Verbs to use

Verbs to avoid

         Comments

buy

purchase

Using "purchase" as a noun is everyday English such as, "I made a new purchase today" but using it as a verb is best used for more formal situations such as letters or documents in a business situation. It's unnecessary to use it as a verb in the IELTS test and does not impress examiners as much as you might think!

leave, go

depart

help

assist

need

require

start, begin

commence

live

reside

get

obtain

fix

repair

"Repair" is a little formal. For example, “I'm going to repair this broken chair” sounds unnecessarily formal but, “I got my shoe repaired” doesn't 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', it's suitable to talk about 'fixing' it. But if, for example, your shoe is losing some of its stitching, we don't normally say it is 'broken'. In this case, it sounds normal to say, "I got my shoe repaired".

want

desire

stop

cease

let

permit

For example,  “My parents don't permit me to stay out late at night” sounds too formal.

tell

inform

The noun, 'information' is not overly formal. 

answer, reply

respond

start again

resume

seem

appear (a little formal)

For example: "You appear to be tired today." sounds a little 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." 

would like to, want to

wish to

For example, “I wish to study in Britain” sounds too formal.  

will, let’s, 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", "Let's ..." or "should" is ok. But if you know your examiner is not from Britain, I suggest not using it.

Similarly, "I should be worried if I were you." is too formal. Instead, it is more normal to say: "I'd be worried if I were you."

Nouns to use

Nouns to avoid

Comments

('Middle school', a term sometimes used in the U.S.A., is unfamiliar to most British and Australian examiners.)

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).

Use

 Avoid

Comments

(many people say that ...)

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 and may, in fact, be the only choice.) 

Instead of using the passive voice, you should try to speak personally, especially when you are talking about yourself. For example, the following sentence sounds unnecessarily formal: "I live near an airport and passing planes can be heard night and day." (From "New Concept") A much more natural way to say that is: "I live near an airport and I (can) hear passing planes night and day."

"Speaking personally" does not just mean using, "I" or "my" – it means saying who did the action of the verb and includes using, "you", "he", "she", "they", the actual name of the person or, as in the example shown here, "People" or "Many people" etc. When you are talking about someone who you know personally, you should especially try to speak personally, not impersonally.

When the Passive Voice is Suitable

The passive voice is most suitable to use when you don't know who did the action, or when who did the action is not important, such as when talking about when something was built. For example, it's suitable to say, "It was built during the Ming Dynasty, about four hundred years ago."

It is also quite suitable when you do know who did the action but when the verb is a creative activity such as 'build', 'make', 'invent', 'compose' or 'write'. For example, the following sentences are normal spoken English: "It was composed by Mozart.", "It was invented by Thomas Edison." and, "It was written by Lu Xun." Saying something like, "Mozart composed it" is not actually 'wrong' but it sounds like Mozart is a friend of yours.

However, if the person is someone close to you, it is much more suitable to speak personally. For example, the following sentence sounds a too impersonal when talking about your grandmother: "It was made by my grandmother." It is better to just say: "My grandmother made it."

I've got to ...

or

I have to ...

or

I must

It is necessary for me to ...

This is similar to using the passive voice. Even though this includes the word, "me" it sounds too impersonal.

The sentence, “There was much snow on the ground after the heavy snowfall” sounds much too formal. Native English speakers do not say such a thing in normal speech or use it in normal writing.

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 (very) 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 giving 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 (in China) 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 don't have much food at home.",  "There's not much snow on the ground."

For example, when the examiner says, “Could I see your identification please”, don't reply with, “Of course!” This sounds falsely formal. It's an attempt to sound polite. Besides, it is not a true 'Yes/No' question. See HERE and HERE for more on this.

or

As well as that, ...

or

In addition (to that), ... (a little formal)

Consequently, .... (a little formal) 

For example, in the following sentence, 'so' is better to use than, 'consequently'. 

Too formal = "I've been playing football ever since I was seven years old and consequently I'm very good at it now." 

More natural = "I've been playing football ever since I was seven years old so I'm 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 it's an acceptable price to pay."

or

That's why ...

or

so ...

Here's 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 – that's why karaoke is my favourite way to relax." 

Or, "I love singing so karaoke is my favourite way to relax."

In this way, ...

As a result, ...  

Use contracted English as much as possible when speaking. 

because

as, for

since (a little formal)

For example, “I’m sitting for the IELTS exam as I want to study in Australia.” Or, “I’m sitting for the IELTS exam for I want to study in Australia.”

It’s more natural to say, “I’m 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 I'm still a student, I don't have much money for traveling." But when "since" is used in the middle of a sentence, it does sound unnecessarily formal. For example: "I don't have much money for traveling since I'm 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.

(or similar words)

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 –  I'd even say, my source of strength." Or, "My mother is my best friend, even my source of strength."

who ... to

who ... for

or omit the word "who" completely

to whom

for whom 

Even better is to drop the word "who" completely and just say, "She's one of the people I live with." 

Similarly, "She's the person to whom I spoke." is ridiculously too formal. A much better way to speak is: "She's the person who I spoke to" or, even better, "She's 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. In that example, "I" is the subject, doing the action of the verb, and "who" or "whom" represent the objects that received the action of the verb, "spoke".

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".  (See HERE for more on this.)

For example: "Being a vet is something that I've dreamed about all my life." 

A slightly better (more informal) way to speak is: "Being a vet is something I've dreamed about all my life." 

Even better is to speak more directly and say, "I've dreamed of being a vet all my life."

Another example: "It's the type of film that I like the most." A better way to speak is: "It's the type of film I like the most." Or, more directly, "I like this type of film the most."

and

which ... with.

and 

with which

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, "That's the city which I was born in."

Even more natural in spoken English is to change the words, "when sitting" to, "when you're sitting" or, "when you sit": "You feel more relaxed when you're sitting in a quiet park, away from the hustle and bustle of the city." 

Or, "People feel more relaxed when (they're) sitting in a quiet park, away from the hustle and bustle of the city."

This is another example of using the passive voice when it is more suitable to speak personally.

On the other hand, the following are examples of natural, everyday speech: "I especially need to concentrate when I'm engaged in doing some complex task," and, "I can see two people over there engaged in conversation." Here, the words, "engaged in" conveys a meaning of "(deeply) involved in" or "(deeply) involved with", not simply "doing"

alright or, OK

in order

For example: "Everything was in order" sounds like 'officialese' (公文体的文字). Just say, "Everything was alright" or, "Everything was OK" or some other everyday words to describe the specific situations such as, "Everything was just as I had left it."

If you speak or write several examples of unnecessarily formal language then using "sufficient" will add to that impression but if most of your language is normal, everyday English then using "sufficient" should be OK.

If you use it in the speaking test, the examiner will probably think, "That's a good word but it seems like this candidate learned her English more from reading newspaper articles than from everyday conversation." 

I would think twice about giving someone Band 8 (for the whole speaking test) if they used this word but Band 7.5 or 7.0 are possible. However, if the candidate uses A LOT of formal language, I might think of only giving him or her Band 6 or 7 (for the vocabulary sub-score.)