British English and American English

British English and American English British people and American people can always understand each other – but there are a few notable differences between British English and American English Grammar Americans use the present perfect tense less than speakers of British English and a British teacher might mark wrong some things that an American teacher would say are correct. US Did you do your homework yet? Brit. In British English, ‘have got’ is often used for the possessive sense of ‘have’ and ‘have got to’ is informally used for ‘have to’. Brit. There are a number of other minor grammatical differences. Vocabulary There are a lot of examples of different words being used in British and American English. angry (Brit.) = mad (US) autumn = fall boot (of a car) = trunk chemist’s = drug store cupboard = closet flat = apartment lift = elevator nappy = diaper pavement = sidewalk petrol = gas/gasoline rubbish = trash tap = faucet trousers = pants Spelling US theater, center Brit. theatre, centre

American vs British pronunciation: 7 words to watch out for Americans and Brits. There are some things that we have different words for (zucchini vs courgette, stroller vs pram), and some words we use for different things (always make sure you’ve agreed on a common meaning of pants before you broach the topic). Some words we spell differently – the pesky ‘u’ to remember to add or remove in color/colour , for instance – and then some are transatlantically fine on the page, but the moment you open your mouth… not so much. We’ve picked some of the most common words you’ll find pronounced differently across the pond, whichever side you’re looking at it. Niche Niche can rhyme with ‘itch’ in American English, though in Britain you’d only hear niche pronounced to rhyme with pastiche or quiche. Vase In British English, vase is pronounced to rhyme with Mars. Privacy While the US pronunciation of privacy is gaining currency in the UK, traditionally Brits have pronounced the first syllable ‘priv’ while Americans have pronounced it ‘prive’. Buoy Zebra Route Clique

A (very) rough guide to America from an Englishman in New York | Paul Owen Scott Waters, an American, has caused a stir with a Facebook post sharing his observations from a recent trip to smalltown England. “People don’t seem to be afraid of their neighbours or the government” and “There are no guns” were two of his comments that seemed to help the post go viral. And pretty astute, I thought, was: “Pubs are not bars, they are community living rooms.” I moved from the UK to the US six months ago, and it’s true what they say: the portions are enormous; there really are 300-400 TV channels; everyone has beautifully white teeth; and nobody can pronounce “water”. But, at the risk of biting the hand that feeds me, here are a few other things I’ve noticed about the United States. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. • This article was corrected on 8 October.

Differences in American and British English grammar - article By Kerry Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield An article by Kerry Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield on recognizing grammatical differences between American and British English. Introduction 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. (ii) In sentences which contain the words already, just or yet: A: Are they going to the show tonight? 1. 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? 2. 3. 4. 5.

Differences Between American and British English By Kenneth Beare While there are certainly many more varieties of English, American English and British English are the two varieties that are taught in most ESL/EFL programs. Generally, it is agreed that no one version is "correct" however, there are certainly preferences in use. The three major differences between between American and British English are: Pronunciation - differences in both vowel and consonants, as well as stress and intonation Vocabulary - differences in nouns and verbs, especially phrasal verb usage Spelling - differences are generally found in certain prefix and suffix forms The most important rule of thumb is to try to be consistent in your usage. Use of the Present Perfect continue reading below our video Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% 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. I've lost my key. In British English the above would be considered incorrect. British English: