Greetings! My name is Gina Mares, and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to this Oxford Online English video lesson.
Hello! My name's Gina.
Welcome to the class. Hey guys!
Gina here. Let's get started!
What's going on here? Why am I welcoming you three times?
In this lesson, you can learn about formal and informal English. You'll learn how to recognise and use formal and informal styles in your spoken and written English.
Look at three sentences: Could I disturb you for a minute? Can I ask you something?
You got a sec? All of these sentences have the same basic meaning——I want to talk to you and ask you about something.
However, the tone is different. Can you see how?
These three sentences show three levels of formality. The first sentence is formal; it shows politeness, respect and distance.
