Question

read the excerpt from amy tans essay \mother tongue.\
i know this for a fact, because when i was growing up, my mothers \limited\ english limited my perception of her. i was ashamed of her english. i believed that her english reflected the quality of what she had to say. that is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect.
which phrase from the excerpt uses informal english?
○ \limited my perception\
○ \her english reflected the quality\
○ \she expressed them imperfectly\
○ \when i was growing up\

Explanation:

To determine the phrase with informal English, we analyze each option:

• "limited my perception": Formal, standard phrasing.
• "her English reflected the quality": Formal, proper structure.
• "she expressed them imperfectly": The use of "them" in this context (referring to thoughts) with the adverb "imperfectly" is less formal compared to the others? Wait, no—wait, "when I was growing up" is a very colloquial, informal phrase. Wait, no, let's re - evaluate. Wait, "she expressed them imperfectly"—no, actually, "when I was growing up" is a common, informal way of saying "during my childhood/adolescence". Wait, no, the options: Wait, the correct answer is "when I was growing up"? No, wait, no—wait, the phrase "she expressed them imperfectly"—no, wait, let's check again. Wait, the options: "limited my perception" is formal. "her English reflected the quality" is formal. "she expressed them imperfectly"—the structure is a bit informal? No, actually, "when I was growing up" is a very casual, everyday (informal) phrase. Wait, no, maybe I made a mistake. Wait, the key is to identify informal English. Informal English is more colloquial, used in everyday speech. "when I was growing up" is a common, informal expression. Wait, but let's check the options again. Wait, the correct answer is "when I was growing up"? No, wait, no—wait, the phrase "she expressed them imperfectly"—no, wait, the user's question: the options are:

1. "limited my perception"
2. "her English reflected the quality"
3. "she expressed them imperfectly"
4. "when I was growing up"

Wait, "when I was growing up" is a very informal, colloquial phrase. It's used in everyday conversation. The other phrases are more formal in structure. So the phrase "when I was growing up" uses informal English.

Answer:

D. when I was growing up