Differences between British

and American English

(Grammer )
 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.
Spelling
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 and Get
 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.
 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.
Have and have got / Shall
 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.

 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.
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.
Verb tense form
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?)
 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.
 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.