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Are the listed words colloquial to use while writing?

  1. I second this opinion.

  2. I reckon, it would benefit both

  3. Due to the non stop rain

Should we avoid using these in writing?

Can someone clarify? Thanks.

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  • In the US, "reckon" is considered regional (southern) speech. If you have a US readership, and the writing is expository in purpose, then "reckon" should be avoided.
    – TimR
    Oct 9, 2014 at 16:59
  • 3. should be written "Due to the non-stop rain..."
    – user3169
    Oct 9, 2014 at 23:26
  • I've edited your post for grammar and punctuation. Questions (and that included requests phrased as questions such as "Can someone clarify?") should always terminate in question marks ("?"). We say "in writing" or "in written English", not "in written". Oct 14, 2014 at 4:27

2 Answers 2

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A lot of people automatically think of written language as more formal than speech. But the divide is not between oral and written, but between formal and informal. There are a lot of examples of both formal speech and informal writing style. The three phrases you supply are all acceptable in informal communication, whether written or spoken, with minor corrections:

I second this opinion.

I reckon it would benefit both.

Due to the non-stop OR nonstop rain.

The first sentence is also useful for formal communication, oral or written. Of course, people have different definitions of formal and different ideas of when particular words are acceptable, so--as we say--your mileage may vary. I.e., other people may have a different opinion, I reckon.

Note if you begin a sentence with I reckon, I said, I heard, etc. you do not need a comma, but if you end the sentence with the words, use a comma:

I reckon it would benefit both.
I said it would benefit both.
I heard it would benefit both.

It would benefit both, I reckon.
It would benefit both, I said.
It would benefit both, I heard.

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If you want to find whether a word is formal, informal or colloquial, you can look up the word in any dictionary of colloquial words. According to Urban Dictionary:colloquial, second (support officially) is formal, reckon (believe) and non stop are colloquial.

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  • There are formal idioms that use "reckon" and "non-stop". For example, "A day of reckoning", and "a non-stop flight".
    – Jasper
    Oct 14, 2014 at 4:08
  • Jasper, I agree but I limited my answer to the context of the sentences presented. Thanks.
    – Khan
    Oct 14, 2014 at 7:52

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