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
AmE speakers often usebegoingto(and the informal short formgonna) when giving street directions, which is not a typical use in BrE. BrE speakers normally use imperatives (with and withoutyou), and present simple or future forms withwill:
[AmE]
You’re gonnago three blocks and then you’re gonnasee an apartment building on the left with 1228 above the door.
[BrE]
A:Takethis street here on the right, thengoabout two hundred yards till you come to a set of traffic lights.
B:Okay.
A:You turnleft at the lights,goabout another hundred yards and you’llsee the station.
B:Great. Thanks very much.
Burn,learn,dream, etc.
In BrE, we can spell the past simple and-edparticiple of verbs such asburn, dream, lean, learn, smell, spell, spillwith either -ed(learned, spilled) or-t(learnt, spilt). AmE prefers the -edending:
[BrE]
She haddreamtof being a dancer when she was young.(orShe had dreamed …)
[AmE]
As a boy, he haddreamedabout being on the basketball team.
[BrE]
Helearntto speak fluent Spanish and Portuguese.(orHelearned …)
[AmE]
Shelearnedto play the violin.
Fit
In BrE, the past simple form offitis usuallyfitted. In AmE, the past simple form offitis most oftenfit:
[BrE]
The sweaterfittedher 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 theyfit.
Get
In BrE, the three forms ofgetareget(base form),got(past simple) andgot(-edform). In AmE,gethas an -edformgotten:
[AmE]
The weather hasgottencolder 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 youget to goto very many games?
B:I went to four games this year, actually.
[talking about a camping trip in the forest, AmE]
Wegot to seea lot of deer.
See also:
Get
Haveandhave got
The present simple form ofhave gotreferring to possession or relationships is much more common in spoken BrE than in AmE. AmE speakers often prefer to use the verbhaveon its own:
[BrE]
I’ve gota picture of you when you were a teenager. D’you want to see it?
[AmE]
Ihavetwo cousins in Ohio.
See also:
Have gotandhave
Have got toandhave to
Have got tois much more common in BrE than AmE.Have to(withoutgot) is more common in AmEthan in BrE:
[BrE]
We’ve got totake my mother back to the hospital a week on Friday.
[AmE]
Wehave tobe back in San Francisco next Sunday to fly home again.
See also:
Have got toandhave to
Shall
BrE speakers often useshallwithIandwein statements when referring to the future, especially in more formal situations. AmEpreferswill:
[BrE]
Ishallbe back in a minute.(formal)
Weshallbe talking about this in detail tomorrow.
[AmE]
I’llcall you early tomorrow morning.
Wewillsee what happens after the new company takes us over.
See also:
Shall
Will
Substitute verbdo
BrE speakers often add the substitute verbdoto 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 mightdo,but I doubt it.
[AmE]
A:Yeah, so you think you might get an exercise bicycle?
B:Oh, Imight.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 asalreadyandyet:
[BrE]
We’vealreadybookedour holiday for next year.
[AmE]
A:What do you do with your free time?DidI alreadyaskyou that?(BrE:Have I already asked you that?)
B:I work!
[BrE]
Haveyouhada reply from the bank yet?
[AmE]
Didtheypickthe golf team yet?(BrE:Have they picked the golf team yet?)
See also:
Present
The past perfect
The past perfectis 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:Wehad watchedit, uh, I guess Sunday night and Monday night, but we didn’t get to watch it tonight.
[BrE]
Wewatchedthe news, then we watched a documentary.
[A is asking B about his past, AmE]
A:Youhad saidyour 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:Yousaidyour 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 prefersat the weekend; AmE preferson theweekend:
[BrE]
What are you doingat the weekend? D’you want to get together for some music?
[AmE]
A:So we’ll get together and barbecueon the weekend.
B:That sounds good.
See also:
At
In+ period of time after a negative
AmE usesin+ a period of time after a negative verb in situations where BrE prefersfor:
[AmE]
I haven’t really read anything like thatin years.(BrE preferred form:for years)
[AmE]
I haven’t talked to my brotherin three years.(BrE preferred form:for three years)
See also:
In, into
For
Inandonwith street names
BrE usesinwith street names. AmE preferson:
[BrE]
They were a lovely family. They livedinWalton Street.
[AmE]
I used to liveonPerot Street.
See also:
In, into
On,onto
At,onandin(place)
Through
AmE usesthroughin many situations where BrE preferstoortillwhen 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 MondaythroughFriday?(BrE preferred formMonday to Friday)
A:Yeah.
[an elderly woman is talking about her working life, BrE]
A:I was doing twelve hours a day from MondaytillFriday and twelve and a half on a Saturday. (AmE preferred formMondaythroughFriday)
B:And how old were you?
A:Fourteenyears old.
See also:
Acrossorthrough?
Adjectives and adverbs
Really,real
Ininformal spoken AmE, speakers often userealinstead ofreallybefore an adjective. This is considered non-standard by many AmE speakers:
[AmE]
That’srealfunny!(BrE preferred formreally funny)
[AmE]
I thought it was arealgood movie.(BrE preferred formreally good film)
Wellandgood
AmE speakers often usegoodwhere BrE preferswell. However, the AmE form is becoming more common in BrE, especially after greetings such asHow are you?, How’s it going?:
[AmE]
A:How are you?
B:I’mgood. (BrE preferred formI’m wellorI’m fine)
It all worked outreal good.(BrE preferred formreally well)
Likely
AmE allows the use oflikelyas an adjective (in the same way asprobable, possible, etc.), or as an adverb (in the same way asprobably, possibly, etc.). In BrE,likelyis normally only used as an adjective:
[AmE]
Therewill likely beother announcements before the end of this year.(likelyas an adverb; BrE preferred formThere are likely to be)
[AmE]
The focus on the economywill likely continuewhen the new President takes office.(BrE preferred formis likely to continue)
[AmE]
And what’s likelyto happen?(likelyas an adjective, also common in BrE)
See also:
Likelyandunlikely
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 tagwith 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 di↗d?(BrE preferred formOh, did you?with fall-rise or rising intonation)
A:Yeah.
[AmE]
A:My sister still lives with my mom.
B:She does?(BrE preferred formDoes she?)
A:Uh-huh.
Tags at the end of affirmativestatements 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 tagright, but it is more common in AmE:
A:She’s studying geography,right?
B:Yeah,geography.
See also:
Tags