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Differences between British and American English

Differences between British and American English

Vocabulary

The most noticeable difference between American and British English is vocabulary. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different.

Vocabulary

The most noticeable difference between American and British English is vocabulary. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different.

  Americans go on vacation, while Brits go on holidays.

New Yorkers live in apartments; Londoners live in flats.

Fortunately, most Americans and Brits can usually guess the meaning through the context of a sentence or most of them know the difference.

 

Britich vs American vocabulary


British English


American English

flat

apartment

lawyer

attorney

luggage

baggage

milliard

billion

taxi

cab

company

corporation

city/town centre

downtown

chemist’s

drugstore

lift

elevator

autumn

fall

petrol

gas

motorway

highway

cross-roads

intersection

post

mail

cinema

movies

trousers

pants

railway

railroad

shop-assistant

salesman, clerk

time-table

schedule

underground

subway

booking office

ticket office

lorry

truck

 

Collective nouns

In American English, collective nouns are singular. For example, staff refers to a group of employees; band refers to a group of musicians; team refers to a group of athletes. Americans would say, “The band is good.” or “My family in big”. But in British English, collective nouns can be singular or plural. You might hear someone from Britain say, “The team is playing well” or “The team are playing well.”

 

    Past tense verbs

You will also find some small differences with past forms of irregular verbs.

The past tense of learn in American English is learned. British English has the option of learned or learnt. The same rule applies to dreamed and dreamt, burned and burnt, leaned and leant.

In the past participle form, Americans tend to use the irregular verb got and gotten participle whereas a Brit would only use got.

 She’s got very thin

 She’s gotten very thin

   I have never got used to the noise.

   I have never gotten used to the noise.

 

 

Present perfect and past simple

In British English, people use the present perfect to speak about a past action that they consider relevant to the present.  The present perfect can be used in the same way in American English, but most people often use the past simple. This is especially common with the adverbs already, just and yet.


British English


American English

He isn't hungry. He has already had dinner.
- Have you done your homework yet?
- Yes, I've just finished it

He isn't hungry. He already had dinner
- Did you do your homework yet?
- Yes, I just finished it.

 

British vs American Spelling


British English


American English

-ll-
travelled
cancelling
dialled

-l-
traveled
canceling
dialed

-me, -ue
programme
catalogue
dialogue


program
catalog
dialog

-s-
organization
analyse

-z-
organization
analyze

-ce
defence
licence
practice
offence

-se
defense
license
practise
offense

-re
centre
theatre
litre
fibre
metre

-er
center
theater
liter
fiber
meter

-our
honour
labour
colour

-or
honor
labor
color

 

Writing the date

British: day-month-year

American: month-day-year

the Fourteenth of March, 2020

March the fourteenth, 2020

14th March 2020

March 14th, 2020

14/3/2020

3/14/2016

14/3/20

3/14/20

14/03/20

03/14/20

 

Not so different

British and American English have more similarities than differences. We think the difference between American and British English is often overstated. If you can understand the American English, you should be able to understand the British English.