Differences Between American vs. British English

My students often ask me about how to tell American and British English apart. Well, the differences in American and British English mainly lie in pronunciation, grammar, spelling and vocabulary. 

For example, the American accent in California will be somewhat different from the one used in New York, and similarly, a Cockney accent will not sound the same as a Yorkshire accent in spoken British English. 

In this article, we’re going to concentrate on the general differences between British and American English. 

American vs British English Pronunciation Differences

The most obvious difference between American and British English (at least, in the spoken version) would have to be the pronunciation.

Below are the general differences between the two. As mentioned earlier, there can be even more differences depending on the subdialect.

The “r” at the end of many words

In general, if there’s a letter “r” at the end of a word, it’s usually pronounced in American English. In most dialects of British English, it’s not pronounced.

Compare these words, for example:

American English	British English
computer	computer
clever	clever
brother	brother

However, most dialects will generally pronounce r’s at the beginning of a word, like in:

American English	British English
red	red
Ryan	Ryan

The “r” in the middle of many words

Similarly, the r’s in the middle of a word are often noticeably softer and harder to hear in British English. In American English, they’re a bit clearer.

Some examples include:

American English	British English
large	large
work	work
park	park
turn	turn

Note that the “r” sound in the middle of some words will always be pronounced, no matter the dialect! This is the case in words like:

American English	British English
barrier	barrier
parent	parent

The letter “t” as a double consonant

Another common characteristic of American English is two t’s in a row sounding more like a “d.”

In British English, this is less common, and the t’s are usually more clearly pronounced.

Check these out:

American English	British English
bitter	bitter
litter	litter
better	better
butter	butter

The letter “t” after the letter “n”

Another time when American English speakers don’t pronounce t’s is when the “t” follows the letter “n.” 

For example, a British person would say international , while an American would say international .

Notice how the first “t” is pronounced in the British version, while the American version sounds more like “innernational.”

This difference is even more obvious in casual speech. If Americans are speaking formally, they might pronounce the t’s more clearly.

The letter “a” in general

Many vowels also sound different, but the most common difference between American and British English is with the letter “a” in some words.

For example, there’s a phonetic sound [æ] that’s basically an “a” and an “e” combined into one letter. This sound is more common in American English than British English.

Listen to these words and hear the differences for yourself:

American English	British English
dance	dance
after	after
mathematics	mathematics

Grammar Differences Between American and British English

In general, there aren’t many grammar differences between American and British English. These differences are subtle, though, so if you want to become fluent in either dialect, it’s important that you master the little things that set the two apart.

Have — have got — got

In general British English conversation, they use the verb phrase “have got,” but American English simply uses “have.”

American English	British English
I have a car.	I have got a car.

This makes the question formats differ, as well.

American English	British English
Do you have a car?	Have you got a car?

There’s also a strong tendency in American English to say “I got” to mean “I have.” Generally this is not considered correct grammar. This probably comes from quickly saying “I’ve got,” and not clearly pronouncing the “‘ve” part.

So, it becomes “I got,” like in the phrase “I got a car.” For an American English speaker, this could mean that “I have a car right now” or “I got a car sometime in the past.”

Got — gotten

Most past tense verbs are the same in British and American English, but there are a few exceptions. The most common exception is the past participle of the verb “to get.”

In American English, the past participle of “to get” is usually “gotten.” In British English, it’s “got.”

American English	British English
get got gotten	get got got

So, let’s imagine that your coworker Tony called you earlier in the day. Now, imagine your boss asks you, “Hey, has Tony called you yet today?” This is how the two responses would look:

American English	British English
I've already gotten a call from him.	I've already got a call from him.

The verb “to forget” has a similar difference, as you can see here:

American English	British English
forget forgot forgotten	forget forgot forgot

Past tense verbs ending in “-t” and “-ed” 

For regular verbs, you form the simple past and past participle forms by adding an “-ed” to the end of the word. Some common examples are:

Infinitive	Past Simple or Past Participle
look	looked
push	pushed
pull	pulled

This is generally true in both American and British English. However, there are some regular verbs in British English that form the past tenses by adding “-t” instead of “-ed.” For example:

Verb	American English	British English
burn	burned	burnt
dream	dreamed	dreamt
learn	learned	learnt

Note that in British English, there are usually two options. For example, you could say “burnt” or “burned” in British English, but “burnt” is more common.

In American English, you only use the “-ed” past tense form for these verbs.

Prepositions

As a quick reminder, a preposition is a word that shows the relationship between two nouns. Prepositions can be words like “at,” “in,” “under,” “on,” etc.

Prepositions can be different in British and American English. There are many more examples, but a few common ones include:

American English	British English
on the weekend	at the weekend
different from	different to
wait in line	wait on line
Monday through Saturday	Monday to Saturday

Aside from the above, you can find many more examples of grammatical differences by listening to media from Britain and America. Use the FluentU program to make the most of your studies, since it gives you the transcript and definitions right in the video as you watch.

How to Spell in American English vs. British English

Spelling of “-our” vs “-or”

A few words are spelled “-our” (with a “u”) in British English, while in American English, the “u” is omitted.

American English	British English
color	colour
flavor	flavour
favor	favour
favorite	favourite
neighbor	neighbour

Spelling of “-ise” vs “-ize” 

Likewise, some words that are usually spelled with an “-ise” in British English would be spelled with an “-ize” in American English instead.

American English	British English
organize	organise
realize	realise
recognize	recognise
sympathize	sympathise
optimize	optimise

Single vs. double consonants

Some words in British English have two consonants in a row, but the same words in American English only have one consonant. 

This is often the case with the letter “l.” In British English, two are often used, while there’s only one in American English.

American English	British English
traveled	travelled
canceled	cancelled
modeled	modelled
labeled	labelled
signaled	signalled

How American and British Vocabulary Differ

Vocabulary is the area that arguably causes the most confusion between English speakers of different dialects.

I want to focus on the 33 most common ones I’ve noticed in my personal experience as an English teacher and English speaker.

If you’re learning American English but are planning a visit to the United Kingdom (or vice-versa), these are some of the differences you’re most likely to notice. 

American English	British English	Definitions
airplane	aeroplane	an aircraft or flying mode of transportation
cookie	biscuit	a sweet baked dessert made out of flour and sugar
drugstore pharmacy	chemist	a place where you can buy medicine or other small household items
French fries fries	chips	long pieces of fried potatoes
chips	crisps	fried potatoes, but much smaller, thinner and rounder
trash can garbage can	dustbin	a container where you can put your garbage, trash or waste
movie theater	cinema	a place where you can watch movies in public
movie	film	moving images on a screen that tell a story
soda pop	fizzy drink	carbonated drinks that are usually sweet
apartment	flat	a small rented home in a larger building
soccer	football	a sport in which two teams use their feet to score goals with a ball
vacation	holiday	a trip to a different place as a break from school or work
sweater sweatshirt	jumper	a piece of clothing with long sleeves that you wear on the top of your body
elevator	lift	a machine that takes you from one floor of a building to another
truck	lorry	a large vehicle that can carry cargo
math	maths	abbreviation for "mathematics"
cell phone	mobile phone	a small portable phone
diaper	nappy	a thing babies wear so they don't poop and pee all over the place
underwear panties	pants	a piece of clothing for your private area
pants	trousers	a piece of clothing that covers your legs
sidewalk	pavement	a place where people can walk, between the street and the buildings
gasoline	petrol	fuel that most cars use
mail	post	letters that are hand-delivered
stroller	pram	a small chair on wheels that you push around to transport a baby
line	queue	a group of people that form a line to wait for a service or to enter a place
to call	to ring	to use the telephone to contact someone
eraser	rubber	a small object that you rub on paper to remove pencil marks or mistakes
candy	sweets	treats made out of sugar
bathroom (private) restroom (public)	toilet (general) loo (informal)	a room where you do your "private business"
sneakers tennis shoes	trainers	athletic shoes
the subway	the Underground the Tube (London)	the transportation system of trains in underground tunnels
closet	wardrobe	a large piece of furniture where you can store your hanging clothes
z ("zee")	z ("zed")	the last letter of the English alphabet

 

So there you go! I hope that you learned something new or picked up an interesting tidbit or two from this post.

All the best in your English lessons and travels!

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