When we think of Britishisms, we usually think about that silent u they put in words like favour and the s they use instead of z in words like appetiser.
Another difference we see is that the British put their periods outside the quotation marks, whereas Americans put the period (and comma) inside the quotations.
And of course, they use different words for the same noun: flat instead of apartment, jumper instead of sweater, boot instead of trunk (of car), crisps instead of chips, postbox instead of mailbox, football instead of soccer, biscuit instead of cookie, and many more.
However, there are many grammatical differences between American and British English as well.
Have and take: The British say, “I am going to have a bath,” and the Americans say, “I am going to take a bath.”
Do substituting for a verb: “Are you coming with us?” “I might do.”
Use of needn’t: Americans usually do not use needn’t. We use don’t need: “You needn’t bother.” “You don’t need to bother.”
Use of shall: Americans tend to use will, and we have a specific use for shall. The British use shall more frequently.
At versus in/on: Americans generally say on the weekend, but the British say at the weekend.
Past tense: The British use more past tense constructions ending in t: dreamt instead of dreamed, learnt instead of learned, etc.
And there are more. One curious one is something a friend told me he has repeatedly heard British people do, which to us is an incorrect use of the reflective pronouns (the pronouns that end in -self). He repeatedly heard a flight attendant ask, “Can I get something for yourself?” instead of just saying for you as we would.
This last one I am going to talk about (because there are more if you want to look them up) is one where I use the British way, and I always taught it the British way because I believe it is the correct way. Most Americans do it the American way, which I always thought was incorrect, although generally no one really notices: With collective nouns, the British use a singular verb if the noun is thought to represent the group as a whole, and a plural verb if we are talking about the individuals in the group. For example,
- The band is having a picnic on Saturday after the concert. (Band is thought of as a group together.)
- The band are tuning their instruments. (Band refers here to the individuals.)
Americans tend to always use a singular verb. I just figure using the singular when you should use the plural is wrong.
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