American vs British English

14 June 2014 by Diane

American English is the form of English used in the United States.  You might be familiar with this form of English from American movies and music.  

British English is the form of English used in the United Kingdom, and some other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa...

American and British English have some differences in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, spelling and idioms.

(http://themetapicture.com/american-vs-british-english/)

Let’s learn about some of the differences...

SPELLING DIFFERENCES

• Most words ending in –our in British English (such as: colour, flavuor, harbour, honour, humour, labour, neighbor, rumour) end in –or in American English (color, flavor, harbor, honor, humor, labor, neighbor, rumor)

• In British English some words end in –re, while in American English these words end in –er.   For example, centre, litre, metre, theatre all end in –er in American English.

• British spelling often uses –ise or -se when American spelling uses –ize or -ce (ex. Organise / organize, realise / realize, recognise / recognize, licence / license, practise / practice, etc..)

• British English doubles consonants more often than American English (ex. Cancelled, counsellor, labelled, modelling, travelling, traveller…).  American English does not always double the consonant (ex. Canceled, counselor, cruelest, labeled, modeling, traveling, traveler, etc…)
  
• British english sometimes keeps the letter “e” when adding suffixes to words, while American English does not (ex. likeable / likable, liveable / livable, sizeable / sizable, loveable / lovable)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences)

PREPOSITION DIFFERENCES

• The British play IN a team, while Americans play ON a team.

• The British go out AT the weekend, while Americans go out ON the weekend.

• The British spend time with their families AT Christmas, while Americans spend time with their families ON Christmas.
  

GRAMMAR DIFFERENCES

• In British English the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past that has an affect on the present moment. For example: I've lost my wallet.  
  In American English, the use of the past tense can be used in this situation: I lost my wallet.
  
•  In American English, collective nouns are almost always singular (ex. The team IS, The government WAS, The committee HAS…).  In British English, collective nouns can be followed by either singular or plural verb forms. 

 

PHRASAL VERB DIFFERENCES

American: GET ALONG WITH                
British: GET ON

* Have or establish a friendly relationship with someone.

 

American: RAINED OUT                
British: RAINED OFF

* When an outdoor event is postponed or interrupted by rain.

 

HOOK UP

American: to engage in sexual activity—usually implies more than kissing or “making out.”

British: to meet or begin to work with another person or other people

 

KNOCK UP

American: to impregnate (make pregnant)

British: to wake someone with a knock on the door; to warm up before a tennis match

 

WASH UP

American: wash hands and face

British: wash dishes after a meal

 

American Word	British Word
bathroom bill busy call cookie counter-clockwise crib detour diaper drugstore elevator eraser fall flashlight flip flops french fries garbage gas guy highway line mail math movies / movie pacifier pants parking lot potato chips robe round-trip schedule sidewalk sneakers soccer stove stroller subway truck trunk undershirt vacation windshield	toilet note engaged ring biscuit anti-clockwise cot diversion nappy chemist lift rubber autumn torch thongs chips rubbish petrol bloke motorway queue post maths cinema / film dummy trousers car park crisps dressing gown return timetable pavement trainers football cooker pram / push chair underground lorry boot vest holiday windscreen