Plain English → Posh English
| Modern English | Posh English |
|---|---|
| This coffee is really good. | This coffee is truly exquisite, I must say. |
| Sorry I’m late. | Do forgive my tardiness; it was most regrettable. |
| Can you send me the file? | Might I trouble you to send the file at your earliest convenience? |
| I’m hungry. | I find myself rather peckish. |
| That’s great! | How perfectly splendid! |
What makes English sound fancy
Posh English swaps short everyday words for longer, often Latin-rooted ones (buy becomes purchase, start becomes commence), wraps requests in softeners like “might I” and “would you be so kind”, and adds a dash of British flavour: rather, splendid, frightfully.
A word of caution for real emails
The Polite level is close to real professional English. The Lavishly ornate level is for fun: in a real email it can sound sarcastic. Read the result once before you send it.
Posh words and what they mean
- peckish
- a bit hungry
- splendid
- excellent
- tardiness
- lateness
- at your earliest convenience
- as soon as you can
- I dare say
- I suppose, probably
- frightfully
- very