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Difference of between British and american English

Difference between American and British English

Accent

It’s difficult to make clear distinctions between US and UK accents when there is such a wide variety of accents within both the US and UK. A Texan and a New Yorker are both Americans, but have very different accents. The same goes for British accents in London, Manchester and Glasgow.
However, some very general distinctions can be made. Americans usually pronounce every “r” in a word, while the British tend to only pronounce the “r” when it’s the first letter of a word.

Spelling

American EnglishBritish English
colorcolour
behaviorbehaviour
theatertheatre
metermetre
organizeorganise
traveledtravelled

Vocabulary

American EnglishBritish English
apartmentflat
collegeuniversity
theatertheatre
vacationholiday
chipscrisps
(french) frieschips
the moviesthe cinema
soda / pop / coke / soft drinksoft drink / fizzy drink
sneakers / tennis shoestrainers
sweaterjumper
mailboxpostbox
band-aidplaster
drugstorechemist’s
soccerfootball
cookiebiscuit

Grammar

Prepositions

The differences below are only a general rule. American speech has influenced Britain via pop culture, and vice versa. Therefore, some prepositional differences are not as pronounced as they once were.
American EnglishBritish English
I’m going to a party on the weekend.I’m going to a party at the weekend.
What are you doing onChristmas?What are you doing atChristmas?
Monday throughFriday.Monday to Friday.
It’s different from/than the others.It’s different from/to the others.

Past Simple vs Present Perfect

Americans tend to use the past simple when describing something that has recently occurred, while people in the UK are more likely to use the present perfect.
American EnglishBritish English
I ate too much.I’ve eaten too much.
I went to the store.I’ve been to the shop.
Did you get the newspaper?Have you got the newspaper?

The past participle of get

In the UK, “gotten” as the past participle of “get” is considered archaic and was abandoned long ago in favor of “got.” However, in the US people still use “gotten” as the past participle.
American EnglishBritish English
get — got — gottenget — got — got
I haven’t gotten any news about him.I’ve not got any news about him.

Collective nouns: singular or plural?

In British English, a collective noun (like committee, government, team, etc.) can be either singular or plural, but more often tends toward plural, emphasizing the members of the group. Collective nouns in the US, by comparison, are always singular, emphasizing the group as one whole entity.
American EnglishBritish English
The government is doing everything it can during this crisis.The government are doing everything they can during this crisis.
My team iswinning.My team arewinning.

Regular or irregular verbs?

This is a subtle difference that can be easily overlooked in speech, but is much more apparent in written form. Many verbs that are irregular in the preterite in Britain (leapt, dreamt, burnt, learnt) have been made regular in America (leaped, dreamed, burned, learned).

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