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Differences between American and British English

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Cássia Oliveira n°04
Jennifer Quinteiro Melo n°13
3°A
Disciplina: Língua Inglesa
Professora: Juliana

Introduction

While there are certainly many more varieties of English, American and British English are the two varieties that are taught in the most . Generally, it is agreed that no one version is "correct" however, there are certainly preferences in use. The most important rule of thumb is to try to be consistent in your usage. If you decide that you want to use American English spellings then be consistent in your spelling (i.e. The color of the orange is also its flavour - color is American spelling and flavour is British), this is of course not always easy - or possible. The following texts is meant to point out the principal differences between these two varieties of English.

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Vocabulary

Probably the major differences between British and American English lies in the choice of vocabulary. Some words mean different things in the two varieties for example:

Mean: (American English - angry, bad humored, British English - not generous, tight fisted)

Rubber: (American English - condom, British English - tool used to erase pencil markings)

There are many more examples (too many for me to list here). If there is a difference in usage, your dictionary will note the different meanings in its definition of the term. Many vocabulary items are also used in one form and not in the other. One of the best examples of this is the terminology used for automobiles.

• American English - hood British English - bonnet

• American English - trunk British English - boot

• American English - truck British English – lorry

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Use of the Present Perfect

In British English the present perfect is used to