Differences between American and British English

1. Differences Between
American and British
English
ZulquernainHaider
Department of Microbiology and Molecular
Genetics

2. “England and America are two
countries divided by a common
language.”
~George Bernard Shaw

3. Content
Differences in British and American English
include
Grammar
Possession
Conjugation
Vocabulary
Spelling
Punctuation
Pronunciation
Dates
Compound nouns
Collective nouns

4. Grammar
British English American English
 Present perfect tense is
used to express an
action that has occurred
in the recent past.
Example
I have lost my key. Can
you help me to look for it ?
 Simple past tense is
used to express an
action that has occurred
in recent past.
Example
I lost my key. Can you
help me to look for it.
Present
perfect is also
accepted in
American
English

5. Difference involving the use of the present perfect in British
English and simple past in American English include
“ALREADY, JUST and YET
British English
o I have just had lunch
o I have already seen
that film
o Have you finished
your homework yet ?
American English
o I just had lunch
o I already saw that
film
o Did you finished
your homework yet

6. Possession
there are Two forms to express possession “ Have or Have
got”
 American English British English
I have not got any
friends
Have you got a car ?
I do not have any friends
Do you have a car ?
Both forms are
correct
But
Have got is preferred
in B.E
Have is preferred in
A.E

7. Conjugation
difference is in past and past participle
British English American English
Present Past Participle
Get Got Got
Burn Burnt Burnt
Learn Learnt Learnt
Smell Smelt Smelt
Spell Spelt Spelt
Spill Spilt Spilt
Present Past Participle
Get Got Gotten
Burn Burned Burned
Learn Learned Learned
Smell Smelled Smelled
Spell Spelled Spelled
Spill Spilled Spilled

8. Vocabulary
 Same word gives different meanings
e.g.
 Many vocabulary items are also used in
one form and not in the other
British English American English
Tight Fisted Angry , Bad humored
Mean

9. Vocabulary
 Difference in choice of lexical items
British English American English
Bonnet Hood
Boot Trunk
Lorry Truck
Angry Mad
Autumn Fall
Chemist`s Drug store
Cupboard Closet
Lift Elevator
Trousers Pants / under pants

10. Spelling
 Words that end in “-tre” in British English
end in “-ter” in American English. e.g.
 Some words that end in “-our” in British
English end in “-or” in American English.
E.g.
British English American English
Theatre Theater
Centre Center
British English American English
Colour Color
Labour labor
Can you give
an other
Example….?

11. Spelling
 Some words are shorter in American
English than in British English. E.g.
 Some words that end in “ise” in British
English end in “ize”in American English.
E.g.British English American English
Recognise Recognize
Patronise Patronize
British English American English
Catalogue Catalog
Programme program

12. Spelling
 Some words that end in “-ce” in British
English end in “-se” in American English.
E.g.
 Some words that end in “-yse” in British
English end in “-yze” in American English.
E.g.
British English American English
Defence Defense
British English American English
Analyse analyze

13. Punctuation
British English
Mr, Mrs, Dr,
American English
Mr., Mrs.,
Dr.,
Can you
explain the
Difference
….???

14. Pronunciation
 differences in both vowel and
consonants, as well as stress and
intonation. E.g.
British English American English
/ˈʃed.juːl/ /ˈsked-/
Schedule
British English American English
/ˈleʒ.ər/ /ˈliː.ʒɚ/
Leisure

15. Dates
American English
The Americans Don’t
use “article”
Example
My birthday is August
1st
British English
The English use
“Article” as well as
“of”
Example
My birthday is 1st of
August

16. Compound noun
British English
[gerund]+[noun]
Example
Skipping rope
Diving board
American English
[verb]+[noun]
Example
Jump rope
Dive board
What is
gerund….??
:-p :-p

17. Collective noun
British English
 collective nouns can take
either singular or plural
verb depending on the
context and the metonymic
shift that it implies.
Example
 "the team is in the dressing
room" (formal agreement)
 "the team are fighting
among themselves"
(notional agreement)
American English
Collective nouns almost
invariably take singular verb
forms (formal agreement). In
cases where a metonymic shift
would be otherwise revealed
nearby, the whole sentence may
be recast to avoid the metonymy.
Example
"The team are fighting among
themselves“
may become
"the team members are
fighting among themselves"
or simply
"The team is fighting."