .Therefore, .(a little formal)Therefore is best used when speaking about more serious topics and especially when you have used the language of logic to come to a conclusion. Heres an example of an unsuitable use of therefore: I love singing, therefore karaoke is my favourite way to relax.A better way to say that is: I love singing thats why karaoke is my favourite way to relax.Or, I love singing so karaoke is my favourite way to relax.after that thereafterthat way therebyimmediately forthwithAs a result, . In this way, . Thus, .Thus is too formal for most spoken English and even too formal for most written essays. It is used mostly when coming to a logical conclusion when writing mathematics.So, . As a result, .Hence, .Hence is very formal and old fashioned, even too formal for your writing test (in most cases).Thats to say, .That is to say, .Not using the contracted form makes the expression, “That is to say, . ” sound like written English, not spoken English. The same comment applies to the four examples below, in most cases. Use contracted English as much as possible. Whats more, .What is more, .As aboveIts .It is .As aboveI cantI cannotAs aboveI dontI do notAs abovebecauseas, for since (a little formal)For example, “Im sitting for the IELTS exam as I want to study in Australia.” Or, “Im sitting for the IELTS exam for I want to study in Australia.” Its more natural to say, “Im sitting for the IELTS exam because I want to study in Australia.” Since is used more in written English than in spoken English and is therefore formal. However, it is not too formal-sounding when used in speech at the beginning of a sentence such as: Since Im still a student, I dont have much money for traveling. But when since is used in the middle of a sentence, it does sound unnecessarily formal. For example: I dont have much money for traveling since Im still a student. It is better to use because instead of since in that sentence.This is a rather unusual case of the shorter words being more formal than the longer word.Ive got a new computer.Ive a new computer.Using got with the contracted form of have is more natural spoken English and better, in my opinion, although some English speakers do use, Ive a new computer in everyday speech.from wherewhenceWhence is very old fashioned and formal and not even suitable for your writing.dont need to + verbneednt + verbAs with the Ive a . . . example above, some people do use neednt + verb in everyday speech but for many English speakers, including me, it sounds a little formal. Using, dont need to . sounds better. and these are: . (or similar words). as follows: .As follows is best used in rather formal writing, when listing or giving examples.Specifically say which one you mean, even if you have to repeat what you just said.the latter and, the formerThese are best reserved for rather formal writing, not speaking.Better to use words such as, (or) you could say or, Id even say . . . if you will.The expression, if you will is used in formal writing. It means something like, or this word, if you prefer to use it. For example, My mother is my best friend, my source of strength, if you will.A better way to say that is, My mother is my best friend Id even say, my source of strength.who . with who . to who . foror omit the word who completelywith whom to whomfor whomFor example, Shes one of the people with whom I live is too formal sounding. It is better to say, Shes one of the people who I live with. Even better is to drop the word who completely and just say, Shes one of the people I live with.Similarly, Shes the person to whom I spoke. is too formal. A much better way to speak is: Shes the person who I spoke to or, even better, Shes the person I spoke to.Natural spoken English is like this. We can omit the relative pronoun (联系代词) when that pronoun is used as the object, not the subject.But in the following sentence, we must use who because who is the subject: I know a man who has five children. In this sentence, who has five children = he has five children = the man has five children.Just omit, thatthat (联系代词) - a little formalAs in the example above (who), the relative pronoun that is often omitted in informal speech. However, it does not sound highly formal to include that when speaking. For example: Being a vet is something that Ive dreamed about all my life.A better way to speak is: Being a vet is something Ive dreamed about all my life.Even better is to speak more directly and say, Ive dreamed of being a vet all my life.Another example: Its the type of film that I like the most. A better way to speak is: Its the type of film I like the most.Or, more directly, I like this type of film the most. which . in. andwhich . with.in which andwith whichThis is similar to the use of by whom and with whom. For example, the following sentence sounds too formal: That is the city in which I was born. It is much more normal speech to say, Thats the city which I was born in.regarding, concerningas regardsThis is written business English.happysanguineThe word, sanguine has a formal, literary (文学的) feel to it. When speaking, the word, happy, optimistic or a similar everyday word is much more n