Olibits / English / Formal vs Informal Language
Primary 6 English: Formal vs Informal Language Practice
Real Primary 6 English questions on Formal vs Informal Language, pulled directly from the Olibits question bank — the same questions a child would actually see, not separately written for this page.
Curriculum alignment
English Language Syllabus, Primary (MOE, 2020 syllabus)
Olibits is an independent learning platform and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ministry of Education. See our FAQ for the full breakdown.
Real Formal vs Informal Language practice questions
Mei Ling is writing a letter to her school principal to request permission to hold a bake sale for charity. Which sentence is more suitable for this letter?
Just wondering if it's cool to run the bake sale, thanks!
Give us the green light for the bake sale please!
I am writing to seek your kind approval for the proposed event. ✓
Hey, can I get the go-ahead for the event or what?
A letter to the principal calls for polite, indirect phrasing such as "seek your kind approval"; the other options are too casual and disrespectful for this context.
A journalist is writing a newspaper report about a warehouse fire. Which sentence fits a news report's formal, objective tone?
It was wild how fast the fire crew got that blaze under control!
Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze within an hour, preventing further damage. ✓
The firemen put out the fire super fast, it was crazy!
Those firefighters were absolutely amazing, putting it out in no time!
News reports use objective, formal vocabulary like "extinguish the blaze" rather than exclamatory slang such as "super fast", "crazy" or "wild".
Danish is writing a diary entry about spending the afternoon with his cousins over the weekend. In a personal diary entry like this, which sentence would he more likely write?
The afternoon was allocated to social interaction with my cousins.
Today was awesome - I hung out with my cousins the whole afternoon! ✓
On this day, I engaged in leisure activities with my extended family members.
This day was spent in the company of my relatives, engaging in recreational pursuits.
A diary is a personal, informal space, so natural expressions like "awesome" and "hung out" fit better than stiff, formal phrasing.
You are emailing a company to complain about a faulty product. Which opening is more appropriate?
Your product is totally rubbish and I want my money back now!
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with a product I recently purchased. ✓
Formal complaint emails state the issue politely and clearly, even when the customer is unhappy, rather than using rude or emotional language.