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1、Differences in American and British English grammarIntroductionSpeakers of American English generally use the present perfect tense (have/has + past participle) far less than speakers of British English. In spoken American English it is very common to use the simple past tense as an alternative in s
2、ituations where the present perfect would usually have been used in British English. The two situations where this is especially likely are:(i) In sentences which talk about an action in the past that has an effect in the present:American English / British English Jenny feels ill. She ate too much.
3、Jenny feels ill. Shes eaten too much. I cant find my keys. Did you see them anywhere? I cant find my keys. Have you seen them anywhere?(ii) In sentences which contain the words already, just or yet:American English / British English A: Are they going to the show tonight? B: No. They already saw it.
4、A: Are they going to the show tonight? B: No. Theyve already seen it. A: Is Samantha here? B: No, she just left. A: Is Samantha here? B: No, shes just left. A: Can I borrow your book? B: No, I didnt read it yet. A: Can I borrow your book? B: No, I havent read it yet. 1. Verb agreement with collectiv
5、e nounsIn British English collective nouns, (i.e. nouns referring to particular groups of people or things), (e.g. staff , government, class, team) can be followed by a singular or plural verb depending on whether the group is thought of as one idea, or as many individuals, e.g.:My team is winning.T
6、he other team are all sitting down.In American English collective nouns are always followed by a singular verb, so an American would usually say:Which team is losing?whereas in British English both plural and singular forms of the verb are possible, as in:Which team is/are losing?2. Use of “have” an
7、d “take”In British English, the verb have frequently functions as what is technically referred to as a delexical verb, i.e. it is used in contexts where it has very little meaning in itself but occurs with an object noun which describes an action, e.g.:Id like to have a bath.Have is frequently used
8、in this way with nouns referring to common activities such as washing or resting, e.g.:Shes having a little nap.Ill just have a quick shower before we go out.In American English, the verb take, rather than have, is used in these contexts, e.g.:Joes taking a shower.Id like to take a bath.Lets take a
9、short vacation.Why dont you take a rest now?3. Use of auxiliaries and modalsIn British English, the auxiliary do is often used as a substitute for a verb when replying to a question, e.g.: A: Are you coming with us? B: I might do.In American English, do is not used in this way, e.g.: A: Are you comi
10、ng with us? B: I might.In British English neednt is often used instead of dont need to, e.g.:They neednt come to school today.They dont need to come to school today.In American English neednt is very unusual and the usual form is dont need to, i.e.:They dont need to come to school today.In British E
11、nglish, shall is sometimes used as an alternative to will to talk about the future, e.g.:I shall/will be there later.In American English, shall is unusual and will is normally used.In British English shall I / we is often used to ask for advice or an opinion, e.g.:Shall we ask him to come with us?In
12、 American English should is often used instead of shall, i.e.:Should we ask him to come with us?4. Use of prepositionsIn British English, at is used with many time expressions, e.g.:at Christmas/five o clockat the weekendIn American English, on is always used when talking about the weekend, not at,
13、e.g.:Will they still be there on the weekend?Shell be coming home on weekends. In British English, at is often used when talking about universities or other institutions, e.g.:She studied chemistry at university.In American English, in is often used, e.g.:She studied French in high school.In British
14、 English, to and from are used with the adjective different, e.g.:This place is different from/to anything Ive seen before.In American English from and than are used with different, e.g.:This place is different from/than anything Ive seen before.In British English to is always used after the verb wr
15、ite, e.g.:I promised to write to her every day.In American English, to can be omitted after write, i.e.:I promised to write her every day.5. Past tense formsBelow is a table showing verbs which have different simple past and past participle forms in American and British English. Note that the irregu
16、lar past forms burnt, dreamt and spoilt are possible in American English, but less common than the forms ending in -ed.InfinitiveSimple past(Br)Simple past(Am)Past participle(Br)Past participle(Am)burnburned/burntburned/burntburned/burntburned/burntbustbustbustedbustbusteddivediveddove/diveddiveddiv
17、eddreamdreamed/dreamtdreamed/dreamtdreamed/dreamtdreamed/dreamtgetgotgotgotgottenleanleaned/leantleanedleaned/leantleanedlearnlearned/learntlearnedlearned/learntlearnedpleadpleadedpleaded/pledpleadedpleaded/pledproveprovedprovedprovedproved/provensawsawedsawedsawnsawn/sawedsmellsmelled/smeltsmelleds
18、melled/smeltsmelledspillspilled/spiltspilledspilled/spiltspilledspoilspoiled/spoiltspoiled/spoiltspoiled/spoiltspoiled/spoiltstinkstankstank/stunkstunkstunkwakewokewoke/wakedwokenwokenNote that have got is possible in American English, but is used with the meaning have, gotten is the usual past participle of get, e.g. American EnglishBritish EnglishYouve got two brothers(= you have two brothers)Youve got two brothersYouve gotten taller this yearYouve got taller this year