THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN

BRITISH AND AMERICAN

ENGLISH
(Semester Assignment)

By
ANGEL SIMANUNGKALIT

12 IPS 1

SMA NEGERI 2 TEBING TINGGI

2019/2020
History
https://www.britishcouncilfoundation.id/en/english/articles/british-and-american-english . At school. 11.45 am.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019.

The British actually introduced the language to the Americas when they
reached these lands by sea between the 16th and 17th centuries. At that time, spelling
had not yet been standardised. It took the writing of the first dictionaries to set in
stone how these words appeared. In the UK, the dictionary was compiled by London-
based scholars. Meanwhile, in the United States, the lexicographer was a man named
Noah Webster. Allegedly, he changed how the words were spelled to make the
American version different from the British as a way of showing cultural
independence from its mother country.
In terms of speech, the differences between American and British English
actually took place after the first settlers arrived in America. These groups of people
spoke using what was called rhotic speech, where the ‘r’ sounds of words are
pronounced. Meanwhile, the higher classes in the UK wanted to distinguish the way
they spoke from the common masses by softening their pronunciation of the ‘r’
sounds. Since the elite even back then were considered the standard for being
fashionable, other people began to copy their speech, until it eventually became the
common way of speaking in the south of England.  
Spelling differences
British and American English have some spelling differences. The common ones are
presented in the table below.
British English American English
-oe-/-ae- (e.g. anaemia, diarrhoea, -e- (e.g. anemia, diarrhea, encyclopedia)
encyclopaedia)
-t (e.g. burnt, dreamt, leapt) -ed (e.g. burned, dreamed, leaped)
-ence (e.g. defence, offence, licence) -ense (defense, offense, license)
-ell- (e.g. cancelled, jeweller, marvellous) -el- (e.g. canceled, jeweler, marvelous)
-ise (e.g. appetiser, familiarise, organise) -ize (e.g. appetizer, familiarize, organize)
-l- (e.g. enrol, fulfil, skilful) -ll- (e.g. enroll, fulfill, skillfull)
-ogue (e.g. analogue, monologue, -og (e.g. analog, monolog, catalog)
catalogue) *Note that American English also
recognizes words spelled with –ogue
-ou (e.g. colour, behaviour, mould) -o (e.g. color, behavior, mold)
-re (e.g. metre, fibre, centre) -er (e.g. meter, fiber, center)
-y- (e.g. tyre) -i- (e.g. tire)
 
Vocabulary differences
The Americans and the British also have some words that differ from each
other. The table below lists some of the everyday objects that have different names,
depending on what form of English you are using.
British English American English
Trousers Pants
Flat Apartment
bonnet (the front of the car) Hood
boot (the back of the car) Trunk
Lorry Truck
University College
Holiday Vacation
Jumper Sweater
Crisps Chips
Chips French fries
Trainers Sneakers
fizzy drink Soda
Postbox Mailbox
Biscuit Cookie
Chemist Drugstore
Shop Store
Football Soccer
 
Grammar differences
Aside from spelling and vocabulary, there are certain grammar differences
between British and American English. For instance, in American English, collective
nouns are considered singular (e.g. The band is playing). In contrast, collective nouns
can be either singular or plural in British English, although the plural form is most
often used (e.g. The band are playing).
 The British are also more likely to use formal speech, such as ‘shall’, whereas
Americans favour the more informal ‘will’ or ‘should’.   
Americans, however, continue to use ‘gotten’ as the past participle of ‘get’, which the
British have long since dropped in favour of ‘got’.
‘Needn’t’, which is commonly used in British English, is rarely, if at all used in
American English. In its place is ‘don’t need to’.
In British English, ‘at’ is the preposition in relation to time and place. However, in
American English, ‘on’ is used instead of the former and ‘in’ for the latter.
Final point
While there may be certain differences between British and American
English, the key takeaway is that the two have more similarities. Accidentally using
one instead of the other will not automatically lead to miscommunication. Americans
and Brits can usually communicate with each other without too much difficulty, so
don’t be too hard on yourself if you are unable to memorise the nuances of both
languages

https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/what-are-the-differences-between-american-and-british-english. At school. 12.00.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019.

If you’re not a full time editor, you may be asking yourself what the differences
between American and British English are. Well, Americans and the British clearly
speak the same language, but there’s enough variation to create versions of the
language with slightly different personalities and local flavor — or should that be
flavour?
Accent
It’s difficult to make clear distinctions between US and UK accents when
there is such a wide variety of accents within both the US and UK. A Texan and a
New Yorker are both Americans, but have very different accents. The same goes for
British accents in London, Manchester and Glasgow.
However, some very general distinctions can be made. Americans usually
pronounce every “r” in a word, while the British tend to only pronounce the “r” when
it’s the first letter of a word.
Spelling
American English British English
Color Colour
Behavior behaviour
Theater theatre
Meter Metre
Organize organise
Traveled travelled
 
Vocabulary
American English British English
Apartment flat
College university
Theater theatre
Vacation holiday
Chips crisps
(french) fries chips
the movies the cinema
soda / pop / coke / soft drink soft drink / fizzy drink
sneakers / tennis shoes trainers
Sweater jumper
Mailbox postbox
band-aid plaster
Drugstore chemist’s
Soccer football
Cookie biscuit
 
Prepositions
The differences below are only a general rule. American speech has
influenced Britain via pop culture, and vice versa. Therefore, some prepositional
differences are not as pronounced as they once were.
American English British English
I’m going to a party on the weekend. I’m going to a party at the weekend.
What are you doing on Christmas? What are you doing at Christmas?
Monday through Friday. Monday to Friday.
It’s different from/than the others. It’s different from/to the others.
 
Past Simple vs Present Perfect
Americans tend to use the past simple when describing something that has
recently occurred, while people in the UK are more likely to use the present perfect.
American English British English
I ate too much. I’ve eaten too much.
I went to the store. I’ve been to the shop.
Did you get the newspaper? Have you got the newspaper?
 
The past participle of get
In the UK, “gotten” as the past participle of “get” is considered archaic and
was abandoned long ago in favor of “got.” However, in the US people still use
“gotten” as the past participle.
American English British English
get — got — gotten get — got — got
I haven’t gotten any news about him. I’ve not got any news about him.
 
Collective nouns: singular or plural?
In British English, a collective noun (like committee, government, team, etc.)
can be either singular or plural, but more often tends toward plural, emphasizing the
members of the group. Collective nouns in the US, by comparison, are always
singular, emphasizing the group as one whole entity.
American English British English
The government is doing everything it The government are doing everything they
can during this crisis. can during this crisis.
My team is winning. My team are winning.
Regular or irregular verbs?
This is a subtle difference that can be easily overlooked in speech, but is much
more apparent in written form. Many verbs that are irregular in the preterite in Britain
(leapt, dreamt, burnt, learnt) have been made regular in America (leaped,
dreamed, burned, learned).
As the most-spoken second language on the planet, English has to be flexible. After
all, it’s not solely spoken in the countries we’ve detailed above. So whether you
speak English like a Brit or like a ‘merkan, this should not be an obstacle when
communicating with people on the opposite side of the pond, or anywhere else in the
world for that matter.

Comparasion of American and British English

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_American_and_British_English . At home. 08: 53 pm . Thursday , November

28,2019
Word derivation and compounds
 Directional suffix -ward(s): British forwards, towards, rightwards, etc.;
American forward, toward, rightward. In both dialects distribution varies
somewhat: afterwards, towards, and backwards are not unusual in America; while
in the United Kingdom upward and rightward are the more common options, as
is forward, which is standard in phrasal verbs such as look forward to.[5][6][7] The
forms with -s may be used as adverbs (or preposition towards) but rarely as
adjectives: in the UK, as in America, one says "an upward motion". The Oxford
English Dictionary in 1897 suggested a semantic distinction for adverbs, with -
wards having a more definite directional sense than -ward; subsequent authorities
such as Fowler have disputed this contention.
 American English (AmE) freely adds the suffixs
today, night, evening, weekend, Monday, etc. to form adverbs denoting repeated
or customary action: I used to stay out evenings; the library is closed Saturdays.
This usage has its roots in Old English but many of these constructions are now
regarded as American (for example, the OED labels nights "now chiefly N.
Amer. colloq." in constructions such as to sleep nights, but to work nights is
standard in British English).
 In British English (BrE), the agentive -er suffix is commonly attached
to football (also cricket; often netball; occasionally basketball and volleyball).
AmE usually uses football player. Where the sport's name is usable as a verb, the
suffixation is standard in both dialects: for example, golfer, bowler (in Ten-pin
bowling and in Lawn Bowls), and shooter. AmE appears sometimes to use the
BrE form in baller as slang for a basketball player, as in the video game NBA
Ballers. However, this is derived from slang use of to ball as a verb meaning to
play basketball.
 English writers everywhere occasionally make new compound words from
common phrases; for example, health care is now being replaced by healthcare on
both sides of the Atlantic. However, AmE has made certain words in this fashion
that are still treated as phrases in BrE.
 In compound nouns of the form <verb><noun>, sometimes AmE prefers
the bare infinitive where BrE favours the gerund. Examples include (AmE
first): jump rope/skipping rope; racecar/racing car; rowboat/rowing
boat; sailboat/sailing boat; file cabinet/filing cabinet; dial tone/dialling
tone; drainboard/draining board.
 Generally AmE has a tendency to drop inflectional suffixes, thus preferring
clipped forms: compare cookbook v. cookery book; Smith, age 40 v. Smith, aged
40; skim milk v. skimmed milk; dollhouse v. dolls' house; barber shop v. barber's
shop.[8]
 Singular attributives in one country may be plural in the other, and vice versa.
For example, the UK has a drugs problem, while the United States has a drug
problem (although the singular usage is also commonly heard in the UK);
Americans read the sports section of a newspaper; the British are more likely to
read the sport section. However, BrE maths is singular, just as AmE math is: both
are abbreviations of mathematics.
 Some British English words come from French roots, while American English
finds its words from other places, e.g.
AmE eggplant and zucchini are aubergine and courgette in BrE.
 Similarly, American English has occasionally replaced more traditional
English words with their Spanish counterparts. This is especially common in
regions historically affected by Spanish settlement (such as the American
Southwest and Florida) as well as other areas that have since experienced strong
Hispanic migration (such as urban centers). Examples of these include grocery
markets' preference in the U.S. for Spanish names such
as cilantro and manzanilla over coriander and camomile respectively.

Vocabulary

See also: Lists of words having different meanings in American and British

English, Glossary of American terms not widely used in the United Kingdom,
and Glossary of British terms not widely used in the United States
The familiarity of speakers with words and phrases from different regions varies, and
the difficulty of discerning an unfamiliar definition also depends on the context and
the term. As expressions spread with the globalization of telecommunication, they are
often but not always recognized as foreign to the speaker's dialect, and words from
other dialects may carry connotations (deserved or not) with regard to register, social
status, origin, and intelligence.
Words and phrases with different meanings
Main article: Lists of words having different meanings in American and British
English
Words such as bill and biscuit are used regularly in both AmE and BrE but can mean
different things in each form. The word "bill" has several meanings, most of which
are shared between AmE and BrE. However, in AmE "bill" often refers to a piece of
paper money (as in a "dollar bill") which in BrE is more commonly referred to as a
note. In AmE it can also refer to the visor of a cap, [9] though this is by no means
common. In AmE a biscuit (from the French "twice baked" as in biscotto) is a soft
bready product that is known in BrE as a scone or a specifically hard, sweet biscuit.
Meanwhile, a BrE biscuit incorporates both dessert biscuits and AmE cookies (from
the Dutch 'little cake').
As chronicled by Winston Churchill, the opposite meanings of the verb to
table created a misunderstanding during a meeting of the Allied forces;[10] in BrE to
table an item on an agenda means to open it up for discussion whereas in AmE, it
means to remove it from discussion, or at times, to suspend or delay discussion;
e.g. Let's table that topic for later.
The word "football" in BrE refers to association football, also known as soccer. In
AmE, "football" means American football. The standard AmE term "soccer", a
contraction of "association (football)", is actually of British origin, derived from the
formalization of different codes of football in the 19th century, and was a fairly
unremarkable usage (possibly marked for class) in BrE until relatively recently; it has
lately become perceived incorrectly as an Americanism. [citation needed]
 In international
(i.e. non-American) context, particularly in sports news outside English-speaking
North America, American (or US branches of foreign) news agencies also use
"football" to mean "soccer", especially in direct quotes.
Similarly, the word "hockey" in BrE refers to field hockey and in AmE, "hockey"
means ice hockey.
Words with completely different meanings are relatively few; most of the time there
are either (1) words with one or more shared meanings and one or more meanings
unique to one variety (for example, bathroom and toilet) or (2) words the meanings of
which are actually common to both BrE and AmE but that show differences in
frequency, connotation or denotation (for example, smart, clever, mad).
Some differences in usage and/or meaning can cause confusion or embarrassment.
For example, the word fanny is a slang word for vulva in BrE but means buttocks in
AmE—the AmE phrase fanny pack is bum bag in BrE. In AmE the
word pissed means being annoyed whereas in BrE it is a coarse word for being drunk
(in both varieties, pissed off means irritated).
Similarly, in AmE the word pants is the common word for the
BrE trousers and knickers refers to a variety of half-length trousers (though most
AmE users would use the term "shorts" rather than knickers), while the majority of
BrE speakers would understand pants to mean underpants and knickers to
mean female underpants.
Sometimes the confusion is more subtle. In AmE the word quite used as a qualifier is
generally a reinforcement, though it is somewhat uncommon in actual colloquial
American use today and carries an air of formality: for example, "I'm quite hungry" is
a very polite way to say "I'm very hungry". In BrE quite (which is much more
common in conversation) may have this meaning, as in "quite right" or "quite mad",
but it more commonly means "somewhat", so that in BrE "I'm quite hungry" can
mean "I'm somewhat hungry". This divergence of use can lead to misunderstanding.
Different Terms In Different Dialects
Main articles: Glossary of American terms not widely used in the United
Kingdom and Glossary of British terms not widely used in the United States
Most speakers of American English are aware of some uniquely British terms. It is
generally very easy to guess what some words, such as BrE "driving licence", mean,
the AmE equivalent being "driver's license". However, use of many other British
words such as naff (slang but commonly used to mean "not very good") are unheard
of in American English.[citation needed]
Speakers of BrE are likely to understand most common AmE terms, examples such as
"sidewalk (pavement or footpath)", "gas (gasoline/petrol)", "counterclockwise
(anticlockwise)" or "elevator (lift)", without any problem, thanks in part to
considerable exposure to American popular culture and literature. Certain terms that
are heard less frequently, especially those likely to be absent or rare in American
popular culture, e.g., "copacetic (satisfactory)", are unlikely to be understood by most
BrE speakers.
Other examples:
 In the UK the word whilst is commonly used as a conjunction (as an
alternative to while, especially prevalent in some dialects). Whilst tends to appear
in non-temporal senses, as when used to point out a contrast. In AmE while is
used in both contexts,[11] and whilst may even be unknown. Other conjunctions
 with the -st ending are also found even in AmE as much as in BrE, despite being
old-fashioned or an affection.
 In the UK generally the term fall meaning "autumn" is obsolete. Although
found often from Elizabethan literature to Victorian literature, continued
understanding of the word is usually ascribed to its continued use in America.[12]
 In the UK the term period for a full stop is not used; in AmE the term full
stop is rarely, if ever, used for the punctuation mark and commonly not
understood whatsoever. For example, Tony Blair said, "Terrorism is wrong, full
stop", whereas in AmE, the equivalent sentence is "Terrorism is wrong,
period."[13] The use of the interjection: period to mean "and nothing else; end of
discussion" is beginning to be used in colloquial British English, though
sometimes without conscious reference to punctuation.
American British
Math Maths
trapezoid Trapezium
buck (slang for a
quid (slang for multiple pounds)
dollar)
Holiday greetings
Main article: Holiday greetings
It is increasingly common for Americans to say "Happy holidays", referring to all, or
at least multiple, winter (in the Northern hemisphere) or summer (in the Southern
hemisphere) holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, winter solstice, Kwanzaa, etc.)
especially when one's religious observances are not known; the phrase is rarely heard
in the UK. In the UK, the phrases "holiday season" and "holiday period" refer to the
period in the summer when most people take time off from work, and travel; AmE
does not use holiday in this sense, instead using vacation for recreational excursions.
In AmE, the prevalent Christmas greeting is "Merry Christmas", which is the
traditional English Christmas greeting, famously found in the English
Christmas carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and which appears several times
in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.[14] In BrE, "Happy Christmas" is a common
alternative to "Merry Christmas".
Idiosyncratic Differences
Omission of "and" and "on"
Generally in British English numbers over one hundred have the word "and" inserted
before the last two digits. For example, the number 115 would be written or said,
"One hundred and fifteen". This is typical in American English as well, though a
variant without "and", for example written or said "One hundred fifteen", is also very
common in the USA.
Likewise, in the US, the word "on" can be left out when referring to events occurring
on any particular day of the week. The US possibility "The Cowboys won the game
Saturday" would have the equivalent in the UK of "Derby County won the match on
Saturday."
Figures of speech
Both BrE and AmE use the expression "I couldn't care less" to mean the speaker does
not care at all. Some Americans use "I could care less" to mean the same thing. This
variant is frequently derided as sloppy,[citation needed] as the literal meaning of the words is
that the speaker does care to some extent.
In both areas, saying, "I don't mind" often means, "I'm not annoyed" (for example, by
someone's smoking), while "I don't care" often means, "The matter is trivial or
boring". However, in answering a question such as "Tea or coffee?", if either
alternative is equally acceptable an American may answer, "I don't care", while a
British person may answer, "I don't mind". Either sounds odd to the other.
"To be all set" in both BrE and AmE can mean "to be prepared or ready", though it
appears to be more common in AmE.[citation needed]
 It can also have an additional
meaning in AmE of "to be finished or done", for example, a customer at a restaurant
telling a waiter "I'm all set. I'll take the check."
Equivalent idioms
A number of English idioms that have essentially the same meaning show lexical
differences between the British and the American version; for instance:
British English American English
not touch something with a
not touch something with a ten-foot pole
bargepole
sweep under the carpet sweep under the rug*
touch wood knock on wood
see the wood for the trees see the forest for the trees
put a spanner in the works throw a (monkey) wrench in(to) (a situation)
[15]
put (or stick) your oar in
but it won't make a ha'porth of
difference[16] to put your two cents (or two cents' worth) in[17]
to put your two
penn'orth (or tuppence worth) in
skeleton in the cupboard skeleton in the closet
a home from home a home away from home
blow one's own trumpet blow (or toot) one's own horn
a drop in the ocean a drop in the bucket,[18]
flogging a dead horse beating a dead horse
don't have a clue or have no clue (the British
haven't (got) a clue
forms are also acceptable)
couldn't care less could care less or couldn't care less[19]
a new lease of life a new lease on life
lie of the land lay of the land
take it with a pinch of salt take it with a grain of salt
a storm in a teacup a tempest in a teapot (rare)
Slowcoach slowpoke[20]
* In the US, a "carpet" typically refers to a fitted carpet, rather than a rug.
Use of that and which in restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses.
Further information: English relative clauses § Restrictive or non-restrictive relative
clauses
Generally, a non-restrictive relative clause (also called non-defining or
supplementary) is one that contains information that is supplementary, i.e. does not
change the meaning of the rest of the sentence, while a restrictive relative clause (also
called defining or integrated) is, one which contains information essential to the
meaning of the sentence, effectively limiting the modified noun phrase to a subset
that is defined by the relative clause. [34] An example of a restrictive clause is "The dog
that bit the man was brown." An example of a non-restrictive clause is "The dog,
which bit the man, was brown." In the former "that bit the man" identifies which dog
the statement is about. In the latter, "which bit the man" provides supplementary
information about a known dog. A non-restrictive relative clause is typically set off
by commas, whereas a restrictive relative clause is not, but this is not a rule that is
universally observed.[34] In speech, this is also reflected in the intonation. [35] Writers
commonly use which to introduce a non-restrictive clause, and that to introduce a
restrictive clause. That is rarely used to introduce a non-restrictive relative clause in
prose. Which and that are both commonly used to introduce a restrictive clause; a
study in 1977 reported that about 75 percent of occurrences of which were in
restrictive clauses.[36]
H. W. Fowler, in A Dictionary of Modern English Usage of 1926 followed others in
suggesting that it would be preferable to use which as the non-restrictive (what he
calls non-defining) pronoun and that as the restrictive (what he calls defining)
pronoun, but he also stated that this rule was observed neither by most writers nor by
the best writers.[37] He implied that his suggested usage was more common in
American English.[38] Fowler notes that his recommended usage presents problems, in
particular that that must be the first word of the clause, which means, for instance,
that which cannot be replaced by that when it immediately follows a preposition (e.g.
"the basic unit from which matter is constructed")[39] – though this would not prevent
a stranded preposition (e.g. "the basic unit that matter is constructed from").[40]
Style guides by American prescriptivists, such as Bryan Garner, typically insist, for
stylistic reasons, that that be used for restrictive relative clauses and which be used
for non-restrictive clauses, referring to the use of which in restrictive clauses as a
"mistake".[34] According to the 2015 edition of Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English
Usage, "In AmE which is "not generally used in restrictive clauses, and that fact is
then interpreted as the absolute rule that only that may introduce a restrictive clause",
whereas in BrE "either that or which may be used in restrictive clauses", but many
British people "believe that that is obligatory".[41]
Writing[edit]
Spelling
Main article: American and British English spelling differences
Before the early 18th century English spelling was not standardized. Different
standards became noticeable after the publishing of influential dictionaries. For the
most part current BrE spellings follow those of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the
English Language (1755), while AmE spellings follow those of Noah Webster's An
American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). In the United Kingdom, the
influences of those who preferred the French spellings of certain words proved
decisive. In many cases AmE spelling deviated from mainstream British spelling; on
the other hand it has also often retained older forms. Many of the now characteristic
AmE spellings were popularized, although often not created, by Noah Webster.
Webster chose already-existing alternative spellings "on such grounds as simplicity,
analogy or etymology".[42] Webster did attempt to introduce some reformed spellings,
as did the Simplified Spelling Board in the early 20th century, but most were not
adopted. Later spelling changes in the UK had little effect on present-day US
spelling, and vice versa.
Parentheses/brackets
In British English, "( )" marks are often referred to as brackets, whereas "[ ]"
are called square brackets and "{ }" are called curly brackets. In formal British
English and in American English "( )" marks are parentheses (singular: parenthesis),
"[ ]" are called brackets or square brackets, and "{ }" can be called either curly
brackets or curly braces.[44] Despite the different names, these marks are used in the
same way in both dialects.
Quoting
British and American English differ in the preferred quotation mark style, including
the placement of commas and periods.
Monetary amounts
Monetary amounts in the range of one to two major currency units are often
spoken differently. In AmE one may say a dollar fifty or a pound eighty, whereas in
BrE these amounts would be expressed one dollar fifty and one pound eighty. For
amounts over a dollar an American will generally either drop denominations or give
both dollars and cents, as in two-twenty or two dollars and twenty cents for $2.20. An
American would not say two dollars twenty. On the other hand, in BrE, two-
twenty or two pounds twenty would be most common.
It is more common to hear a British-English speaker say one thousand two
hundred dollars than a thousand and two hundred dollars, although the latter construct
is common in AmE. In British English, the "and" comes after the hundreds (one
thousand, two hundred and thirty dollars). The term twelve hundred dollars, popular
in AmE, is frequently used in BrE but only for exact multiples of 100 up to 1900.
Speakers of BrE very rarely hear amounts over 1900 expressed in hundreds, for
example twenty-three hundred.
In BrE, particularly in television or radio advertisements, integers can be
pronounced individually in the expression of amounts. For example, on sale for
£399 might be expressed on sale for three nine nine, though the full Three hundred
and ninety-nine pounds is at least as common. An American advertiser would almost
always say on sale for three ninety-nine, with context distinguishing $399 from
$3.99.[citation needed] In British English the latter pronunciation implies a value in pounds
and pence, so three ninety-nine would be understood as £3.99.
In spoken BrE the word pound is sometimes colloquially used for the plural as
well. For example, three pound forty and twenty pound a week are both heard in
British English. Some other currencies do not change in the plural; yen and rand
being examples. This is in addition to normal adjectival use, as in a twenty-pound-a-
week pay-rise. The euro most often takes a regular plural -s in practice despite the EU
dictum that it should remain invariable in formal contexts; the invariable usage is
more common in Ireland, where it is the official currency.
 In BrE the use of p instead of pence is common in spoken usage. Each of the
following has equal legitimacy: 3 pounds 12 p; 3 pounds and 12 p; 3 pounds 12
pence; 3 pounds and 12 pence; as well as just 8 p or 8 pence. In everyday usage the
amount is simply read as figures (£3.50 = three pounds fifty) as in AmE.
AmE uses words such as nickel, dime, and quarter for small coins. In BrE the
usual usage is a 10-pence piece or a 10p piece or simply a 10p, for any coin below £1,
but pound coin and two-pound coin. BrE did have specific words for a number of
coins before decimalisation. Formal coin names such as half crown (2/6)
and florin (2/-), as well as slang or familiar names such as bob (1/-) and tanner (6d)
for pre-decimalization coins are still familiar to older BrE speakers but they are not
used for modern coins. In older terms like two-bob bit (2/-) and thrupenny bit (3d),
the word bit had common usage before decimalisation similar to that of piece today.
In order to make explicit the amount in words on a check (BrE cheque), Americans
24
write three and ⁄100 (using this solidus construction or with a horizontal division
line): they do not need to write the word dollars as it is usually already printed on the
check. On a cheque UK residents would write three pounds and 24 pence, three
pounds ‒ 24, or three pounds ‒ 24p since the currency unit is not preprinted. To make
unauthorized amendment difficult, it is useful to have an expression terminator even
when a whole number of dollars/pounds is in use: thus, Americans would write three
and 00⁄100 or three and no⁄100 on a three-dollar check (so that it cannot easily be changed
to, for example, three million), and UK residents would write three pounds only.[46]
Dates
Main article: Date format by country
Dates are usually written differently in the short (numerical) form. Christmas
Day 2000, for example, is 25/12/00 or 25.12.00 in the UK and 12/25/00 in the US,
although the formats 25/12/2000, 25.12.2000, and 12/25/2000 now have more
currency than they had before Y2K. Occasionally other formats are encountered, such
as the ISO 8601 2000-12-25, popular among programmers, scientists and others
seeking to avoid ambiguity, and to make alphanumerical order coincide
with chronological order. The difference in short-form date order can lead to
misunderstanding, especially when using software or equipment that uses the foreign
format. For example, 06/04/05 could mean either June 4, 2005 (if read as US format),
6 April 2005 (if seen as in UK format) or even 5 April 2006 if taken to be an older
ISO 8601-style format where 2-digit years were allowed.
When using the name of the month rather than the number to write a date in
the UK, the recent standard style is for the day to precede the month, e. g., 21 April.
Month preceding date is almost invariably the style in the US, and was common in
the UK until the late twentieth century. British usage often changes the day from an
integer to an ordinal, i.e., 21st instead of 21. In speech, "of" and "the" are used in the
UK, as in "the 21st of April". In written language, the words "the" and "of" may be
and are usually dropped, i.e., 21 April. The US would say this as "April 21st", and
this form is still common in the UK. One of the few exceptions in American English
is saying "the Fourth of July" as a shorthand for the United States Independence Day.
In the US military the British forms are used, but the day is read cardinally, while
among some speakers of New England and Southern American English varieties and
who come from those regions but live elsewhere, those forms are common, even in
formal contexts.
Phrases such as the following are common in the UK but are generally
unknown in the US: "A week today", "a week tomorrow", "a week Tuesday" and
"Tuesday week"; these all refer to a day more than a week in the future. "A fortnight
Friday" and "Friday fortnight" refer to a day two weeks after the coming Friday). "A
week on Tuesday" and "a fortnight on Friday" could refer either to a day in the past
("it's a week on Tuesday, you need to get another one") or in the future ("see you a
week on Tuesday"), depending on context. In the US the standard construction is "a
week from today", "a week from tomorrow", etc. BrE speakers may also say
"Thursday last" or "Thursday gone" where AmE would prefer "last Thursday". "I'll
see you (on) Thursday coming" or "let's meet this coming Thursday" in BrE refer to a
meeting later this week, while "not until Thursday next" would refer to next week.
Time
The 24-hour clock (18:00, 18.00 or 1800) is considered normal in the UK and
Europe in many applications including air, rail and bus timetables; it is largely unused
in the US outside military, police, aviation and medical applications. British English
tends to use the full stop or period (.) when telling time, compared to American
English which uses colons (:) (i.e., 11:15 PM or 23:15 for AmE and 11.15 pm or
23.15 for BrE).[47] Usually in the military (and sometimes in the police, aviation and
medical) applications on both sides of the Atlantic 0800 and 1800 are read
as (oh/zero) eight hundred and eighteen hundred hours respectively.
Fifteen minutes after the hour is called quarter past in British usage and a
quarter after or, less commonly, a quarter past in American usage. Fifteen minutes
before the hour is usually called quarter to in British usage and a quarter of, a quarter
to or a quarter 'til in American usage; the form a quarter to is associated with parts of
the Northern United States, while a quarter 'til is found chiefly in
the Appalachian region.[citation needed]
 Thirty minutes after the hour is commonly
called half past in both BrE and AmE; half after used to be more common in the US.
In informal British speech, the preposition is sometimes omitted, so that 5:30 may be
referred to as half five. The AmE formations top of the hour and bottom of the
hour are not used in BrE. Forms such as eleven forty are common in both dialects. To
be simple and direct in telling time, no terms relating to fifteen or thirty minutes
before/after the hour are used; rather the time is told exactly as for example nine
fifteen, ten forty-five.

British And American English Verbs

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/british-and-american-
english. At home. 09:06 pm. Thursday,November 28,2019
Most of the differences between the English of the UK (which we shall call
BrE) and the English of North America (which we shall call AmE) are vocabulary
differences and differences in pronunciation and spelling. However, there are some
differences in the way grammar is used. Almost all of the structures in this book are
 used in both varieties, but there are often differences in how common a structure is in
one variety or the other. There are fewer differences in writing than in speaking.
Grammar is always changing, and many new ways of using grammar in BrE
come from AmE, because of the influence of American popular culture, American
media and the Internet.
See also:
 Spelling
British and American English: verbs
Be going to
Spoken English:
AmE speakers often use be going to (and the informal short form gonna) when giving
street directions, which is not a typical use in BrE. BrE speakers normally use
imperatives (with and without you), and present simple or future forms with will:
[AmE]
You’re gonna go three blocks and then you’re gonna see an apartment building on
the left with 1228 above the door.
[BrE]
A: Take this street here on the right, then go about two hundred yards till you come
to a set of traffic lights.
B: Okay.
A: You turn left at the lights, go about another hundred yards and you’ll see the
station.
B: Great. Thanks very much.
Burn, learn, dream, etc.
In BrE, we can spell the past simple and -ed participle of verbs such as burn, dream,
lean, learn, smell, spell, spill with either -ed (learned, spilled) or -t (learnt, spilt).
AmE prefers the -ed ending:
[BrE]
She had dreamt of being a dancer when she was young. (or She had dreamed …)
[AmE]
 As a boy, he had dreamed about being on the basketball team.
[BrE]
He learnt to speak fluent Spanish and Portuguese. (or He learned …)
[AmE]
She learned to play the violin.
Fit
In BrE, the past simple form of fit is usually fitted. In AmE, the past simple form
of fit is most often fit:
[BrE]
The sweater fitted her perfectly.
[a woman is remembering her poor childhood, AmE]
But we always looked nice. You know. We were always very clean. The clothes were
clean and they fit.
Get
In BrE, the three forms of get are get (base form), got (past simple) and got (-
ed form). In AmE, get has an -ed form gotten:
[AmE]
The weather has gotten colder this week and we’re expecting snow.
Get + to-infinitive is common in AmE to refer to achievements, meaning ‘manage to’
or ‘be able to’. This usage is less common in BrE:
[talking about American football, AmE]
A: Did you get to go to very many games?
B: I went to four games this year, actually.
[talking about a camping trip in the forest, AmE]
We got to see a lot of deer.
See also:
 Get
 Have and have got
The present simple form of have got referring to possession or relationships is much
more common in spoken BrE than in AmE. AmE speakers often prefer to use the
verb have on its own:
[BrE]
I’ve got a picture of you when you were a teenager. D’you want to see it?
[AmE]
I have two cousins in Ohio.
See also:
 Have got and have
Have got to and have to
Have got to is much more common in BrE than AmE. Have to (without got) is more
common in AmE than in BrE:
[BrE]
We’ve got to take my mother back to the hospital a week on Friday.
[AmE]
We have to be back in San Francisco next Sunday to fly home again.
See also:
 Have got to and have to
Shall
BrE speakers often use shall with I and we in statements when referring to the future,
especially in more formal situations. AmE prefers will:
[BrE]
I shall be back in a minute. (formal)
We shall be talking about this in detail tomorrow.
[AmE]
I’ll call you early tomorrow morning.
We will see what happens after the new company takes us over.
See also:
 Shall
 Will
Substitute verb do
BrE speakers often add the substitute verb do to short clauses with modal verbs,
especially in short answers. AmE speakers prefer to use the modal verb on its own:
[a group of students talk about the grades they might get in an exam, BrE]
A: I don’t reckon I’ll get all As this time.
B: No.
A: I might do, but I doubt it.
[AmE]
A: Yeah, so you think you might get an exercise bicycle?
B: Oh, I might. I have a regular bicycle out in the garage, but it’s been kind of raining
and stuff around here lately.
See also:
 Substitution
British and American English: verb tense forms
The present perfect
The present perfect is less common in AmE than BrE. AmE speakers often use the
past simple in situations where BrE speakers use the present perfect, especially with
words such as already and yet:
[BrE]
We’ve already booked our holiday for next year.
[AmE]
A: What do you do with your free time? Did I already ask you that? (BrE: Have I
already asked you that?)
B: I work!
[BrE]
Have you had a reply from the bank yet?
[AmE]
Did they pick the golf team yet? (BrE: Have they picked the golf team yet?)
 See also:
 Present
The past perfect
The past perfect is more common in AmE than in BrE, especially in situations where
the speaker sees one event as happening before another in the past:
[talking about a TV series shown over several nights, AmE]
A: Did you watch it?
B: We had watched it, uh, I guess Sunday night and Monday night, but we didn’t get
to watch it tonight.
[BrE]
We watched the news, then we watched a documentary.
[A is asking B about his past, AmE]
A: You had said your family is from back east?
B: Yeah.
A: Then they’ve moved out here for business reasons?
B: Yeah. My dad’s in banking. He got moved to Seattle and then moved here.
[A is asking B about his past, BrE]
A: You said your father died when he was quite young?
B: Well, he was, as far as I can remember, he was thirty-eight.
See also:
 Past perfect simple (I had worked)
British and American English: prepositions
At the weekend/on the weekend
BrE prefers at the weekend; AmE prefers on the weekend:
[BrE]
What are you doing at the weekend? D’you want to get together for some music?
[AmE]
A: So we’ll get together and barbecue on the weekend.
B: That sounds good.
 See also:
 At
In + period of time after a negative
AmE uses in + a period of time after a negative verb in situations where BrE
prefers for:
[AmE]
I haven’t really read anything like that in years. (BrE preferred form: for years)
[AmE]
I haven’t talked to my brother in three years. (BrE preferred form: for three years)
See also:
 In, into
 For
In and on with street names
BrE uses in with street names. AmE prefers on:
[BrE]
They were a lovely family. They lived in Walton Street.
[AmE]
I used to live on Perot Street.
See also:
 In, into
 On, onto
 At, on and in (place)
Through
AmE uses through in many situations where BrE prefers to or till when referring to
the end points of periods of time:
[AmE]
A: Actually she leaves the house at eleven and gets home at four so …
B: And that’s Monday through Friday? (BrE preferred form Monday to Friday)
A: Yeah.
[an elderly woman is talking about her working life, BrE]
 A: I was doing twelve hours a day from Monday till Friday and twelve and a half on
a Saturday. (AmE preferred form Monday through Friday)
B: And how old were you?
A: Fourteen years old.
See also:
 Across or through?
Adjectives and adverbs
Really, real
In informal spoken AmE, speakers often use real instead of really before an adjective.
This is considered non-standard by many AmE speakers:
[AmE]
That’s real funny! (BrE preferred form really funny)
[AmE]
I thought it was a real good movie. (BrE preferred form really good film)
Well and good
AmE speakers often use good where BrE prefers well. However, the AmE form is
becoming more common in BrE, especially after greetings such as How are you?,
How’s it going?:
[AmE]
A: How are you?
B: I’m good. (BrE preferred form I’m well or I’m fine)
It all worked out real good. (BrE preferred form really well)
Likely
AmE allows the use of likely as an adjective (in the same way as probable, possible,
etc.), or as an adverb (in the same way as probably, possibly, etc.). In BrE, likely is
normally only used as an adjective:
[AmE]
There will likely be other announcements before the end of this year. (likely as an
adverb; BrE preferred form There are likely to be)
[AmE]
 The focus on the economy will likely continue when the new President takes
office. (BrE preferred form is likely to continue)
[AmE]
And what’s likely to happen? (likely as an adjective, also common in BrE)
See also:
 Likely and unlikely
Tags
Question tags are much more common in BrE than in AmE, but a wide range of
question tags are used in both varieties:
[BrE]
She’s Swedish, isn’t she?
[AmE]
Elvis wasn’t your favourite rock star, was he?
In informal situations, AmE speakers often use a tag with rising intonation in
responses which show surprise or emotional involvement. The tag has the same form
as the statement the speaker is responding to (affirmative statement → affirmative
tag; negative statement → negative tag). This is not common in BrE:
[AmE]
A: I took the Chinese course last semester.
B: Oh, you did? (BrE preferred form Oh, did you? with fall-rise or rising intonation)
A: Yeah.
[AmE]
A: My sister still lives with my mom.
B: She does? (BrE preferred form Does she?)
A: Uh-huh.
Tags at the end of affirmative statements which have an affirmative form occur in
both varieties but are quite rare in AmE:
[BrE]
He works really hard, he does.
[AmE]
And so when she went to a nursing home, in the beginning, I think she kind of liked
it. She did art work there, she did, yeah.
Both varieties use the tag right, but it is more common in AmE:
A: She’s studying geography, right?
B: Yeah, geography.

https://www.demilked.com/language-differences-british-american-english/. at dorm. 21.30 pm. Tuesday, November 26, 2019