KS2 Formal and Informal English: Vocabulary, Subjunctive, Synonyms and Prefixes

By Year 6, pupils are expected to know that English changes with the situation. A chat with a friend and a letter to a head teacher use different words and different grammar. The national curriculum sets this out for Year 6. Pupils should know the difference between vocabulary typical of informal speech and vocabulary for formal speech and writing (find out – discover, ask for – request, go in – enter), and between informal structures such as question tags and formal ones such as the subjunctive. The Key Stage 2 grammar, punctuation and spelling test regularly asks pupils to pick the most formal option or to recognise a subjunctive. This material practises both, together with the vocabulary work on synonyms, antonyms and prefixes that sits in the same part of the test.

It is based on the Year 6 content of the national curriculum grammar appendix and its glossary, and on the vocabulary and formality areas of the Key Stage 2 test framework. You learn to replace chatty phrases with precise formal verbs and to spot the features that make a sentence informal: contractions, question tags, slang and fillers. You also practise the formal structures. These are the subjunctive after verbs such as insist and require ('The coach insists that every player be on time'), the very formal 'Were they to arrive late, …', and the passive used to make notices and letters impersonal ('Food and drink must not be consumed in the library'). The vocabulary part covers synonyms and antonyms and the meanings of the prefixes dis-, mis-, re-, de-, over-, anti-, super- and auto-.

The quiz has twelve questions with original sentences. You choose formal replacements, pick the most formal sentence or notice, identify a subjunctive and a question tag, complete a very formal structure, and choose synonyms, antonyms and prefixes. Each answer explains what makes the choice formal or informal. The flashcards pair informal phrases with formal words and summarise the features of each register. In the practice exam, the examiner gives you informal sentences to make formal, asks you to spot a subjunctive or a question tag and to find words by meaning, one question at a time, with brief feedback at the end. The printable written sheet asks you to rewrite a chatty message as a formal letter, find formal words and use subjunctive forms. You also rewrite sentences in the passive, give synonyms and antonyms, build words with prefixes, and write the same request twice, once informally and once formally.

Informal English is not treated as wrong. The aim is to choose the right register for the purpose and audience, which is what both the test and good writing require. The subjunctive 'If I were you' is practised in the verbs and tenses material of this category, so this one concentrates on the other formal forms.

• Replace informal words and phrases with formal vocabulary (discover, request, enter, require)
• Recognise informal structures such as contractions and question tags
• Recognise and use subjunctive forms in very formal writing ('that every player be', 'Were they to…')
• Use the passive to make notices and letters impersonal and formal
• Choose synonyms and antonyms and explain how prefixes such as dis-, mis-, de-, over-, anti- and auto- change meaning

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the national curriculum in England: English Appendix 2 – Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation (DfE, 2013), Year 6 word and sentence content (formal and informal vocabulary and structures, question tags, subjunctive forms, the passive, synonyms and antonyms) and prefixes from Years 1–5, with its glossary, and on the Key Stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test framework (STA, 2016 onwards), content domain G6.1, G6.2 and G7.2–G7.4.