AmE & BrE Grammar #2

1) BrE uses from…to/till/until while AmE uses from…through:

BrE:    The optician is open from eight till four.
AmE:    The optometrist is open from eight through four.

There are also a number of other differences in BrE and AmE prepositions, e.g. different to/than, at/on the weekend, ten past/after midnight.

2) BrE can use shall for offers and suggestions while AmE uses should:

BrE:    Shall I call a taxi?
AmE:    Should I call cab?

3) BrE uses a lot of question tags. AmE does not; instead it uses words like right and ok:

BrE:    I’ll park on the verge, shall I?
AmE:    I’ll park on the shoulder, right?

4) BrE can use a singular or plural verb for collective nouns while AmE uses only a singular verb:

BrE:    The team are playing badly.
AmE:    The team is playing badly.

5) In informal speech, AmE sometimes use adverbs without the -ly ending:

BrE:    Autumn was really cold this year.
AmE:    Fall was real cold this year.

6) With double imperatives beginning with go, AmE sometimes drops the joining and:

BrE:    Go and open the door.
AmE:    Go open the door.

©  S.J.Sutton, Lingua Systems, 1996

American E & British E Grammar #1

Present perfect & past simple; have & have got; irregular verbs.

1) BrE sometimes uses the present perfect while AmE use the past simple:

BrE: Have you eaten all those biscuits?
AmE: Did you eat all those cookies?

BrE: Have you ever seen the film, Casablanca?
AmE: Did you ever see the movie, Casablanca?

2) BrE uses have got while AmE tends to use have:

BrE: Have you got new training shoes?
AmE: Do you have new sneakers?

BrE: I’ve got some wellington boots you can borrow.
AmE: I have some rubbers you can borrow.

BrE: I haven’t got time for a holiday this year.
AmE: I don’t have time for a vacation this year.

3) There are some differences in irregular verbs between AmE and BrE. Two major differences are:

BrE: dive – dived – dived She dived into the pool.
AmE: dive – dove – dived She dove into the pool.

BrE: get – got – got The baby has got a lot bigger.
AmE: get – got -gotten The baby has gotten a lot bigger.

Past Continuous