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