American vs British English

Differences Between American and British English

While there are certainly many more varieties of English, American 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 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 color 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. Example 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 humored, 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
  

Once again, your dictionary should list whether the term is used in British English or American English.

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.

Spelling differences between American and British English
-or vs. -our American British color colour favorite favourite honor honour -ll vs. -l American British enrollment enrolment fulfill fulfil skillful skilful -og vs. -ogue American British analog analogue catalog catalogue dialog dialogue -ck or -k vs. -que American British bank banque check cheque checker chequer -ense vs. -enze American British defense defence license licence		-ze vs. -se American British analyze analyse criticize criticise memorize memorise -er vs. -re American British center centre meter metre theater theatre -e vs. -oe or -ae American British encylopedia encylycopaedia maneuver manoeuvre medieval mediaeval -dg vs. -dge (or -g vs. -gu) American British aging ageing argument arguement judgment judgement Other American British jewelry jewellery draft draught pajamas pyjamas plow plough program programme tire tyre

In British English, words that end in -l preceded by a vowel usually double the -l when a suffix is added, while in American English the letter is not doubled. The letter will double in the stress is on the second syllable.

Base Word	American	British
counsel	counseling	counselling
equal	equaling	equalling
model	modeling	modelling
quarrel	quarreling	quarrelling
signal	signaling	signalling
travel	traveling	travelling
excel	excelling	excelling
propel	propelling	propelling

Spelling of verbs

The first category involves verbs that use -ed or -t for the simple past and past participle. Generally, the rule is that if there is a verb form with -ed, American English will use it, and if there is a form with -t, British English uses it. However, these forms do not exist for every verb and there is variation. For example, both American and British English would use the word 'worked' for the past form of 'to work', and in American English it is common to hear the word 'knelt' as the past tense of 'to kneel'.

Base form	American	British
to dream	dreamed	dreamt
to leap	leaped	leapt
to learn	leareded	learnt

base form vs. -ed

The second category of difference includes verbs that use either the base form of the verb or the -ed ending for the simple past.

Base form	American	British
to fit	fit	fitted
to forecast	forecast	forecasted
to wed	wed	wedded

irregular vs. -ed

The third category of difference includes verbs that have either an irregular spelling or the -ed ending for the simple past.

Base form	American	British
to knit	knit	knitted
to light	lit	lighted
to strive	strove	strived

So what does tall his mean for learners of English? In the beginning, unfortunately, it means a lot of memorization (or memorisation) and of course, a few mistakes. For spoken English, the differences are barely audible, so forge ahead and don't be too concerned with whether a word is spelled 'dwelled' or 'dwelt'. With written English, however, if you are unsure about the spelling, better to ask your teacher or look the word up in the dictionary and see what the experts say.

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