Standard English
Know and understand the differences between spoken and written language — including differences in formality, register, grammar, and vocabulary — and between Standard English and other varieties of English, using Standard English confidently in writing and speech
What a learner can do afterwards
- Explain three differences between how we speak informally and how we write formally (e.g., contractions, slang, sentence completeness)
- Identify features of Standard English and explain why it is used in formal contexts
- Rewrite an informal spoken passage (e.g., a text message) in formal written Standard English
The lesson
You already know how to pick a formal word over a slang one. Now look at the bigger picture: the whole way you speak and write can change depending on where you are. Chatting with friends at lunch is different from writing an essay for school. Both are English, but they follow different rules.
Text to a friend: 'omg cant believe we got no homework 2day, we was so lucky lol'. Standard English version: 'I cannot believe we did not get any homework today. We were very lucky.' The formal version expands contractions, fixes the double negative, corrects the grammar, and drops the slang and abbreviations.
Standard English is the form of English with grammar rules that most people agree on, like matching a subject to its verb and never doubling up a negative. Schools, news reports, and job applications use it because it is the version almost every reader or listener recognizes, no matter where they are from.
Before you hand in formal writing, imagine reading it aloud to a head teacher. If it sounds like a text to a friend, swap in complete sentences, standard grammar, and no slang.
Standard English is the complete, standard-grammar form we use for formal writing and speech; informal speech bends those rules for friends.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.