Look at these sentences. Do you know which sentences are more typical of British English or American English?
Shall I open the door for you?
He's taking a shower.
France have won the World Cup.
I'm not hungry. I just ate.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
The main difference between British English and American English is in pronunciation. Some words are also different in each variety of English, and there are also a few differences in the way they use grammar. Here are five of the most common grammatical differences between British and American English.
1. Present perfect and past simple
In British English, people use the present perfect to speak about a past action that they consider relevant to the present.
The present perfect can be used in the same way in American English, but people often use the past simple when they consider the action finished. This is especially common with the adverbs already, just and yet.
| British English | American English |
|
He isn't hungry. He has already had lunch. |
He isn't hungry. He already had lunch. |
2. got and gotten
In British English, the past participle of the verb get is got.
In American English, people say gotten.
** Note that have got is commonly used in both British and American English to speak about possession or necessity. have gotten is not correct here.
| British English | American English |
|
You could have got hurt! BUT: |
You could have gotten hurt! BUT: |
3. Verb forms with collective nouns
In British English, a singular or plural verb can be used with a noun that refers to a group of people or things (a collective noun). We use a plural verb when we think of the group as individuals or a singular verb when we think of the group as a single unit.
In American English, a singular verb is used with collective nouns.
** Note that police is always followed by a plural verb.
| British English | American English |
|
My family is/are visiting from Pakistan. BUT: |
My family is visiting from Pakistan. BUT: |
4. have and take
In British English, the verbs have and take are commonly used with nouns like bath, shower, wash to speak about washing and with nouns like break, holiday, rest to speak about resting.
In American English, only the verb take (and not the verb have) is used this way.
| British English | American English |
|
I'm going to have/take a shower. |
I'm going to take a shower. |
5. shall
In British English, people often use Shall I ...? to offer to do something and/or Shall we ...? to make a suggestion.
It is very unusual for speakers of American English to use shall. They normally use an alternative like Should/Can I ...? or Do you want/Would you like ...? or How about ...? instead.
| British English | American English |
|
It's hot in here. Shall I open the window? |
It's hot in here. Can I open the window? |
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
Hello wilson2013,
I'm not an expert on the IELTS, but as far as I know, what is most important in the speaking exam is that your speech is comprehensible. Unless your pronunciation is extremely precise, I doubt that they will even notice that sometimes your pronunciation is more British and at others more American. But even if that were the case, I can't imagine it would be an issue since producing native speaker pronunciation is quite difficult.
In your writing, you should, however, be as consistent as possible in your spelling. Though again the most important thing is clarity.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello DaniWeebKage,
'Have you got' is also used in American English, though it might be a little more common in British.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Al,
The IELTS accepts all standard varieties of native-speaker English, so American or British English is fine.
I would recommend, however, that you be consistent in your usage -- for example, it would be best to avoid using both British and American spelling in the same written text. Instead, just use British or American spelling.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team