British English and American English: Major Differences

The main difference between British English and American English is vocabulary. It is said that there is an old saying that Britain and America are “2 nations divided by a common language” although it is not known who said this quote. Americans and English both understand what is being said whether British English or American English is being spoken. Here are 25 major differences between British English and American English.

Accents

Although there are different dialects both within the UK and America, there is a big difference in accents. For example, in British English the letter ‘r’ is only pronounced when it is the first letter of a word whereas in American English the letter ‘r’ is pronounced in every word.

Vocabulary

Here are some examples of differences in vocabulary between British English and American English.

British English Holiday

American English Vacation

British English Aubergine

American English Eggplant

British English Jumper

American English Sweater

British English Post box

American English Mail box

British English Jacket potato

American English Baked potato

British English Flat

American English Apartment

British English Chemist

American English Drugstore

British English Underground

American English Subway

British English Bonnet (of a car)

American English Hood (of a car)

British English Boot (of a car)

American English Trunk (of a car)

British English Lorry

American English Truck

British English Nappy

American English Diaper

British English Torch

American English Flashlight

British English Mobile

American English Cell phone

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Spellings

There are also differences between British English spellings and American English spellings. Here are some examples:

British English Behaviour

American English Behavior

British English Favourite

American English Favorite

British English Humour

American English Humor

British English Centre

American English Center

British English Theatre

American English Theater

British English Metre

American English Meter

British English Organise

American English Organize

British English Licence

American English License

British English Sulphur

American English Sulfur

British English Tyre (for a car)

American English Tire

British English Programme

American English Program

Grammar

Some prepositions are used differently in British English to American English. Here are a few differences:

British English I am going to a wedding at the weekend

American English I am going to a wedding on the weekend

British English The working week is Monday to Friday

American English The working week is Monday through Friday

British English He studied maths at university

American English He studied maths in high school

British English We will come at the weekend at 10 o’clock

American English We will come on the weekend at 10 am

Past tenses

The present perfect is used more than the past simple in British English whereas the past simple tense is used by Americans.

British English I’ve eaten too much this evening

American English I ate too much this evening.

British English I’ve been shopping today

American English I went shopping today

The past tense of the word ‘get’

In British English, the word ‘gotten’ which is the past participle of ‘get’ has not been used for many years. In American English, ‘gotten’ is still used.

British English I’ve not got any news about what happened at the weekend

American English I haven’t gotten any news about what happened at the weekend.

Collective nouns

In British English, a collective noun (for example government or team) could be either singular or plural due to the fact that there can be more than 1 person in a government or team whereas in American English, these same words are always singular defining the group as a whole.

British English The government are doing all they can to rectify the situation

American English The government is doing all it can to rectify the situation.

British English Their team are winning the hockey match

American English Their team is winning the football match

Irregular verbs

The irregular form of verbs in the past tense is more noticeable between British English and American English when writing in the past tense.

British English He leapt off the wall

American English He leaped off the wall

British English She dreamt most of the night

American English She dreamed most of the night

British English You burnt the toast

American English You burned the toast

British English She learnt her times tables for her maths test

American English She learned her times tables for her maths test

Pronunciation

There are many words used in British English that have a different pronunciation when used in American English. Here are some examples:

Word British English American English

Advertisement uhd-VER-tis-muhnt AD-ver-ties-muhnt

Leisure LEZH-uh LEE-zhur

Missile MIS-eye-ul MIS-uhl

Privacy PRIV-uh-see PRAI-vuh-see

Schedule SHED-jool SKED-joul

Tomato tuh-MAR-toe tuh-MAY-toe

Vitamin VIT-uh-min VAI-tuh-min

Professions

British English Estate agent

American English Realtor

British English Solicitor

American English Lawyer

British English Barrister

American English Attorney

Punctuation

British English Mr or Mrs or Dr

American English Mr. or Mrs. or Dr.

There can be a difference in where question marks are placed after quotes/speech together with the position of commas. This does not alter the meanings.

Telling the time

British English 10.15 or quarter past 10

American English quarter after 10 or a quarter after 10 for 10.15

In both British English and American English: half past the whole

British English (uses a point) 9.15

American English (uses a colon) 9:15

Usage of word ‘quite’ before an adjective

In British English, the word ‘quite’ it means not very good or excellent. For example, the restaurant is quite good but this means that there are better restaurants to go and eat in than instead of this one.

In American English, quite means very so if an American says: “it is quite hot”, it means that it is hot.

Use of verbs ‘to have’ and ‘to take’

British English speakers tend to use the word ‘have’ and American English speakers will use the word ‘take’.

British English I will have a bath tonight

American English I will take a bath tonight

Use of word ‘shall’

British English speakers will use the word ‘shall’ to imply the future which is not so in American English.

British English I shall go home later today

American English I will go home later today

Using the words ‘can’ or ‘could’

In British English, the words ‘can’ and could’ are used with verbs such as seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling and smelling whereas American English does not connect these words.

British English When I went into the garden, I could smell the roses.

American English When I went into the garden, I smelled the roses.

Verbs – regular and irregular

Some verbs in British English are regular in the past tense whereas they are irregular in American English.

British English All the boots fit in to the cupboard

American English All the boots fitted in to the cupboard

Phrases and slang

British English and American English contain different phrases and expressions. An example of this is:

British English Stand in the queue

American English Wait in line

Dates

In British English, the day of the month is put first, then the month, then the year.

In American English, the month is put first, then the day, then the year.

British English 10 October 2017

American English October 10 2017

Single l or double ll

In British English, double ll is used whereas a single l is used in American English.

British English He travelled the world in his gap year

American English They travelled to India to see The Taj Mahal

Learning British English or American English is dependent on which language a student wants to speak. Most Europeans will learn British English and this is taught in schools. South Americans and countries closer to North America will learn American English. At the end of the day, learning British or American English will help you wherever you go to visit on holiday but perhaps if you want to work in Britain or America then the choice will be made for you as to whether to learn British English or American English. English is one of the most commonly used languages in the world. The choice as to whether to learn British or American English is yours