
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. |
He isn't hungry. He already had lunch. |
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. |
I'm going to take a shower. |
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? |
It's hot in here. Can I open the window? |
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
yeAH vEry good. I lik, ilike
Hi! Can we answer to the question "Have you ..(done something)?" - "Yes, I did" in a spoken language?
Hi Yola,
The meaning is clear - the person did it. So, from that point of view, it's absolutely fine in casual conversation. "Did" is also used if there is a time reference (e.g. "Yes, I did it this morning").
Purely in terms of grammar, though, the best response is "Yes, I have" (matching the present perfect in the question). In more formal speaking situations, that would be the best answer.
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
hey! i really like this site,have a good day( •̀ ω •́ )✧
Nice lesson I've learn soo much how to use American English and British English but there is a question that can get out of my mind can we use American English and British English together?
Hello emidepegaso,
I think a lot of English users speak a kind of 'transatlantic English' which combines elements of UK and US dialects. The only thing I would be careful of is consistency in writing. It's not a good idea to mix US and UK spelling, so I think it's better to either follow UK spelling rules or US.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello GiulianaAndy,
1) We use ...hot in here when we are talking about a place which we can be inside such as a building or a car.
The phrase ...hot here is more general and can be used indoors or outdoors.
2) Both forms are correct. I suppose the first is more hypothetical, as if you were discussing possible actions in a meeting rather than actually doing the actions, while the second could be used while actually doing something with someone else. It's not a clear distinction, however and I can't think of a context where you could use one and not the other.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello wilson2013,
I'm not an expert on the IELTS, but as far as I know, what is most important in the speaking exam is that your speech is comprehensible. Unless your pronunciation is extremely precise, I doubt that they will even notice that sometimes your pronunciation is more British and at others more American. But even if that were the case, I can't imagine it would be an issue since producing native speaker pronunciation is quite difficult.
In your writing, you should, however, be as consistent as possible in your spelling. Though again the most important thing is clarity.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello DaniWeebKage,
'Have you got' is also used in American English, though it might be a little more common in British.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Al,
The IELTS accepts all standard varieties of native-speaker English, so American or British English is fine.
I would recommend, however, that you be consistent in your usage -- for example, it would be best to avoid using both British and American spelling in the same written text. Instead, just use British or American spelling.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello MarcosPermin,
It depends on the word.
People always plural; the singular form is usually person.
Team is a collective noun which can be either singular or plural. If you are thinking of a group of people then you can use a plural verb; if you are talking about the team as a cohesive unit then you can use a singular verb.
There are many collective nouns which work like this: the army, the police, Manchester United, the government, the United Nations, the EU etc.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello VegitoBlue,
In most cases, 'UK English' and 'US English' are other ways (though less common, in my experience) of saying 'British English' and 'American English', though please note that 'Britain' and 'the UK' aren't the same.
These teams are quite imprecise, for within both there are actually hundreds of different varieties of English. And then of course there are many other varieties of English, e.g. Australian, Canadian, Indian, Caribbean, etc.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Vaskovsky,
For some collective nouns we can use either a singular or a plural form. It really depends whether the speaker sees the noun in question as a single thing or as a collection of individual parts.
Common examples of this include institutions like the army or the police, the government, collective nouns like the population, and teams like Manchester United or France - as a sports team, not a nation.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Lal,
I would say that there is no need for a comma. However, you may use one for stylistic reasons – to indicate a pause or some hesitation, for example.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Henokk17,
Are you married? is a question about a person's marital status. You could ask it about a person who has been married for a day or for fifty years - it makes no difference.
Have you got married? is a question about a change in a person's marital status. It suggests that the person was not married last time they were seeen and asks if this has changed.
Have you got any plans for the weekend? is perfectly fine.
Have got can be used to talk about relationships, characteristics and illnesses as well as possession and obligation.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello TheSullyRhino
Yes, you are absolutely right! I've changed the sentence in question to what you suggested.
Thanks for pointing that out to us.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Paula,
As you say, in US English a singular verb is used for group nouns, while in British English a plural verb can be used. In this example, the verb is plural (live rather than lives), so the correct answer is British English.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team