Differences between British English and American English

There are a few areas in which British and American variety of the English language differ from each other. The main differences include spelling, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

Let’s explore each area in more details.

1/ SPELLING

British English keeps the spelling of words it has absorbed from other languages, mainly Latin and French. Whereas American English spelling is based mostly on how the word sounds when it is spoken, therefore American spelling seems to be easier than British one.

English was introduced to America at the beginning of the 17^th century by the British settlers. The language has evolved since then and it has been influenced by the many waves of immigration to the USA.

The spelling of British English words was introduced by Samuel Johnson in what is considered to be one of the most famous dictionaries in the world i.e. ‘A Dictionary of the English Language’, which was published in 1755 and which contained 42,773 words

On the other side of the Atlantic, in America, ‘A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language’ by Noah Webster first appeared in 1806, which was the first truly American dictionary and which popularised features which would become a hallmark of American English spelling. In 1828 his ‘American Dictionary of the English Language’ was published which contained 70,000 words. He simplified the spelling of lots of complicated English words. He also introduced uniquely American English words such as squash (= a fruit with hard skin, a soft inside, and large seeds, that you cook and eat as a vegetable), chowder (= a type of thick soup usually made from fish or other sea creatures) and skunk.

Here are the main differences in spelling between British and American English.

British English words ending in ‘our’ usually end in ‘or’ in American English:

BRITISH	AMERICAN
colour	color
labour	labor
humour	humor
honour	honor
neighbour	neighbor

British English words ending in ‘tre’ usually end in ‘ter’ in American English:

BRITISH	AMERICAN
theatre	theater
metre	meter
kilometre	kilometer

Verbs in British English that can be spelt with either ‘ize’ or ‘ise’ at the end are always spelt with ‘ize’ at the end in American English:

BRITISH	AMERICAN
apologize or apologise	apologize
familiarize or familiarise	familiarize
recognize or recognise	recognize

Verbs in British English that end in ‘yse’ are always spelt ‘yze’ in American English:

BRITISH	AMERICAN
analyse	analyze
paralyse	paralyze
hydrolyse	hydrolyze
catalyse	catalyze

In British spelling ‘L’ is doubled in verbs ending in a vowel plus ‘L’. In American English, the ‘L’ is not doubled:

BRITISH	AMERICAN
travel	travel
travelled	traveled
travelling	traveling
traveller	traveler

British English words that are spelt with the double vowels ae or oe tend to be spelt with an e in American English.

BRITISH	AMERICAN
leukaemia	leukemia
anaemia	anemia
encyclopaedia	encyclopedia
orthopaedist	orthopedist

Some nouns that end with ‘ence’ in British English are spelt ‘ense in American English:

BRITISH

AMERICAN

defence

defense

licence

license

offence

offense

Some nouns that end with ‘ogue’ in British English end with either ‘og’ or ‘ogue in American English:

BRITISH	AMERICAN
analogue	analog or analogue
catalogue	catalog or catalogue
monologue	monolog or monologue

2/ VOCABULARY

There are a lot of words which are completely different in British and American English. Generally speaking, most Americans will understand British English speakers and vice versa. However, as your English reaches a more advanced level, it becomes more important to be consistent and decide which variety of English you prefer, either American English or British English. This consistency plays a pivotal role in clear English communication and is the indicative of achieving a high level of linguistic competence.

Below are a few most common examples.

British English	American English	Polish meaning
aerial	antenna	antena
autumn	fall	jesień
banknote	bill	banknot
biscuit	cookie	ciastko
bonnet	hood	maska samochodu
boot	trunk	bagażnik samochodu
braces	suspenders	szelki
car park	parking lot	parking
caretaker	janitor	dozorca, woźny
chemist’s	drugstore	apteka
chips	French fries	frytki
the cinema	the movies	kino
curtains	drapes	zasłony, kotary
draughts	checkers	warcaby
dummy	pacifier	smoczek
dustbin/rubbish bin	garbage can	kosz na śmieci
dustman	garbage collector	śmieciarz
engine	motor	silnik
flat	apartment	mieszkanie
flyover	overpass	wiadukt, estakada
garden	yard	podwórko
ground floor	first floor	parter
gumboots, wellington boots	rubbers	gumowce
gym shoes, trainers, tennis shoes	sneakers	tenisówki, trampki
handbag	purse	torebka damska
hoarding	billboard	tablica reklamowa
holiday	vacation	wakacje
hoover	vacuum cleaner	odkurzacz
ill	sick	chory
lift	elevator	winda
lorry	truck	ciężarówka
maize	corn	kukurydza
maths	math	matematyka
motorway	freeway/highway	autostrada
nappy	diaper	pielucha
off-licence	liquor store	sklep monopolowy
pavement	sideway	chodnik
petrol	gasoline	benzyna
post	mail	poczta
postman	mailman, mail carrier	listonosz
potato crisps	potato chips	czipsy
pram	baby carriage	wózek dziecięcy
primary school	elementary school	szkoła podstawowa
public toilet	restroom	toaleta publiczna
pushchair	stroller	wózek spacerowy dla dziecka
queue	line	kolejka
railway	railroad	kolej
secondary school	high schools	szkoła średnia, liceum
return (ticket)	round trip	bilet w obie strony
roundabout	traffic circle	rondo
rubber	eraser	gumka do mazania
rubbish, litter	garbage, trash	śmieci
shop	store	sklep
single (ticket)	one-way	w jedną stronę
sweets	candy	słodycze, cukierki
tap	faucet	kran
taxi	cab	taksówka
term	semester	semestr
timetable	schedule	harmonogram
trousers	pants	spodnie
underground	subway	metro
wardrobe	closet	szafa na ubrania
windscreen	windshield	przednia szyba w samochodzie
zip	zipper	zamek błyskawiczny

3/ GRAMMAR

Apart from spelling and vocabulary, there are certain grammatical differences between British and American English. Below are a few examples:

1. Present perfect and past simple

In British English, people use the present perfect to speak about a past action that they consider relevant to the present.

In American English the present perfect can be used in the same way, but people often use the past simple when they consider the action finished. This is especially common with the adverbs already, just and yet.

British English	American English
He isn’t hungry as he has already had dinner. Have you done your shopping yet? I’ve just finished.	He isn’t hungry as he already had dinner. Did you do your shopping yet? I just finished.

Past tense forms

Below are a few examples of verbs which have different past simple and past participle forms in American and British English.

Infinitive	Past simple (Br)	Past simple (Am)	Past participle (Br)	Past participle (Am)
burn	burned/ burnt	burned/ burnt	burned/ burnt	burned/ burnt
dive	dived	dove/ dived	dived	dived
dream	dreamed/ dreamt	dreamed/ dreamt	dreamed/ dreamt	dreamed/ dreamt
get	got	got	got	gotten
learn	learned/ learnt	learned	learned/ learnt	learned
spell	spelt	spelled	spelt	spelled

2. got and gotten

In British English, the past participle of the verb get is got.

In American English, people say gotten.

!!! It’s important to note that have got is commonly used in both British and American English to speak about possession or necessity and have gotten is not correct here.

British English	American English
You could have got injured! She’s got very jealous. Claire has got serious about her job.	You could have gotten injured! She’s gotten very jealous. Claire has gotten serious about her job.

3. Verb forms with collective nouns

In British English, a singular or plural verb can be used with a noun that refers to a group of people or things (a collective noun) e.g. a band, staff, team. We use a plural verb when we think of the group as individuals or a singular verb when we think of the group as a single unit.

In American English, a singular verb is used with collective nouns.

!!! It’s important to remember that police is always followed by a plural verb.

British English	American English
My family is/are visiting from Spain. My team is/are winning the competition. The staff has/have negotiated a good contract. BUT: The police are investigating the case.	My family is visiting from Spain. My team is winning the competition. The staff has negotiated a good contract. BUT: The police are investigating the case.

British English

American English

My family is/are visiting from Spain.
My team is/are winning the competition.
The staff has/have negotiated a good contract.

BUT:
The police are investigating the case.

My family is visiting from Spain.
My team is winning the competition.
The staff has negotiated a good contract.

BUT:
The police are investigating the case.

4. have and take

In British English, the verbs have and take are commonly used with nouns like bath, shower, wash to speak about washing and with nouns like break, holiday, rest to speak about resting.

In American English, only the verb take (and not the verb have) is used this way.

British English	American English
I’m going to have/take a shower. Let’s have/take a break now.	I’m going to take a shower. Let’s take a break now.

5. shall

In British English, people often use Shall I …? to offer to do something and/or Shall we …? to make a suggestion. Whereas for speakers of American English it’s unusual to use shall. They normally use an alternative such as Should/Can I …? or Do you want/Would you like …? or How about …? instead.

British English	American English
Shall I open the window? Shall we meet in the restaurant at 6? Shall we do that again?	Can I open the window? Do you want to meet in the restaurant at 6? How about we do that again?

6. ‘Needn’t’, which is commonly used in British English, is rarely, if at all used in American English. In its place Americans use ‘don’t need to’.

7. Use of prepositions

In British English, at is used with many time expressions, e.g.

at Christmas/six 'o’ clock

at the weekend

In American English, on is always used when talking about the weekend, not at, e.g.

What are you doing on the weekend?

She always visits her parents on weekends.

In British English, at is often used when talking about schools or other institutions, e.g.

He studied medicine at university.

In American English, in is often used, e.g.

She studied Spanish in high school.

In British English, to and from are used with the adjective different, e.g.

This building is different from/to anything I last saw it.

In American English from and than are used with different, e.g.

This building is different from/than anything I last saw it.

In British English, to is always used after the verb write, e.g.

I promise to write to you every day.

In American English, to can be omitted after write, e.g.

I promise to write you every day.

In British English from…to is used when refererring to some time range. e.g.

I work from Monday to Friday.

In American English they rather use through instead.

I work Monday through Friday.

4/ PRONUNCIATION

The difference in pronunciation between British English and American English seems to be the most obvious one as it is based on the thing which is easy to detect in a conversation i.e. accent.

1. The /r/ sound

The most noticeable (and audible) difference is the way the letter r is pronounced. In British English, when r comes after a vowel in the same syllable (as in car, hard, or market), the r is not pronounced. In American English the r is pronounced almost in all words where it appears.

2. Vowel pronunciation

One of the vowels that is pronounced quite differently is the ‘o’. For the British accent, the lips are rounded and forward. Whereas, for the American accent, the lips are relaxed and the bottom jaw is dropped.

e.g.

British American

Stop /stɒp/ Stop /stɑːp/

Hot /hɒt/ Hot /hɑːt/

Job /jɒb/ Job /jɑːb/

3. Pronunciation of the /t/ letter in the middle of certain words

According to the rule behind the standard or general American accent, if there is a vowel before and after the /t/ like in the word ‘better’ /better/ and also, if there’s an /r/ before the /t/ and a vowel after the /t/ like in party, the /t/ is said as a quick flicked or flapped light /d/ sound.

This doesn’t happen for the standard British accent. For example, for the British, the word ‘better’ is said /better/, whereas for the American it’s said /bedder/.

Batter ( = someone who hits the ball in baseball)

For the British, it’s said /batter/.

British: The batter hit the ball.

For the American, it’s said /badder/.

American: The badder hit the ball.

party

For the British, it’s said /party/.

For the American accent, it’s said /pardy/

4. Patterns of speech stress and rhythm

Both British English and American English are stressed-timed languages. For example, often with French words that are in English, there is a difference in syllable stress. Generally, British English puts the emphasis on the first syllable, and American English puts the stress on the second syllable.

For example, the word ‘ballet’.

The British pronunciation is ‘ballet’ /’bæleɪ / – the stress is on the first syllable.

The American pronunciation is ‘ballet /bæ’leɪ / – the stress is on the second syllable.

It is similar in the word ‘beret’.

The British pronunciation is ‘beret’ /’bereɪ/ – the stress is on the first syllable.

The American pronunciation is ‘beret’ /bə’reɪ /– the stress is on the second syllable.

QUIZ TIME

Test your knowledge of American to British English vocabulary with the quiz below.

Replace the American English word in italics with a British English equivalent.

Could you give me a hand with the drapes? I need to hang them all today.
We’d better take the elevator as it’s the 8th floor.
How about watching a movie tonight?
You should see Danny’s new apartment. It’s very modern and spacious.
I need to go to the drugstore and get some aspirin for my flu.
I always turn the faucet off while brushing teeth to save some water.
I usually take the garbage out twice a week before I leave for work.
We would have got there faster if we had taken the highway instead of the country road.
Look at this man and his shabby look. He must be some hobo.
They need to buy some new things for their newborn baby such as a baby carrage, diapers and a pacifier.
The fastest way to get around London is by subway, called the Tube.
His favourite subject at elementary school was math.
I already knew what I wanted to study when I was in high school.
I spent more than 20 mins waiting in a line at the local store.
One of my favourite seasons is the fall as I love collecting colourful leaves.

Answers

curtains
lift
film
flat
chemist’s
tap
rubbish
motorway
tramp
pram, nappies, dummy
underground
primary school, maths
secondary school
queue, shop
autumn

British-vs-American-English

Differences between British English and American English

BRITISH	AMERICAN
defence	defense
licence	license
offence	offense