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In English, there aren't as strict rules as there are for some other languages: Korean, for instance.
In English, it is considered more polite to not merge words when speaking to adults (for instance, "I need to" is more polite than "I needa". Mary gave a few other examples of popular English phrases that are often mixed.
Then, there is "thanks/thank you". Thanks is more informal, and can be used for adults, but "thank you" is more polite.
In English, there aren't too many rules about formalities: you say hello and hi to everybody, hey seems to be more playful. Also, yup is a bit informal. Yeah and yes area bit formal, yes being the most formal. They can be used for friends,too, I personally say yeah more than anything.
Really, that's about it. Other than that, to be polite, you use manners like saying thank you, you're welcome, so on so forth. Basically, being curteous.
I'll comment again if I remember anything I might of forgotten.