Differences Between American and British English ppt

Differences Between American and British English With more examples and execises with answers While there are certainly many more varieties of English, American and British English are

Differences Between American and British English

( With more examples and execises with answers)

While there are certainly many more varieties of English, American and British English are the two varieties that are taught in most ESL/EFL

programs Generally, it is agreed that no one version is "correct" however, there are certainly preferences in use The most important rule of thumb is to try to be consistent in your usage If you decide that you want to use

American English spellings then be consistent in your spelling (i.e The color of the orange is also its flavour - color is American spelling and

flavour is British), this is of course not always easy - or possible The

following guide is meant to point out the principal differences between these two varieties of English

Use of the Present Perfect

In British English the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment For example:

I've lost my key Can you help me look for it?

In American English the following is also possible:

I lost my key Can you help me look for it?

In British English the above would be considered incorrect However, both forms are generally accepted in standard American English Other

differences involving the use of the present perfect in British English and

simple past in American English include already, just and yet

British English:

I've just had lunch

I've already seen that film

Have you finished your homework yet?

American English:

I just had lunch OR I've just had lunch

I've already seen that film OR I already saw that film

Have your finished your homework yet? OR Did you finish your homework yet?

Possession

There are two forms to express possession in English Have or Have got

Do you have a car?

Have you got a car?

He hasn't got any friends

He doesn't have any friends

She has a beautiful new home

She's got a beautiful new home

While both forms are correct (and accepted in both British and American English), have got (have you got, he hasn't got, etc.) is generally the

preferred form in British English while most speakers of American English employ the have (do you have, he doesn't have etc.)

The Verb Get

The past participle of the verb get is gotten in American English Example He's gotten much better at playing tennis British English - He's got much better at playing tennis

Vocabulary

Probably the major differences between British and American English lies in the choice of vocabulary Some words mean different things in the two varieties for example:

Mean: (American English - angry, bad humored, British English - not

generous, tight fisted)

Rubber: (American English - condom, British English - tool used to erase pencil markings)

There are many more examples (too many for me to list here) If there is a difference in usage, your dictionary will note the different meanings in its definition of the term Many vocabulary items are also used in one form and not in the other One of the best examples of this is the terminology used for automobiles

American English - hood British English - bonnet

American English - trunk British English - boot

American English - truck British English - lorry

Once again, your dictionary should list whether the term is used in British English or American English

For a more complete list of the vocabulary differences between British and American English use this

Prepositions

There are also a few differences in preposition use including the following: American English - on the

weekend

British English - at the weekend

American English - on a team British English - in a team

American English - please write

me soon

British English - please write to me

soon

Past Simple/Past Participles

The following verbs have two acceptable forms of the past simple/past

participle in both American and British English, however, the irregular form

is generally more common in British English (the first form of the two) and the regular form is more common to American English

Burn Burnt OR burned Dream dreamt OR dreamed Lean leant OR leaned Learn learnt OR learned Smell smelt OR smelled Spell spelt OR spelled Spill spilt OR spilled Spoil spoilt OR spoiled

Spelling

Here are some general differences between British and American spellings:

Words ending in -or (American) -our (British) color, colour, humor, humour, flavor, flavour etc

Words ending in -ize (American) -ise (British) recognize, recognise,

patronize, patronise etc

The best way to make sure that you are being consistent in your spelling is to

use the spell check on your word processor (if you are using the computer of course) and choose which variety of English you would like As you can see, there are really very few differences between standard British English and standard American English However, the largest difference is probably that

of the choice of vocabulary and pronunciation For further information

concerning these areas please refer to the following

more examples

1) English is my favourite subject at school British English

2) Have you seen Dick's new truck? American English

3) The park is in the center of our town American English

4) Mr Barnes, our caretaker, found my key British English

5) I like French fries, they're very crispy American English

6) Have you seen the latest movie? American English

7) I've passed this test So I'll get my driving licence very soon British

English

8) The accident happened because the blue car didn't stop at the traffic lights British English

9) Tom told me to get off the Underground at Tower Hill British

English

10) They have moved into a semi-detached house British English

more examples

can tin

license plate number plate

movie theater cinema

windshield (car) windscreen

Exercises Exercise 1

How many differences between British and American English can you find from reading these two short texts?

Mark (Hampshire, England)

‘I’m going to rake up the leaves in the garden, then get a DVD for tonight from the shop on the High Street, unless you’d rather go to the cinema There’s no point cleaning the house now because Simon’s got his mates coming round to watch the football, and the last time they came they left crisps all over the carpet!’

Mark (New Hampshire, United States)

‘My buddy Jim must be one of the most accident-prone people in the world Last year he went to hospital four times – first he broke his toe playing soccer, then he tripped over and broke his wrist when he was walking out of

a store on Main Street, then he burnt himself at a barbecue here in our yard, then he somehow got a potato chip stuck in his throat at the movie theatre!’

Answers :

garden/yard, shop/store, High Street/Main Street, cinema/movie theatre, mate/buddy, football/soccer, (potato) crisp/chip

Exercise 2

Fill in the gaps to complete the table of British English words and their American equivalents

BRITISH AMERICAN BRITISH AMERICAN

1 biscuit c _ _ kie 11 torch flashl _ _ _ _

2 l _ rry truck 12 p _ yrise raise

3 puncture f _ _ t 13 curtains dr _ pe _

4 rubbish bin t _ _ _ h can 14 note

(money) _ ill

5 ground floor f _ _ _ _

floor

15 bill (e.g in

a restaurant) ch _ _ k

6 c _ retaker janitor 16 boot (of a

7 t _ n can 17 cook _ _ stove

8 zip zipp _ _ 18 return

(ticket) r _ _ nd trip

9 windscr _ _

19 single (ticket) o _ e-w _ y

10

underground

(train system)

subw _ _ 20 p _ _ tbox mailbox

Answers: 1 cookie 2 lorry 3 flat 4 trash can 5 first 6 caretaker 7

tin

8 zipper 9 windscreen 10 subway 11 flashlight 12 payrise 13 drapes

14 bill 15 check 16 trunk 17 cooker 18 round trip 19 one-way 20 postbox

(Note that some American English words such as can and cookie are now

also commonly used in British English.)

Exercise 3

Look each of the sentences below and decide whether they are written in British English (B), American English (A), or if they would be the same in both types of English (AB)

Then change the British English sentences into American English, and the American English sentences into British English

1 Did you get a single or a return?

2 It’s a really busy, noisy road – there are trucks going past all the time

3 She lives on the first floor, so you won’t have to go up any stairs

4 Shall I just put this stuff in the trash can?

5 I got a puncture when I was cycling to work yesterday

6 My dad works as a janitor at the local school

7 I went to the shop to buy five tins of peaches and some biscuits

8 It’s one of the biggest cities in Europe

9 Excuse me, could we have the check please?

10 Yes, thank you, the meal was excellent

11 It’s dark out there, so take a torch

12 I’m going to have to clean this windshield – I can hardly see out of it If you could just bring me some water, I’ll use the cloth I’ve got in the trunk

13 That bag looks far too heavy for you to carry

14 I need to get this bag repaired because the zip’s broken

15 It’s about twenty minutes on the subway

16 I’d like a new cooker, but we can’t really afford it

17 I hate my job – my boss is an idiot and I haven’t had a raise for four years

18 Their new carpet’s a weird colour and it doesn’t match the drapes at all

19 I’m sure I had a twenty-dollar bill in this pocket, so where is it now?

20 Honey, can you go and put this in the mailbox for me?

Answers:

1 B: Did you get a single (one way) or a return (round trip)?

2 A: It’s a really busy, noisy road – there are trucks (lorries) going past all

the time

3 A: She lives on the first (ground) floor, so you won’t have to go up any

stairs

4 A: Shall I just put this stuff in the trash can (rubbish bin)?

5 B: I got a puncture (flat) when I was cycling to work yesterday

6 A: My dad works as a janitor (caretaker) at the local school

7 B: I went to the shop (store) to buy five tins (cans) of peaches and some biscuits (cookies)

8 AB

9 A: Excuse me, could we have the check (bill) please?

10 AB

11 B: It’s dark out there, so take a torch (flashlight)

12 A: I’m going to have to clean this windshield (windscreen) – I can

hardly see out of it If you could just bring me some water, I’ll use the cloth

I’ve got in the trunk (boot)

13 AB

14 B: I need to get this bag repaired because the zip’s (zipper’s) broken

15 A: It’s about twenty minutes on the subway (underground / Tube)

16 B: I’d like a new cooker (stove), but we can’t really afford it

17 A: I hate my job – my boss is an idiot and I haven’t had a raise (payrise)

for four years

18 A: Their new carpet’s a weird colour and it doesn’t match the drapes (curtains) at all

19 A: I’m sure I had a twenty-dollar bill (note) in this pocket, so where is it

now?

20 A: Honey, can you go and put this in the mailbox (postbox) for me?