The Differences Between British and American English

Differences between British and American English

British vs American spelling The key spelling difference between British and American English is the letter omission in American English. For example, in writing, the British keep the letters that account for the spelling differences in these words:

The spelling differences between British and American English also include letter changes and letter reversals:

British British English and American vs English differ even more regarding their pronunciation. You immediately American know the difference between British pronuncia and American accents when heard. tion While the r sound is pronounced in American English, it remains silent in British English unless it occupies an initial syllable position.

For example

The stress can fall on different syllables as well:

American vs British grammatical differences The differences between British and American English grammar are slightly more complicated. The differences are small, but they are significant. Take the verb to have, for instance. To talk about possession, British English uses the verb to have got (I have got a book.), whereas American English uses to have (I have a book.). An important note: the verb have got is also used in American English, but mostly to indicate obligation (I have got to go.). The present perfect tense usage differs as well. The British normally use the verb to have (I have just arrived.) in this tense, whereas the Americans usually omit this verb. As a result, the sentences sound simpler: I just arrived.

Other differences concern preposition usage: The grammatical differences also include irregular verbs, for example:

American vs British vocabulary differences

The vocabulary differences between British and American English are no less tricky. British and American English sometimes use different words to refer to the same thing. In fact, there are many cases of this in both varieties. You may ask how many words are different between British and American English. While it is hard to determine the exact number, some lists state there are over one hundred, if not many more.



American vs British differences in dates Now we arrive at one of the most confusing For non-Americans, this is spooky enough on its things: date formats. This confusion is own. Whereas in Britain the format is more largely thanks to the United States because similar to most of the world, where they would they use the MM/DD/YY format, meaning that write this date as 31 October 2020 (31/10/2020 we celebrate Halloween on October 31, 2020 or 31.10.2020). Moreover, in British English you (10/31/2020). are free to use dots instead of slashes (American and British English) /obliques (British English).