British English and American English
Look at these sentences. Do you know which sentences are more typical of British English or American English?
Shall I open the door for you?
He's taking a shower.
France have won the World Cup.
I'm not hungry. I just ate.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
The main difference between British English and American English is in pronunciation. Some words are also different in each variety of English, and there are also a few differences in the way they use grammar. Here are five of the most common grammatical differences between British and American English.
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.
The present perfect can be used in the same way in American English, 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. He has already had lunch. - Have you done your homework yet? - Yes, I've just finished it. | He isn't hungry. He already had lunch. - Did you do your homework yet? - Yes, I just finished it. |
2. got and gotten
In British English, the past participle of the verb get is got.
In American English, people say gotten.
** Note that have got is commonly used in both British and American English to speak about possession or necessity. have gotten is not correct here.
| British English | American English |
|---|---|
You could have got hurt! BUT: | You could have gotten hurt! BUT: |
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). 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.
** Note that police is always followed by a plural verb.
| British English | American English |
|---|---|
My family is/are visiting from Pakistan. BUT: | My family is visiting from Pakistan. BUT: |
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. | I'm going to take a shower. Let's take a break. |
5. shall
In British English, people often use Shall I ...? to offer to do something and/or Shall we ...? to make a suggestion.
It is very unusual for speakers of American English to use shall. They normally use an alternative like Should/Can I ...? or Do you want/Would you like ...? or How about ...? instead.
| British English | American English |
|---|---|
| It's hot in here. Shall I open the window? Shall we meet in the café at 5? Shall we try that again? | It's hot in here. Can I open the window? Do you want to meet in the café at 5? How about we try that again? |
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
I get used with American English. But, I've just realized that the curriculum in my resident had mixed both of the accents!
Thank you for making this easily understandable.
Hi All,
I found this lesson quite interesting! Even though there are some differences between American and British, they both languages are absolutely beautiful.
I love English and I am very excited and really happy whenever I have the opportunity to practice it.
Thank you LearnEnglish team!
Hello from Colombia
I prefer British English because I consider is more polite, but the American English is more versatile and some time friendly. Both version are interesting.
I also prefer British English, YolimaRC.
thank you for this lesson
My English is steadily improving with you. I'm really making progress towards my goal of speaking fluently. Brilliant!
Congratulations, elananani!
Brilliant!
Shetu Yogme
Thank you for the explanation, it's very easy to understand and i can see the progress of my learning in this website!
Thank you for the post, it really explained the difference between British and American English in an easily understandable words.