British English and American English

British English and American English

Do you know any differences between British and American English? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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.

Grammar test 1

Exercise: British English and American English: Grammar test 1

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!
He's got very thin.
She has got serious about her career.

BUT:
Have you got any money?
We've got to go now.

You could have gotten hurt!
He's gotten very thin.
She has gotten serious about her career.

BUT:
Have you got any money? (NOT Have you gotten ...)
We've got to go now. (NOT We've gotten to ...)

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.
My team is/are winning the match.
The crew is/are on the way to the airport.

BUT:
The police are investigating the crime.

My family is visiting from Pakistan.
My team is winning the match.
The crew is on the way to the airport.

BUT:
The police are investigating the crime.

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.

Grammar test 2

Exercise: British English and American English: Grammar test 2

Language level

Average: 4.3 (160 votes)
Profile picture for user Nyan Htoo Pai

Submitted by Nyan Htoo Pai on Sat, 10/05/2025 - 05:27

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Previously, I had no idea about the grammatical differences between British English and American English. I was not sure how British and American English differ in grammatical all the time.

Submitted by Camelya on Fri, 09/05/2025 - 19:44

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very interesting things that I did not know about, thank you very much

Submitted by ddmm on Wed, 30/04/2025 - 21:40

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before this I did not know about those differences.

Profile picture for user Maahak

Submitted by Maahak on Tue, 29/04/2025 - 07:34

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Very clear and helpful.

Submitted by ngxdien on Sat, 26/04/2025 - 04:05

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Before, I did not care difference between British and American English. Because it did not much. But now, I show these something are wonderfully.  

Profile picture for user Ahmed-Elnour

Submitted by Ahmed-Elnour on Fri, 04/04/2025 - 16:59

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I really like learning both British and American English.

Submitted by Kat-tha on Sun, 30/03/2025 - 16:30

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I did not notice things like this before because I thought it was the same meaning. Then, people do not mind when we speak with them. But in the exam period, it will divide the exact things, which ones are British or American style. It is the insightful information to make me more understanding about both of their styles.

Profile picture for user gunnur

Submitted by gunnur on Wed, 26/03/2025 - 10:26

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I really like learning about American and British english

Submitted by honeybee on Fri, 21/03/2025 - 00:38

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I've never thought about the differences between American and British English in those ways. I am a person using a mix of two types of English at the moment, so knowing those difference made me very excited!