British Vs American English

British vs American English

Grammar

The differences in American and British grammar are as small and few as holds true for both versions of their lexicon. Still, here are some of them:

Use of the Present Perfect
In British English the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment. For example:
"She’s lost her purse. Can you help her look for it?"
In American English the following is also possible:
"She lost her key. Can you help her look for it?"
In British English the above would be considered incorrect. However, both forms are generally accepted in standard American English. Other differences involving the use of the present perfect in British English and simple past in American English include "already", "just" and "yet".
British English:
"I’ve just received an email."
"I’ve already answered it."
"Have you completed your article yet? "
American English:
"I just received an email." OR "I’ve just received an email."
"I’ve already answered it." OR "I already answered it."
"Have you completed your article yet?" OR "Did you complete your article yet?"
Possession
There are two forms to express possession in English. -- "have" or "have got"
"Do you have a computer?" "Have you got a computer?" "She hasn’t got any hobbies." "She doesn’t have any hobbies." "She has an interesting new book." "She’s got an interesting new book."
While both forms are correct (and accepted in both British and American English), "have got" ("have you got", "he hasn’t got", etc.) is generally the preferred form in British English while most speakers of American English use the "have" ("do you have", "he doesn’t have" etc.)
Present Progressive (also known as Present Continuous)
There are some verbs in British English that cannot be used in the Present Progressive while in American English they can. Here are two examples:
British English
"I like this conversation more and more."
American English
"I’m liking this conversation more and more."
British English
"I remember that quite clearly."
American English
"I’m remembering that quite clearly."
Adverbs
Americans tend to use adjectives instead of adverbs. Instead of "That’s really good" you might hear them say "That’s real good" or instead of "I’m doing very well" they say "I’m doing pretty good".

Here are some more examples:

British English / American English
He did that really quickly. / He did that real quick.
Let’s take things slowly. / Let’s take things slow.
Her car drives more quickly. / Her car drives quicker.

Plurals
There are a number of nouns that are uncountable (they don’t have a plural form) in British English while they do have a plural form in American English.

Here are some examples:

British English / American English
types of accommodation / accommodations
types of food / foods
a lot of fruit / many fruits
strands of hair / hairs

Conclusion
British and American English are more similar than they are different. New media and globalization enable more and more people to participate in an active exchange of ideas and experiences and therefore the geographical differences in the versions of English are becoming less instead of greater.

British vs American English

Tense Usage

Speakers of American English generally use the present perfect tense (have/has + past participle) far less than speakers of British English. In spoken American English it is very common to use the simple past tense as an alternative in situations where the present perfect would usually have been used in British English. The two situations where this is especially likely are:

(i) In sentences which talk about an action in the past that has an effect in the present:

American English / British English

• Jenny feels ill. She ate too much.
• Jenny feels ill. She's eaten too much.
• I can't find my keys. Did you see them anywhere?
• I can't find my keys. Have you seen them anywhere?

(ii) In sentences which contain the words already, just or yet:

American English / BritishEnglish

• A: Are they going to the show tonight?
• B: No. They already saw it.
• A: Are they going to the show tonight?
• B: No. They've already seen it.
• A: Is Samantha here?
• B: No, she just left.
• A: Is Samantha here?
• B: No, she's just left.
• A: Can I borrow your book?
• B: No, I didn't read it yet.
• A: Can I borrow your book?
• B: No, I haven't read it yet.

Verb agreement with collective nouns

In British English collective nouns, (i.e. nouns referring to particular groups of people or things), (e.g. staff , government, class, team) can be followed by a singular or plural verb depending on whether the group is thought of as one idea, or as many individuals , e.g.:

My team is winning.

The other team are all sitting down.

In American English collective nouns are always followed by a singular verb, so an American would usually say:

Which team is losing?

whereas in British English both plural and singular forms of the verb are possible, as in:

Which team is/are losing?

Use of verbs have and take

In British English, the verb have frequently occurs with an object noun which describes an action, e.g.:

I'd like to have a bath.

Have is frequently used in this way with nouns referring to common activities such as washing or resting, e.g.:

She's having a little nap.

I'll just have a quick shower before we go out.

In American English, the verb take, rather than have, is used in these contexts, e.g.:

Joe's taking a shower.

I'd like to take a bath.

Let's take a short vacation.

Why don't you take a rest now?

Use of auxiliaries and modals

In British English, the auxiliary do is often used as a substitute for a verb when replying to a question, e.g.:

• A: Are you coming with us?
• B: I might do.

In American English, do is not used in this way, e.g.:

• A: Are you coming with us?
• B: I might.

In British English needn't is often used instead of don't need to, e.g.:

They needn't come to school today.

They don't need to come to school today.

In American English needn't is very unusual and the usual form is don't need to.

In British English, shall is sometimes used as an alternative to will to talk about the future, e.g.:

I shall/will be there later.

In American English, shall is unusual and will is normally used.

In British English shall I / we is often used to ask for advice or an opinion, e.g.:

Shall we ask him to come with us?

In American English should is often used instead of shall, i.e.:

Should we ask him to come with us?

Use of prepositions

In British English, at is used with many time expressions, e.g.:

at Christmas/five 'o' clock

at the weekend

In American English, on is always used when talking about the weekend, not at, e.g.:

Will they still be there on the weekend?

She'll be coming home on weekends.

In British English, at is often used when talking about universities or other institutions, e.g.:

She studied chemistry at university.

In American English, in is often used, e.g.:

She studied French in high school.

In British English, to and from are used with the adjective different, e.g.:

This place is different from/to anything I've seen before.

In American English fromand than are used with different, e.g.:

This place is different from/than anything I've seen before.

In British English tois always used after the verb write, e.g.:

I promised to write to her every day.

In American English, to can be omitted after write, i.e.:

I promised to write her every day.

Past tense forms

On the right is a table showing verbs which have different simple past and past participle forms in American and British English. Note that the irregular past forms burnt, dreamt and spoilt are possible in American English, but less common than the forms ending in -ed.

Note that have got is possible in American English, but is used with the meaning 'have', gotten is the usual past participle of get, e.g:

American English / British English
You've got two brothers
(= you have two brothers) / You've got two brothers
You've gotten taller this year / You've got taller this year
Infinitive / Simple past
(Br) / Simple past
(Am) / Past participle
(Br) / Past participle
(Am)
burn / burned/
burnt / burned/
burnt / burned/
burnt / burned/
burnt
bust / bust / busted / bust / busted
dive / dived / dove/
dived / dived / dived
dream / dreamed/
dreamt / dreamed/
dreamt / dreamed/
dreamt / dreamed/
dreamt
get / got / got / got / gotten
lean / leaned/
leant / leaned / leaned/
leant / leaned
learn / learned/
learnt / learned / learned/
learnt / learned
plead / pleaded / pleaded/
pled / pleaded / pleaded/
pled
prove / proved / proved / proved / proved/
proven
saw / sawed / sawed / sawn / sawn/
sawed
smell / smelled/
smelt / smelled / smelled/
smelt / smelled
spill / spilled/
spilt / spilled / spilled/
spilt / spilled
spoil / spoiled/
spoilt / spoiled/
spoilt / spoiled/
spoilt / spoiled/
spoilt
stink / stank / stank/
stunk / stunk / stunk
wake / woke / woke/
waked / woken / woken

British vs American English

While there are certainly many more varieties of English, American and British English are the two varieties that are the most common. Generally, it is agreed that no one version is "correct"; however, there are certainly preferences in use. The most important rule of thumb is to try to be consistent in your usage. If you decide that you want to use American English spellings then be consistent in your spelling (i.e. The colour of the orange is also its flavour - color is American spelling and flavour is British), this is of course not always easy - or possible. The following guide is meant to point out the principal differences between these two varieties of English.

Use of the Present Perfect

In British English the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment. For example:I've lost my key. Can you help me look for it?
In American English the following is also possible:
I lost my key. Can you help me look for it?In British English the above would be considered incorrect. However, both forms are generally accepted in standard American English. Other differences involving the use of the present perfect in British English and simple past in American English include already, just and yet.

British English:I've just had lunch
I've already seen that film
Have you finished your homework yet?

American English:I just had lunch OR I've just had lunch
I've already seen that film OR I already saw that film.
Have your finished your homework yet? OR Did you finish your homework yet?

Possession

There are two forms to express possession in English. Have or Have got:

Do you have a car?
Have you got a car?
He hasn't got any friends.
He doesn't have any friends.
She has a beautiful new home.
She's got a beautiful new home.

While both forms are correct (and accepted in both British and American English), have got (have you got, he hasn't got, etc.) is generally the preferred form in British English while most speakers of American English employ the have (do you have, he doesn't have etc.)

The Verb Get

The past participle of the verb get is gotten in American English.

He's gotten much better at playing tennis.

British English - He's got much better at playing tennis.

Vocabulary

Probably the major differences between British and American English lies in the choice of vocabulary. Some words mean different things in the two varieties for example:Mean: (American English - angry, bad humoured, British English - not generous, tight fisted)Rubber: (American English - condom, British English - tool used to erase pencil markings)There are many more examples (too many for me to list here). If there is a difference in usage, your dictionary will note the different meanings in its definition of the term. Many vocabulary items are also used in one form and not in the other. One of the best examples of this is the terminology used for automobiles.

American English - hood / British English - bonnet
American English - trunk / British English - boot
American English - truck / British English - lorry

Prepositions

There are also a few differences in preposition use including the following:

American English - on the weekend / British English - at the weekend
American English - on a team / British English - in a team
American English - please write me soon / British English - please write to me soon

Past Simple/Past Participles

The following verbs have two acceptable forms of the past simple/past participle in both American and British English, however, the irregular form is generally more common in British English (the first form of the two) and the regular form is more common to American English.

Burn / burnt OR burned
Dream / dreamt OR dreamed
Lean / leant OR leaned
Learn / learnt OR learned
Smell / smelt OR smelled
Spell / spelt OR spelled
Spill / spilt OR spilled
Spoil / spoilt OR spoiled

Spelling

Here are some general differences between British and American spellings:
Words ending in -or (American) -our (British) color, colour, humor, humour, flavor, flavour etc.
Words ending in -ize (American) -ise (British) recognize, recognise, patronize, patronise etc.
The best way to make sure that you are being consistent in your spelling is to use the spell check on your word processor (if you are using the computer of course) and choose which variety of English you would like. As you can see, there are really very few differences between standard British English and standard American English. However, the largest difference is probably that of the choice of vocabulary and pronunciation