Top 10 most important differences between American and British English

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Top 10 differences between British and American English

Lately, foreign languages have achieved many forms of expression and a wide variety of dialects. Because we will refer to this article in English, we will go straight to the subject without wasting time.

English is a Germanic language that is currently the mother tongue for: United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. And let's not forget the Caribbean Commonwealth, which has the same mother tongue as the other countries listed above.

The history of English is quite rich in events. It dates from the 5th century, when the Germanic dialects joined together in the so-called "Old English". The spread of this foreign language was achieved quite quickly, and by the end of the 20th century, each country would have at least 100 English speakers.

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What is American English?

American English is English spoken and written in the United States and Canada. It has transformed over time certain terminologies that have come to receive a new form and be translated into the language. But let's not waste time with definitions and go straight to the subject.

1. The vocabulary of English is one of the elements that make the two dialects of the English language "very different."

In fact, let's not exaggerate the English, they get along well with people in the US. We could compare the situation between the two languages with the language used in the Republic of Moldova and the Romanian language. In both the first and the second situation there are hundreds of words that are used with the same but with the totally different form.

For example, in British English the hood is transposed with the word "bonnet", and in English, the word is translated as "hood". If people in the USA live in so-called "apartments," the British live in "flat."

2. The difference between the two by placing the collective noun

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The placement of the collective noun is different for the two typologies. In English, collective nouns are usually single nouns. In British English, collective nouns can be singular but can also be plural.

Let's give a small example: The word "staff" and "band" are words that in American English attributed only to a group of members. In British English these types of words can be used in both singular and plural. Thus, the word "team" can be used in the group "The team is playing this morning", but it can also be used with "The team are playing this morning".

3. How the auxiliary verb helps the main verb in action

As a rule auxiliary verbs help the main verbs, providing information about time, way, and voice. The way this verb is put in the sentence differs from one area to another.

Take, for example, the verb "will". In English, this verb is used in many more cases to express the future. In American English it is replaced by "should" and can come into context in the form "Should we go now?". Also in British English, the same sentence appears in the following way: "Shall we go now?".

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4. Differences between the formulation of irregular verbs

For some irregular verbs in English, verbs are finalized in "ed". In English, the verbs end in "t". For example, the word "learnt" is very often used in English in the UK, while the "learned" form will be used in 90% of American English.

Although both forms are completely correct, they are used in a different way depending on the country.