Unit 17
British and American English
1,Morphology
In American English,a number of
irregular verbs have become regularised,
while remaining irregular in British
English:
a) In many instances,it is only the voicing
of the past tense morpheme -(e)d which
has been changed to regularise the verb:
British English American English
Present Past or Past or
Past Participle Past Participle
burn burnt burned
dwell dwelt dwelled
learn learnt learned
smell smelt smelled
spell spelt spelled
spill spilt spilled
spoil spoilt spoiled
b) In some irregular British English
verbs,there is a vowel change from /i/
in the present to /e/ in the past
participle forms,The American
English forms retain
the present tense vowel
in the following cases,
as well as voicing the
ending.
British English American English
Present Past or Past or
Past Participle Past Participle
dream dreamt /dremt/ dreamed/drimd/
kneel knelt /nelt/ kneeled/ni:ld/
lean leant/lent/ leaned/li:nd/
leap leapt/lept/ leaped/li:pt/
c) The past participle " gotten " is not used
in British English,In American English,it
was formerly restricted to being used in
the sense of " obtain" or " acquire":
I've gotten a new car since I last saw
you.
Now,however," gotten" can be used in
all meanings except for "have" in
American English:
We have gotten home late again.
They have gotten me into
trouble again.
We had already gotten off
the train when it was hit.
I have got plenty to eat.
I have got the idea now.
( understand )
2,Derivational
Two verb-forming affixes which are
somewhat more productive In
American English than British English
are:
-ify,citify,humidify,uglify
-ize,burglarize,decimalize,
hospitalize,rubberize,slenderize
b) Another way of forming new words
is by simply changing a word’s
grammatical class,Again,there is
more of a tendency to form new words
in this way in
American English
than in British
English,e.g:
Noun Verb
an author to author
a host to host
a sky rocket to sky-rocket
pressure to pressure
(B.E,to
pressurize)
a room to room
( I room at the house,)
3,Auxiliaries
a) must
The negative of epistemic " must" is "
can't" in Southern British
English ( In the north-west of England,"
mustn't" is used rather Ethan "can't" ):
He must be in ---his TV is on.
He can't be in---his car is gone.
In American English,the most common
negative of epistemic " must " is " must not ".
Note that,unlike north-west British English,In
American English this can’t be contracted to "
mustn’t " without changing the meaning of the
auxiliary to " not be allowed ":
He must not be in---his car is gone.
( epistemic )
You mustn't be in when we arrive.
( not allowed )
However," mustn't" can be
epistemic in the past perfect:
He mustn't have been in.
( Even in such cases,the
uncontracted form is preferred in
American English.)
b) used to:
In questioning or negating
sentences with the modal " used to ",
British English can treat " used to "
either as an auxiliary,in which case it
inverts in questions and receives
negation,or as a lexical verb
requiring " do" for these
constructions:
He used to go there,( auxiliary )
Used he to go there? ( lexical verb )
Did he use to go there? ( auxiliary )
He didn't use to go there,( lexical verb )
In American English,"used to " is
treated only as a lexical verb in these
constructions,and this is also becoming
increasingly the case in British English.
Context Do-substitution Deletion
British only both American
and British.
Did he pass his exam?
Yes,he did do,Yes,he did.
Have you cleaned the room?
Yes,I have done,Yes,I have.
I haven't read this yet.
But I will do,But I will.
I haven't bought one.
But I may do,But I may
Couldn't you do that later?
Yes,we could do,Yes,we could.
4,Verb Phrases
1) In British English,the copular
verbs " seem,act,look and sound " can
be followed directly by an indefinite
noun phrase,In American English,
these verbs must be followed first by
the preposition " like "; " seem " can
also be followed by the infinitive " to
be ":
British American/British
It seemed a long time,It seemed like a long
time.
He seems an intelligent
man,He seems to be an
intelligent man.
John acted a real fool.
John acted like a real
fool.
British American/British
That sounds a bad That sounds like a bad
idea,idea,
That house looks a That house looks like a
nice one,nice one.
2) " like,
British/American American
We'd like you to
do this now,We'd like for youto do this now.
3) The verb " want " can be followed
directly by the adverbs " in " and "out" in
American English,In British English,"
want " must be followed first by an
infinitive:
British American
I wanted to come in.
I wanted to be let in,I wanted in.
The dog wants to go
out,The dog wants out.
Also " want " can be used in the
sense of " need " in British English
with an inanimate subject:
The house wants painting.
This is not possible in American
English.
4) The verb " decide " can be used as a
causative verb in British English:
Non-Causative:
He decided to go because of that.
Causative:
That decided him to go.
In American English," decide " can't be
used as a causative; instead,a
periphrastic phrase must be used,such
as:
That made him decide to go.
“Buy” and,sell”in American
English mean respectively,accept”
a nd,cause sb,to accept”:
He would not buy that idea.
He is trying to sell us on linguistics.
Doubt作为动词用在肯定句中后面
通常接 whether或 if,而在否定句
中则接 that,这是英国英语的用法 。
在 美 国 一 般 用 t h a t,
I doubt that...
Aim后面跟 at是英国用法，如：
He aimed at becoming a scientist.
而在美国则用 aim to，如：
He aimed to become a doctor.
Raise一词在英国 17,18世纪可作
,grow”,“breed”,“rear”解释，后
在英国此用法被淘汰，而在美国
此词仍然保持原来三种意义，如：
In England,one grow farm or
garden products,breed animals,and
rears children,In America,one
raises them all.
Mainstream,Originally it means a
prevailing current or direction of
action or influence.
Now in American English,it
means,to put the students of
mixed ability in one class.”
S ome educators warn that
markedly handicapped children
can profit more from segregated
or individual education than from
b e i n g m a i n s t r e a m e d i n t o
classrooms with other youngsters.
Loan,
These are the books loaned to
c h i l d r e n f o r h o m e u s e,
(American English)
Swing,to follow the fashion; to be
lively and up-to-date.
This magazine has got to swing,like
other magazines swing…
(American English)
Stag,Originally,it meant, a social
gathering of men only” in American
English,for example:
a stag dinner,
a stag dance
a stag party
Now,“stag” can be used as a verb,
meaning,to attend a mixed party
u n a c c o m p a n i e d by a g i r l,,
to stag it.
5) There are a few verbs in British
English and American English which
differ in the prepositions or prepositional
a d v e r b s t h e y c o l l o c a t e w i t h,
British American
to battle with/against to battle
to check up on to check out
to fill in to fill out
to meet to meet with
to prevent sth,to prevent from
becoming
to protest at/against/over to protest
to stop someone doing to stop from
to visit to visit with
美国英语倾向于在有些动词后面加
上副词或介词，以短语动词代替单
根动词，如：
American British
drown out drown
sound out sound
lose out lose
rest up rest
American British
miss out on miss
pay off pay
try out try
start up start
American British
consult with consult
visit with visit
meet with meet
He missed out on a chance to take
the exam.
It will pay off to revisit with the city.
Alfred sounded out（试探 …… 以了
解其意图；探听某人口气） his
boss about a day off from his job.
Noun Phrases
Count versus Mass Nouns
a) "lettuce " has characteristics of both a
count and mass noun in British English,
but it is only a mass noun in many
varieties of American English.
British American (mass only)
Mass:
I like lettuce,I like lettuce.
Count:
a lettuce a head of lettuce
two lettuces two heads of lettuce
b) "sport " is a count noun in both
varieties but it can also be used as an
abstract mass noun in British English:
Count:
Football is a sport I like,(British )
Football is a sport I like,(American)
Mass:
John is good at sport,(British)
John is good at sports,(American)
Articles
a) When referring to events in the
past,British English does not
require the definite article before
the phrase " next day ",This
construction is more usual in
written British English:
British:
Next day,the rains began.
I saw him next day.
American/British:
The next day,the rains began.
I saw him the next day.
b) British English does not use the definite
article in the phrase " in future " in the
meaning " from now on ",while American
does:
British,In future,I'd like you to pay more
attention to detail.
American,In the future,I'd like you to pay
more attention to detail.
both,In the future,all houses will be
heated by solar energy.
c) half
British American
half an hour a half hour
or half an hour
half a dozen eggs a half dozen
or half a dozen
half a pound of a half pound
carrots or half a pound
Prepositions
British American
behind in back of
out of out
Differences in preposition used:
a) in phrases for duration of time,
British English uses " for" where
American English uses "for" or "in":
British/American
I haven't seen him for weeks.
I haven't seen him for ages.
American Only
I haven't seen him in weeks.
I haven't seen him in ages.
b) British speakers use the preposition "at"
for ' time when",with holiday seasons,as
in,
British American
at the weekend over the weekend
at Christmas
over Christmas
on the weekend
c) In expressing clock-time,British
English uses the prep,"to" and "past" the
hour while American English can also use
" of,till and after ":
British/American
twenty to three
five past eight
American Only
twenty of three
twenty till three
five after eight
Adverbs:
" immediately" and "directly" can function
in British English as subordinators,In
American English,they must modify a
subordinator,such as after:
British:
Immediately we went,it began to rain.
Go to his office directly you arrive.
American:
Immediately after we went,it began to rain.
go to his office directly after you arrive.
Vocabulary differences in meaning:
a) Same Word,Different Meanings:
Words British American
homely down to earth; ugly ( of people )
domestic
nervy nervous bold,full of nerve,
cheeky
pants underpants trousers
pavement footpath,sidewalk road surface
to tick off to scold to make angry
b) Same word,Additional meaning
in one variety,Often the additional
meaning is due to a metaphorical
extension of the common meaning:
Additional Meaning in American English:
Word Meaning Additional Meaning
in Common in American English
bathroom room with bath room with toilet
or shower only and sink
dumb mute stupid
regular consistent; average(as in size)
habitual,normal
Additional Meaning in American English:
Word Meaning Additional Meaning
in Common in American English
to ship to transport to transport by
by ship ship,train,plane
or truck,etc.
c) Additional Meaning in British English:
word Meaning Additional Meaning
in Common in B.B.
frontier a wild,open space border between
two countries
to mind to heed,obey to look after
c) Additional Meaning in British English:
word Meaning Additional Meaning
in Common in B.B.
smart intelligent well-groomed
surgery a medical operation an office of
any doctor
d) Same Concept or Item,Different Word:
US English Only Corresponds to B,B.
emcee compere
faucet tap
muffler(on car) silencer
rookie first year member
sophomore second year student
washcloth face flannel
British English Only American English
dynamo generator
hire purchase installment buying
nought zero
queue line
treacle molasses
spanner monkey wrench
American British
absorbent cotton cotton wool.
Alumnus graduate
any place anywhere.
Apartment flat.
American British
apartment house block of flats.
Attorney barrister or solicitor.
Automobile motorcar.
baby carriage pram
baby stroller push-chair.
Ballpoint biro.
Ballyhoo exaggerated publicity.
Bar public house.
American British
Barber gentlemen's
hairdresser.
beauty parlour ladies' hairdresser.
Billboard hoarding.
to blow one’s top to fly into a rage,
blue movie pornographic
or erotic film.
Bluff cliff
bobby pin hair grip
American British
broil grill.
to bug someone to annoy someone.
Bum tramp,vagrant.
to bump off to murder,assassinate.
Cab taxi.
call collect reverse charges.
American British
can tin.
Candy sweets.
to case a joint to spy out the land
before a robbery.
Cat jazz musician or fan.
Checkers draughts.
Closet cupboard.
comfort station public lavatory,
convenience.
American British
commercial bank clearing bank.
con-man confidence trickster.
Cookies sweet biscuits,
small cakes.
Corn maize,grain,
Crackers biscuits (dry).
American British
Crummy low-grade,poor
quality,dirty.
Cuffs turn-ups.
custom-made,
custom tailored made to measure.
dead end cul-de-sac.
dead-end street cul-de-sac.
Dessert sweet.
Detour diversion.
British and American English
1,Morphology
In American English,a number of
irregular verbs have become regularised,
while remaining irregular in British
English:
a) In many instances,it is only the voicing
of the past tense morpheme -(e)d which
has been changed to regularise the verb:
British English American English
Present Past or Past or
Past Participle Past Participle
burn burnt burned
dwell dwelt dwelled
learn learnt learned
smell smelt smelled
spell spelt spelled
spill spilt spilled
spoil spoilt spoiled
b) In some irregular British English
verbs,there is a vowel change from /i/
in the present to /e/ in the past
participle forms,The American
English forms retain
the present tense vowel
in the following cases,
as well as voicing the
ending.
British English American English
Present Past or Past or
Past Participle Past Participle
dream dreamt /dremt/ dreamed/drimd/
kneel knelt /nelt/ kneeled/ni:ld/
lean leant/lent/ leaned/li:nd/
leap leapt/lept/ leaped/li:pt/
c) The past participle " gotten " is not used
in British English,In American English,it
was formerly restricted to being used in
the sense of " obtain" or " acquire":
I've gotten a new car since I last saw
you.
Now,however," gotten" can be used in
all meanings except for "have" in
American English:
We have gotten home late again.
They have gotten me into
trouble again.
We had already gotten off
the train when it was hit.
I have got plenty to eat.
I have got the idea now.
( understand )
2,Derivational
Two verb-forming affixes which are
somewhat more productive In
American English than British English
are:
-ify,citify,humidify,uglify
-ize,burglarize,decimalize,
hospitalize,rubberize,slenderize
b) Another way of forming new words
is by simply changing a word’s
grammatical class,Again,there is
more of a tendency to form new words
in this way in
American English
than in British
English,e.g:
Noun Verb
an author to author
a host to host
a sky rocket to sky-rocket
pressure to pressure
(B.E,to
pressurize)
a room to room
( I room at the house,)
3,Auxiliaries
a) must
The negative of epistemic " must" is "
can't" in Southern British
English ( In the north-west of England,"
mustn't" is used rather Ethan "can't" ):
He must be in ---his TV is on.
He can't be in---his car is gone.
In American English,the most common
negative of epistemic " must " is " must not ".
Note that,unlike north-west British English,In
American English this can’t be contracted to "
mustn’t " without changing the meaning of the
auxiliary to " not be allowed ":
He must not be in---his car is gone.
( epistemic )
You mustn't be in when we arrive.
( not allowed )
However," mustn't" can be
epistemic in the past perfect:
He mustn't have been in.
( Even in such cases,the
uncontracted form is preferred in
American English.)
b) used to:
In questioning or negating
sentences with the modal " used to ",
British English can treat " used to "
either as an auxiliary,in which case it
inverts in questions and receives
negation,or as a lexical verb
requiring " do" for these
constructions:
He used to go there,( auxiliary )
Used he to go there? ( lexical verb )
Did he use to go there? ( auxiliary )
He didn't use to go there,( lexical verb )
In American English,"used to " is
treated only as a lexical verb in these
constructions,and this is also becoming
increasingly the case in British English.
Context Do-substitution Deletion
British only both American
and British.
Did he pass his exam?
Yes,he did do,Yes,he did.
Have you cleaned the room?
Yes,I have done,Yes,I have.
I haven't read this yet.
But I will do,But I will.
I haven't bought one.
But I may do,But I may
Couldn't you do that later?
Yes,we could do,Yes,we could.
4,Verb Phrases
1) In British English,the copular
verbs " seem,act,look and sound " can
be followed directly by an indefinite
noun phrase,In American English,
these verbs must be followed first by
the preposition " like "; " seem " can
also be followed by the infinitive " to
be ":
British American/British
It seemed a long time,It seemed like a long
time.
He seems an intelligent
man,He seems to be an
intelligent man.
John acted a real fool.
John acted like a real
fool.
British American/British
That sounds a bad That sounds like a bad
idea,idea,
That house looks a That house looks like a
nice one,nice one.
2) " like,
British/American American
We'd like you to
do this now,We'd like for youto do this now.
3) The verb " want " can be followed
directly by the adverbs " in " and "out" in
American English,In British English,"
want " must be followed first by an
infinitive:
British American
I wanted to come in.
I wanted to be let in,I wanted in.
The dog wants to go
out,The dog wants out.
Also " want " can be used in the
sense of " need " in British English
with an inanimate subject:
The house wants painting.
This is not possible in American
English.
4) The verb " decide " can be used as a
causative verb in British English:
Non-Causative:
He decided to go because of that.
Causative:
That decided him to go.
In American English," decide " can't be
used as a causative; instead,a
periphrastic phrase must be used,such
as:
That made him decide to go.
“Buy” and,sell”in American
English mean respectively,accept”
a nd,cause sb,to accept”:
He would not buy that idea.
He is trying to sell us on linguistics.
Doubt作为动词用在肯定句中后面
通常接 whether或 if,而在否定句
中则接 that,这是英国英语的用法 。
在 美 国 一 般 用 t h a t,
I doubt that...
Aim后面跟 at是英国用法，如：
He aimed at becoming a scientist.
而在美国则用 aim to，如：
He aimed to become a doctor.
Raise一词在英国 17,18世纪可作
,grow”,“breed”,“rear”解释，后
在英国此用法被淘汰，而在美国
此词仍然保持原来三种意义，如：
In England,one grow farm or
garden products,breed animals,and
rears children,In America,one
raises them all.
Mainstream,Originally it means a
prevailing current or direction of
action or influence.
Now in American English,it
means,to put the students of
mixed ability in one class.”
S ome educators warn that
markedly handicapped children
can profit more from segregated
or individual education than from
b e i n g m a i n s t r e a m e d i n t o
classrooms with other youngsters.
Loan,
These are the books loaned to
c h i l d r e n f o r h o m e u s e,
(American English)
Swing,to follow the fashion; to be
lively and up-to-date.
This magazine has got to swing,like
other magazines swing…
(American English)
Stag,Originally,it meant, a social
gathering of men only” in American
English,for example:
a stag dinner,
a stag dance
a stag party
Now,“stag” can be used as a verb,
meaning,to attend a mixed party
u n a c c o m p a n i e d by a g i r l,,
to stag it.
5) There are a few verbs in British
English and American English which
differ in the prepositions or prepositional
a d v e r b s t h e y c o l l o c a t e w i t h,
British American
to battle with/against to battle
to check up on to check out
to fill in to fill out
to meet to meet with
to prevent sth,to prevent from
becoming
to protest at/against/over to protest
to stop someone doing to stop from
to visit to visit with
美国英语倾向于在有些动词后面加
上副词或介词，以短语动词代替单
根动词，如：
American British
drown out drown
sound out sound
lose out lose
rest up rest
American British
miss out on miss
pay off pay
try out try
start up start
American British
consult with consult
visit with visit
meet with meet
He missed out on a chance to take
the exam.
It will pay off to revisit with the city.
Alfred sounded out（试探 …… 以了
解其意图；探听某人口气） his
boss about a day off from his job.
Noun Phrases
Count versus Mass Nouns
a) "lettuce " has characteristics of both a
count and mass noun in British English,
but it is only a mass noun in many
varieties of American English.
British American (mass only)
Mass:
I like lettuce,I like lettuce.
Count:
a lettuce a head of lettuce
two lettuces two heads of lettuce
b) "sport " is a count noun in both
varieties but it can also be used as an
abstract mass noun in British English:
Count:
Football is a sport I like,(British )
Football is a sport I like,(American)
Mass:
John is good at sport,(British)
John is good at sports,(American)
Articles
a) When referring to events in the
past,British English does not
require the definite article before
the phrase " next day ",This
construction is more usual in
written British English:
British:
Next day,the rains began.
I saw him next day.
American/British:
The next day,the rains began.
I saw him the next day.
b) British English does not use the definite
article in the phrase " in future " in the
meaning " from now on ",while American
does:
British,In future,I'd like you to pay more
attention to detail.
American,In the future,I'd like you to pay
more attention to detail.
both,In the future,all houses will be
heated by solar energy.
c) half
British American
half an hour a half hour
or half an hour
half a dozen eggs a half dozen
or half a dozen
half a pound of a half pound
carrots or half a pound
Prepositions
British American
behind in back of
out of out
Differences in preposition used:
a) in phrases for duration of time,
British English uses " for" where
American English uses "for" or "in":
British/American
I haven't seen him for weeks.
I haven't seen him for ages.
American Only
I haven't seen him in weeks.
I haven't seen him in ages.
b) British speakers use the preposition "at"
for ' time when",with holiday seasons,as
in,
British American
at the weekend over the weekend
at Christmas
over Christmas
on the weekend
c) In expressing clock-time,British
English uses the prep,"to" and "past" the
hour while American English can also use
" of,till and after ":
British/American
twenty to three
five past eight
American Only
twenty of three
twenty till three
five after eight
Adverbs:
" immediately" and "directly" can function
in British English as subordinators,In
American English,they must modify a
subordinator,such as after:
British:
Immediately we went,it began to rain.
Go to his office directly you arrive.
American:
Immediately after we went,it began to rain.
go to his office directly after you arrive.
Vocabulary differences in meaning:
a) Same Word,Different Meanings:
Words British American
homely down to earth; ugly ( of people )
domestic
nervy nervous bold,full of nerve,
cheeky
pants underpants trousers
pavement footpath,sidewalk road surface
to tick off to scold to make angry
b) Same word,Additional meaning
in one variety,Often the additional
meaning is due to a metaphorical
extension of the common meaning:
Additional Meaning in American English:
Word Meaning Additional Meaning
in Common in American English
bathroom room with bath room with toilet
or shower only and sink
dumb mute stupid
regular consistent; average(as in size)
habitual,normal
Additional Meaning in American English:
Word Meaning Additional Meaning
in Common in American English
to ship to transport to transport by
by ship ship,train,plane
or truck,etc.
c) Additional Meaning in British English:
word Meaning Additional Meaning
in Common in B.B.
frontier a wild,open space border between
two countries
to mind to heed,obey to look after
c) Additional Meaning in British English:
word Meaning Additional Meaning
in Common in B.B.
smart intelligent well-groomed
surgery a medical operation an office of
any doctor
d) Same Concept or Item,Different Word:
US English Only Corresponds to B,B.
emcee compere
faucet tap
muffler(on car) silencer
rookie first year member
sophomore second year student
washcloth face flannel
British English Only American English
dynamo generator
hire purchase installment buying
nought zero
queue line
treacle molasses
spanner monkey wrench
American British
absorbent cotton cotton wool.
Alumnus graduate
any place anywhere.
Apartment flat.
American British
apartment house block of flats.
Attorney barrister or solicitor.
Automobile motorcar.
baby carriage pram
baby stroller push-chair.
Ballpoint biro.
Ballyhoo exaggerated publicity.
Bar public house.
American British
Barber gentlemen's
hairdresser.
beauty parlour ladies' hairdresser.
Billboard hoarding.
to blow one’s top to fly into a rage,
blue movie pornographic
or erotic film.
Bluff cliff
bobby pin hair grip
American British
broil grill.
to bug someone to annoy someone.
Bum tramp,vagrant.
to bump off to murder,assassinate.
Cab taxi.
call collect reverse charges.
American British
can tin.
Candy sweets.
to case a joint to spy out the land
before a robbery.
Cat jazz musician or fan.
Checkers draughts.
Closet cupboard.
comfort station public lavatory,
convenience.
American British
commercial bank clearing bank.
con-man confidence trickster.
Cookies sweet biscuits,
small cakes.
Corn maize,grain,
Crackers biscuits (dry).
American British
Crummy low-grade,poor
quality,dirty.
Cuffs turn-ups.
custom-made,
custom tailored made to measure.
dead end cul-de-sac.
dead-end street cul-de-sac.
Dessert sweet.
Detour diversion.
