Differences Between British and American English

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Materials Daily News

Intermediate

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

express

Verb

ɪkˈsprɛs

to show or make something known

In his speech, he expressed the importance of hard work.

Her eyes expressed her sadness.

You should express your idea more clearly.

She expressed her interest in the position.

When you say "thank you," you express gratitude.

saying

Noun

ˈseɪɪŋ

a well-known phrase or statement that expresses something about life that most people believe is wise and true

“Begin each day with a smile” is my favorite saying.

noticeable

Adjective

ˈnoʊtɪsəbəl

easy to see or notice; clear or definite

The red umbrella is very noticeable.

The change in his attitude was noticeable to everyone.

There was a noticeable increase in the sale of French cheeses after that documentary on Channel 6.

She had a very noticeable scar on her face.

auxiliary verb

Noun

ɔːgˈzɪljəriː vərb

a word used in construction with and preceding certain forms of other verbs, such as infinitives or participles, to express distinctions of tense, aspect, mood, etc

"Can," "have," "may" are all auxiliary verbs.

spelling

Noun

ˈspelɪŋ

the way that a particular word is written

What is the spelling of this word?

similarity

Noun

ˌsɪməˈlærɪtiː

the state of being like somebody/something (but not exactly the same)

I see many similarities among them.

If you look deeply into other cultures, you'll find more similarities than differences.

People tell me I look like Kate, but the only similarity is our hair color!

Exercise 2

Article

AI Generated Audio––:–– / ––:––

Differences Between British and American English

There is an old saying that America and Britain are “two nations divided by a common language.”

But are American and British English really so different?

The most noticeable difference between American and British English is vocabulary. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different. For example, Americans go on vacation, while Brits go on holidays, or hols.

Another difference between American and British English relates to auxiliary verbs.

Let’s look at the auxiliary verb shall. Brits sometimes use shall to express the future.

For example, “I shall go home now.” Americans know what shall means, but rarely use it in conversation. It seems very formal. Americans would probably use “I will go home now.”

There are spelling differences between British and American English. You can thank American lexicographer Noah Webster for this.

You can see Webster’s legacy in the American spelling of words like color (from colour), honor (from honour), and labor (from labour).

British and American English have more similarities than differences.

Exercise 3

Questions

What is the British English spelling of the word “color”?

Who is Noah Webster?

If British people “go on holiday” what do Americans do?

Exercise 4

Discussion

Did you know about the differences between British and American English before?

Is the language different in different areas of your country?

Do you think it is important to know different types of English?

Parts of this lesson are based on:

An article by Voice of America.