British English vs American English same words different spelling

British English vs American English: do these two confuse you? Whether you need translation to or from English, Language Direct can help you!

british english vs american english

British English or BrE is the system of English used in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, American English or AmE is the system of English used in the United States. There is very little difference between the written forms of BrE and AmE. Formal written English, in the media through newspapers or books, is “standard English”. There is more considerable variance between these two forms of English when spoken. This is the result of the development of various dialects and accents, as well as increase of immigrant population.

British English vs American English: Grammar

Tenses:
BrE speakers use the present prefect tense (has/have + past participle) more than AmE speakers. Instead, AmE speakers usually use the simple past tense. For example:
— AmE: Did you see my phone anywhere? / They already saw the movie.
— BrE: Have you seen my phone anywhere? / They’ve already seen the movie.

Collective Nouns:
AmE always uses a singular verb for collective nouns. A singular or plural verb can be used with collective nouns in BrE to denote if the group is thought of as a whole or as individual units. For example:
— AmE: My class is quiet.
— BrE: The other class are all yelling.

Delexical Verbs:
Delexical verbs are those that are used in contexts where it has very little meaning, but it is used with an object noun describing an action. BrE commonly uses the delexical verb “have” while AmE uses “take”. They are usually used to refer to common or daily activities. For example:
— AmE: She’s taking a bath. / The baby is taking a nap.
— BrE: She’s having a bath. / The baby is having a nap.

Auxiliaries and Modals:
BrE often uses “do” to substitute a verb when responding to a question, while AmE simply omits it. For example, to answer the question: Are you having dinner with us?
— BrE: I might do. / AmE: I might.
While AmE uses “don’t need to”, BrE uses “needn’t” instead. For example:
— BrE: You needn’t attend the meeting. / AmE: You don’t need to attend the meeting.
Past Tense and Past Participle:
Some verbs vary when transformed into their past tense or past participle forms. For example, in AmE, the past participle of “get” is “gotten”. In BrE, its “got”.

British English vs American English: Spelling

Words ending in -re:
BrE words that end in -re often end in -er in AmE. For Example:
— AmE: center / fiber / liter
— BrE: centre / fibre / litre
Words ending in -our:
BrE words that end in -our often end in -or in AmE. For example:
— AmE: color / favor / humor / neighbor
— BrE: colour / favour / humour / neighbour
Words ending in -ize or -ise:
BrE verbs that can be spelled with -ize or -ise is always spelled with -ize in AmE. For example:
— AmE: realize / apologize
— BrE: realize or realise / apologize or apologise
Words ending in -yse:
BrE verbs ending in -yse are always spelled with -yze in AmE. For example:
— AmE: analyze / paralyze
— BrE: analyse / paralyse
Verbs ending in a vowel + l:
In BrE, when adding word endings to verbs that end with a vowel + l, the letter “l” is doubled. In AmE, the letter “l” is not doubled. For example: [Travel]
— AmE- traveling / traveler /traveled
— BrE- travelling / traveller / travelled
Words with double vowels:
BrE words that are spelled with “ae” or “oe” are simply spelled with an “e” in AmE. For example:
— AmE: leukemia / pediatric / estrogen
— BrE: leukaemia / paediatric / oestrogen
Nouns that end with -ence:
Some nouns that end in -ence in BrE are spelled with -ense in AmE. For example:
— AmE: defense / offense / license
— BrE: defence / offence / licence
Nouns ending in -ogue:
Some nouns that end in -ogue in BrE are spelled with either -og or -ogue in AmE. For example:
— AmE: catalogue or catalog
— BrE: catalogue

British English vs American English: Vocabulary

There are many differences in the vocabulary between BrE and AmE. These are the effects of various dialects within regions evolving over time. Here are some examples:

AmE / BrE

counter-clockwise / anti-clockwise
autumn or fall / autumn
lawyer / barrister
driver’s license / driving licence
cookie / biscuit
parking lot / car park
the movies / the cinema
potato chips / crisps
detour / diversion
overpass / flyover
Girl Scout / Girl Guide
main street / high street
18-wheeler / juggernaut
freeway or expressway / motorway
diaper / nappy
gas / petrol
mail / post
bar / pub
trash or garbage / rubbish
candy / sweets
can / tin
undershirt / vest
vest / waistcoat

In addition, there are also words or phrases that mean completely different, sometimes even opposite, when used in British English vs. American English. For example, “football” in BrE refers to soccer, while in AmE, it refers to American football. “Hockey” in BrE refers to field hockey, while in AmE, it refers to ice hockey. The phrase “to table” an item in the agenda in BrE means to open it for discussion. In AmE, it means to remove it or delay it.

Other phrases or expressions can cause misunderstandings and embarrassment. The AmE word “pants” is more commonly known as “trousers” in BrE. A BrE speaker would think you are referring to underpants by using the word “pants”. In AmE, the word “quite” is a qualifier which means “very”: I’m quite hungry. = I’m very hungry. In BrE, “quite” could mean “somewhat”. So if you say: I’m quite hungry, your friend who speaks BrE will understand this as: I’m somewhat hungry. The divergence of other coarse, slang words may be offensive to the other speaker.

Here’s a quick pronunciation lesson of British English vs American English:

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