Formal register: impersonalisation, nominalisation and correspondence

What it is

Formal Spanish, the Spanish of reports, academic papers, official notices and business letters, has a recognisable style: it hides the person (se informa, cabe destacar), turns actions into nouns (el aumento de los precios), speaks as we even when one person writes, and follows fixed letter formulas, always with usted. You don't need to write like a ministry, but at C1 you should be able to switch into this register when a situation asks for it.

How to form it

When to use it

Impersonal constructions

se + verb in the third person removes the agent: Se ruega puntualidad. Se informa a los usuarios de que la biblioteca permanecerá cerrada el lunes. (In Latin America se informa que is also accepted.) cabe + infinitive introduces a point the writer wants to highlight: Cabe destacar que el proyecto se terminó antes de lo previsto. es preciso, conviene, resulta necesario express necessity without naming anyone: Es preciso que todos los documentos estén firmados antes del viernes.

Nominalisation

Formal prose packs actions into nouns: Los precios aumentaron → el aumento de los precios; decidieron cerrar la planta → la decisión de cerrar la planta. Support verbs carry those nouns: llevar a cabo una evaluación, realizar un análisis, proceder a la revisión. Use it to sound precise, but don't stack nouns until the sentence has no verb left.

The academic we

In papers and presentations the author says we: En este trabajo analizamos el impacto del teletrabajo. Como veremos más adelante…

Letters and emails

A Spanish salutation ends with a colon, not a comma: Estimada Sra. Rivas:. Keep usted from the first line to the last, including pronouns and possessives (le, su). A request after a conditional takes the imperfect subjunctive: Le agradecería que me enviara el contrato a la brevedad.

• Le escribo para solicitar información sobre la maestría en Gestión Cultural.I am writing to request information about the master's in Cultural Management.purpose
• Adjunto le envío mi currículum.Please find my CV attached.attachment
• Quedo a la espera de su respuesta.I look forward to your reply.closing line

Contrasts and traps

• No tú in formal correspondence. Le escribo, su solicitud, never te escribo.
• Querido is personal. In business, Estimado / Estimada.
• Colon after the salutation. Estimados señores:
• Don't calque English. Espero oír de usted pronto is not Spanish; say Quedo a la espera de su respuesta.
• Vary hay que. In academic writing, cabe, es preciso and conviene sound more polished.

If you speak Portuguese

The formulas run parallel, but the words differ: Prezado/a → Estimado/a; Atenciosamente → Atentamente; Venho por meio desta → Por medio de la presente; Fico no aguardo → Quedo a la espera; Segue em anexo → Adjunto le envío. Brazilian business email often uses você with clients; in Spanish formal correspondence the default is usted. And vale destacar is cabe destacar: Spanish vale means "OK" or "voucher".

Practise