informally

«informally» in Mova's school dictionary: In a relaxed, friendly, everyday way, not following… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

adverb (informally)

meaning for a pupil

1) In a relaxed, friendly, everyday way, not following strict rules or formal manners. tree →

2) Unofficially; not as part of an official process: they agreed informally. tree →

3) (language) Using casual words, slang or chatty style rather than formal language. tree →

sense in the lessons

In English lessons, pupils learn when to write formally (letters to the council, reports) and informally (messages to friends, diaries); register matters. In everyday life, «dress informally» means casual clothes; «known informally as» gives a nickname. Phrases: speak informally, dress informally, known informally as, informally agreed.

examples

• You can write informally in a text to your friend. tree →
• We dressed informally for the class picnic. tree →
• The Houses of Parliament clock is informally known as Big Ben. tree →
• The teachers met informally in the staff room. tree →
• «Gonna» is how people say «going to» informally. tree →
• They informally agreed to swap stickers. tree →

note

Adjective «informal»; opposite «formally». Informal does not mean wrong: «can't», «kids», «gonna» are fine in chat but usually not in exam writing. A big skill is matching your language to the situation.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «informally» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.