Topic: The main English speaker of the vocabulary system of English-speaking countries. Difference between British and American English

CHAPTER I. Difference between British and American English

1.1 Dictionary of English-speaking countries.

Some British English words come from French roots, while American English finds its words from other places, e.g. AmE eggplant and zucchini are aubergine and courgette in BrE.

Similarly, American English has occasionally replaced more traditional English words with their Spanish counterparts. This is especially common in regions historically affected by Spanish settlement (such as the American Southwest and Florida) as well as other areas that have since experienced strong Hispanic migration (such as urban centers). Examples of these include grocery markets' preference in the U.S. for Spanish names such as cilantro and manzanilla over coriander and camomile respectively.

Vocabulary[edit]

See also: Lists of words having different meanings in American and British English, Glossary of American terms not widely used in the United Kingdom, and Glossary of British terms not widely used in the United States
The familiarity of speakers with words and phrases from different regions varies, and the difficulty of discerning an unfamiliar definition also depends on the context and the term. As expressions spread with the globalisation of telecommunication, they are often but not always recognised as foreign to the speaker's dialect, and words from other dialects may carry connotations with regard to register, social status, origin, and intelligence.

Words and phrases with different meanings[edit]

Main article: Lists of words having different meanings in American and British English
Words such as bill and biscuit are used regularly in both AmE and BrE but can mean different things in each form. The word "bill" has several meanings, most of which are shared between AmE and BrE. However, in AmE "bill" often refers to a piece of paper money (as in a "dollar bill") which in BrE is more commonly referred to as a note. In AmE it can also refer to the visor of a cap,[9] though this is by no means common. In AmE a biscuit (from the French "twice baked" as in biscotto) is a soft bready product that is known in BrE as a scone or a specifically hard, sweet biscuit. Meanwhile, a BrE biscuit incorporates both dessert biscuits and AmE cookies (from the Dutch 'little cake').
British English and American English

Do you know any differences between British and American English? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.
Look at these sentences. Do you know which sentences are more typical of British English or American English?
1. [Context] I want to give advice to my friend on where she should visit
I visited/ have visited Paris two times. It is a beautiful city. I think you should visit it once in your life.
2. [Context] My friend planned to visit my country for a week. He has been staying in my country for three days now and I want to know which places he visited / has visited, so that I can recommend him other places to visit. Which question would be correct? I don't know which tense would be correct to use.
Where did you visit since you came here? // Where have you visited since you came here?
I visited X, Y, Z. / I have visited X, Y,Z.
3.[Context] I am tired of died roses, so I complain with my friend:
Every time I planted/'ve planted roses in the garden, they died/'ve died. I may try planting some geraniums instead.
Some US native people tell me that I can use the simple past in all of my examples, but some don't agree to use the simple past. This makes me confused. Could you please help me clarify this?

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Submitted by Jonathan R on Fri, 19/05/2023 - 13:20
In reply to Here are some examples about… by LE12345
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Hi LE12345,
I'm not an American English speaker, but I believe that the past simple would be commonly used and accepted in American English in all the examples you gave (while the present perfect would be preferred in British English). As the explanation above states: "The present perfect can be used [...] in American English, but people often use the past simple when they consider the action finished." You can see more information about this also on this Cambridge Dictionary page (see the "British and American English: verb tense forms" section), which explains: "The present perfect is less common in AmE than BrE. AmE speakers often use the past simple in situations where BrE speakers use the present perfect, especially with words such as already and yet".
As for why some people you asked didn't agree, I'm afraid I can't really explain that!
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team

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Submitted by LE12345 on Fri, 19/05/2023 - 16:56
In reply to Hi LE12345, I'm not an… by Jonathan R
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Hi Jonathan R,
Thank you for your answer.
I am familiar with the use of simple past of American speakers for a single action.
For example: I bought a car. Would you like to try driving?
But for my examples in my comment, all of 3 examples refer to repeated actions (not a single action), so I am not sure if American speakers use the simple past in such cases.
For example, in the first sentence, I would like to give my friend advise on nice place to visit:
I visited/ have visited Paris two times. It is a beautiful city. I think you should visit it once in your life.
Some of my American friends agree that the simple past is acceptable, but some doesn't.

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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Sat, 20/05/2023 - 14:53
In reply to Hi Jonathan R, Thank you for… by LE12345
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Hello LE12345,
I hope you don't mind me stepping in. I thought it might be appropriate since I grew up in the US and lived there for 35 years.
Regarding the last sentence you mention ('I visited / have visited Paris two times. It is a beautiful city. I think you should visit it once in your life.'), both forms can be correct, but in certain contexts, only one of them would be correct. The people you asked probably didn't consider all the possibilities, especially if they're not English teachers!
In general, people would use the present perfect here because we use this tense to refer to life experience. The idea here is '(In my lifetime) I've visited Paris twice'. Presumably, the person still thinks they have further time in this life and so it's possible, for example, that they could visit Paris again one day.
In a more specific context, the present perfect would not be correct and the past simple would be. For example, imagine the person saying this now lives in the US, but lived in Europe for 10 years when they were younger. If they are thinking about that 10-year period when they lived in Europe, they would say 'I visited Paris twice' and not 'I have visited Paris twice' because the 10-year period already occurred and that time is now finished.
Now this doesn't mean it's impossible for this person to say 'I have visited Paris twice'; if they were thinking of their entire life experience instead of that 10-year period, the appropriate tense would be the present perfect.
I hope that helps you make sense of it, but please let me know if not.
All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

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Submitted by Lena_AU on Sun, 23/07/2023 - 01:22
In reply to Here are some examples about… by LE12345
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Does anyone know how to change the iphone SE settings from US English to UK English?
The difference being words like licence vs license etc
All the instructions online of how to do it don't make any changes at all.
Yes, it is correct in British English, but it is somewhat formal and old-fashioned in style. In this usage, "have" is a main verb, but it behaves a bit like an auxiliary verb.

• 
  I have some money.
  
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  I haven't any money. (negative form, rather than the standard form "I don't have any money" or "I haven't got any money?").
  
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