American and British English grammatical differences

Subject-verb agreement

Verbs

Verb morphology

• The past tense and past participle of the verbs learn, spoil, spell, burn, dream, smell, spill, leap, and others, can be formed with -t or with the regular -ed. In BrE, both irregular and regular forms are current, but for some words there is a strong tendency towards the irregular forms, especially by users of Received Pronunciation. For other words the regular forms are somewhat more common.

• Lit as the past tense of light is more common than lighted in the UK; American English uses lit to mean "set afire" / "kindled" / "made to emit light" but lighted to mean "cast light upon". Conversely, British English favours fitted as the past tense of fit generally, whereas the preference of American English is more complex: AmE prefers fitted for the metaphorical sense of having made an object "fit" for a purpose; in spatial transitive contexts, AmE uses fitted for the sense of having made an object conform to an unchanged object that it surrounds but fit for the sense of having made an object conform to an unchanged object that surrounds it ; and for the spatial senses of having been matching with respect to contour, with no alteration of either object implied, AmE prefers fit.
• The past tense of spit "expectorate" is spat in BrE, spit or spat in AmE. AmE typically has spat in figurative contexts, for example, "He spat out the name with a sneer", or in the context of expectoration of an object that is not saliva, for example, "He spat out the foul-tasting fish" but spit for "expectorated" when it refers only to the expulsion of phlegm or saliva.
• The past participle of saw is normally sawn in BrE and sawed in AmE.
• The past participle gotten is rarely used in modern BrE, which generally uses got except when fixed in old expressions such as ill-gotten gains and in the minority of dialects that retain the older form. The American dictionary Merriam-Webster, however, lists "gotten" as a standard past participle of "get." According to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, "The form gotten is not used in British English but is very common in North American English"
• AmE, but not BrE, has forgot as a less common alternative to forgotten for the past participle of forget.
• AmE further allows other irregular verbs, such as dive or sneak, and often mixes the preterite and past participle forms, sometimes forcing verbs such as shrink to have a further form, thus shrunk–shrunken. These uses are often considered nonstandard; the AP Stylebook in AmE treats some irregular verbs as colloquialisms, insisting on the regular forms for the past tense of dive, plead and sneak. Dove and snuck are usually considered nonstandard in Britain, although dove exists in some British dialects and snuck is occasionally found in British speech.

  Use of tenses

• In BrE, have got or have can be used for possession and have got to and have to can be used for the modal of necessity. The forms that include got are usually used in informal contexts and the forms without got in contexts that are more formal. In American speech the form without got is used more than in the UK, although the form with got is often used for emphasis. Colloquial AmE informally uses got as a finite verb for these meanings—for example, I got two cars, I got to go.
• In conditional sentences if clauses, US spoken usage often substitutes in the subordinate clause would and would have for the simple past and for the pluperfect. This tends to be avoided in writing because it is often still considered non-standard although such use of would is widespread in spoken US English in all sectors of society. Some reliable sources now label this usage as acceptable US English and no longer label it as colloquial. In cases in which the action in the if clause takes place after that in the main clause, use of would in counterfactual conditions is, however, considered standard and correct usage in even formal UK and US usage: If it would make Bill happy, I'd give him the money.
• The "present subjunctive" is regularly used in AmE in mandative clauses. In BrE, this usage declined in the 20th century in favor of constructions such as They suggested that he should apply for the job. However, the mandative subjunctive has always been used in BrE, especially in formal writing.

  Verbal auxiliaries

• Shall is much more commonly used by the British than by modern-day Americans, who generally prefer will. Some prescriptions about the distinction exist, which are now esoteric in AmE. Shan't is typically regarded by Americans as a stereotypical British construction; in AmE, it is almost invariably replaced by won't or am/are/is not going to or their contractions. In both British and American grammar, would and should have different meanings. However, in British grammar, it is also possible for should and would to have the same meaning, with a distinction only in terms of formality. For most Americans, this nuance has been lost, with would being used in both contexts; for example, I should like to leave is no longer a formal way to say I would like to leave in modern AmE. Expressions like I should be happy to go are rather formal even in BrE.
• The periphrastic future "be going to" is about twice as frequent in AmE as in BrE.
• Use of "do" as a pro-predicate is almost exclusively British usage.

  Transitivity

• agree: Transitive or intransitive in BrE, usually intransitive in AmE. However, in formal AmE and BrE legal writing one often sees constructions such as as may be agreed between the parties.
• appeal : Usually intransitive in BrE and transitive in AmE.
• catch up : Transitive or intransitive in BrE, strictly intransitive in AmE. A transitive form exists in AmE, with a different meaning: to catch somebody up means that the subject will help the object catch up, rather the opposite of the BrE transitive meaning.
• cater : Intransitive in BrE, transitive or intransitive in AmE.
• cater to : to cater to the speaker not turning up. A British speaker would probably recast the sentence.
• claim: Sometimes intransitive in BrE, strictly transitive in AmE.
• meet: AmE uses intransitively meet followed by with to mean "to have a meeting with", as for business purposes, and reserves transitive meet for the meanings "to be introduced to", "to come together with ", and "to have a casual encounter with". BrE uses transitive meet also to mean "to have a meeting with"; the construction meet with, which actually dates back to Middle English, appears to be coming back into use in Britain, despite some commentators who preferred to avoid confusion with meet with meaning "receive, undergo". The construction meet up with, which originated in the US, has long been standard in both dialects.
• provide: Strictly monotransitive in BrE, monotransitive or ditransitive in AmE.
• protest: In sense "oppose", intransitive in BrE, transitive in AmE. The intransitive protest against in AmE means "to hold or participate in a demonstration against". The older sense "proclaim" is always transitive.
• write: In BrE, the indirect object of this verb usually requires the preposition to, for example, I'll write to my MP or I'll write to her. In AmE, write can be used monotransitively.

  Complementation

• The verbs prevent and stop can be found in two different constructions: "prevent/stop someone from doing something" and "prevent/stop someone doing something". The latter is well established in BrE, but not in AmE.
• Some verbs can take either a to+infinitive construction or a gerund construction. For example, the gerund is more common:
• * In AmE than BrE, with start, begin, omit, enjoy;
• * In BrE than AmE, with love, like, intend.

  Presence (or absence) of syntactic elements

• Where a statement of intention involves two separate activities, speakers of BrE often use "to go and" plus bare infinitive while it is also acceptable for speakers of AmE to use "to go" plus bare infinitive. Thus, where BrE speakers would say "I'll go take/have a bath", AmE speakers may also say "I'll go take/have a bath". Similarly, "to come" plus bare infinitive is acceptable to speakers of AmE, where speakers of BrE would instead use "to come " plus bare infinitive. Thus, where a speaker of AmE may say "come see what I bought", BrE and some AmE speakers would say "come see what I've bought".
• Use of prepositions before days denoted by a single word. Where British people would say She resigned on Thursday, Americans often say She resigned Thursday, but both forms are common in American usage. Occasionally the preposition is also absent when referring to months: I'll be here December.
• In the UK, from is used with single dates and times more often than in the United States. Where British speakers and writers may say the new museum will be open from Tuesday, Americans most likely say the new museum will be open starting or on Tuesday. A variation or alternative of this is the mostly American the play opens Tuesday and the mostly British the play opens on Tuesday.
• American legislators and lawyers always use the preposition of between the name of a legislative act and the year it was passed; their British counterparts do not. Compare Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The year preceding the short title is also common in both systems when citing laws, but not widespread.

  Definite article

• A few 'institutional' nouns take no definite article when a certain role is implied: for example, "at sea", "in prison", and "at/in college". Among this group, BrE has "in hospital" and "at university", where AmE requires "in the hospital" and "at the university". When the implied roles of patient or student do not apply, the definite article is used in both dialects. However, both variations drop the definite article with rush hour: at rush hour /in rush hour.
• BrE distinguishes "in future" from "in the future" ; AmE uses "in the future" for both senses.
• AmE usually omits, and BrE usually requires, the definite article in a few expressions such as "tell time", "play piano".
• In BrE, numbered highways usually take the definite article ; in America, they usually do not. Southern California, Arizona, and certain areas where Inland Northern American English is spoken are exceptions, where "the 33", "the 5", or "the 10" are the standard. A similar pattern is followed for named roads, but in America, there are local variations, and older American highways tend to follow the British pattern.
• AmE distinguishes "in back of" from "in the back of"; the former is unknown in the UK and liable to misinterpretation as the latter.
• Dates often include a definite article in UK spoken English, such as "the eleventh of July", or "July the eleventh"; American speakers most commonly say "July eleventh", and the form "July eleven" is now occasionally used by American speakers. However, the UK variants are also found in the US, even in formal contexts and especially among some speakers from rural New England and the Deep South, perhaps influenced by other English variants, one example being "the Fourth of July", Independence Day in the US.

  Phrasal verbs

• In AmE, paperwork is usually but not invariably filled out, but, in BrE, it is usually filled in. However, in reference to individual parts of a form Americans may also use in. In AmE, the direction fill it all in is as common as fill it all out.
• Britons facing extortionate prices may have no option but to fork out, whereas Americans are more likely to fork over or sometimes up; however, the out usage is found in both dialects.
• In both countries, thugs beat up their victim; AmE also allows beat on or beat up on, which are often considered slang.
• When an outdoor event is postponed or interrupted by rain, it is rained off in the UK and rained out in the US.

  Miscellaneous grammatical differences

• In names of American rivers the word river usually comes after the name whereas for British rivers it comes before. Exceptions in BrE include the Fleet River, which is rarely called the River Fleet by Londoners outside official documentation, and also where the river name is an adjective. Exceptions in the US are the River Rouge and the River Raisin, both in Michigan and named by the French. The American convention is used in Australia, while convention is mixed in some Commonwealth nations, where both arrangements are often seen.
• In BrE speech, some descriptions of offices do not become titles, while they do in AmE. However the AmE pattern is sometimes found in BrE, usually in journalism.
• In BrE the word sat is often colloquially used to cover sat, sitting, and seated: I've been sat here waiting for half an hour. The bride's family will be sat on the right-hand side of the church. This construction is not often heard outside the UK. In the 1960s, its use would mark a speaker as coming from the north of England, but by the turn of the 21st century this form had spread to the south. Its use often conveys lighthearted informality, when many speakers intentionally use a dialect or colloquial construction they would probably not use in formal written English. This colloquial usage is widely understood by British speakers. Similarly stood can be used instead of standing. To an American and still to many Britons these usages are passive and may imply that the subject had been involuntarily forced to sit or stand or directed to hold that location.
• Nearly 40% of participants in a national survey of the United States claimed that they may use the phrase Are you coming with? to mean Are you coming with us? or Are you coming along?, although it is rarely used in writing and linguists particularly associate the phrase with the upper Midwestern United States. Come with is used as an abbreviation of come with me, as in I'm going to the office – come with by speakers in Minnesota and parts of the adjoining states, which had a large number of Scandinavian, Dutch and German immigrants, who, when speaking English, translated equivalent phrases directly from their own languages. German and Dutch have separable verbs meaning to "come with", mitkommen and meekomen. It is similar to South African English, where the expression comes from Afrikaans, a language of Dutch origin. These contractions are rarely used by native BrE speakers.
• Some Americans use the word also at the end of a sentence but not so commonly in BrE, although it is encountered in Northern Ireland. Additionally, the sentence-ending as well is more formal in AmE than in BrE.
• Before some words beginning with a pronounced h in an unstressed first syllable, such as hallucination, hilarious, historic, horrendous and horrific, some British writers prefer to use an over a. An is also preferred before hotel by some writers of BrE. The use of "an" before words beginning with an unstressed "h" is more common generally in BrE than American. Such usage would now be seen as affected or incorrect in AmE. American writers normally use a in all these cases. According to the New Oxford Dictionary of English, such use is increasingly rare in BrE too. Unlike BrE, however, AmE typically uses an before herb, since the h in this word is silent for most Americans.
• The adverb well may be used in colloquial BrE only with the meaning "very" or "extremely" to modify adjectives. For example, "I'm well tired" or "He was well famous".
• The British often say tanned where Americans would say tan. For instance, "she was tanned", rather than "she was tan".
• In both British and American English, a person can make a decision; however, only in British and Commonwealth English is the common variant take a decision also an option.