[Music]
hello I’m Emma from mmm English my
students are always asking me what’s the
difference between British English and
American English which one’s the best
which one should I learn it’s really
confusing in my last lesson I talked
about which type of English you should
learn you can watch that right here if
you missed it but in this lesson we are
going to look at the main differences
between standard British English and
standard American English while it’s
incorrect to say that one type of
English is better than the other or that
one is more correct than the other it is
important to be aware of the differences
between British and American English and
focus on the type of English that is
most relevant for you and that is what
this lesson is all about the main areas
that you’ll notice differences between
British and American English are accent
obviously spelling vocabulary and some
areas of grammar including use of
prepositions and use of collective nouns
now if you are studying for an English
exam applying for or studying at an
English University or using English
professionally for your job then this
lesson is especially important for you
usually in all of these situations you
need to pay attention to spelling and
grammar rules because it can affect your
score or even your reputation okay so
let’s talk about some of these
differences starting with accent it’s
probably the most obvious difference but
the difference is not as simple as
British and American accent
right regional accents in both of these
countries can differ dramatically
someone from South London sounds very
different than someone from Scotland and
both sound very different from the Queen
of England and it’s the same in America
the accent can vary significantly
depending on where you are in the
country that said if we compare standard
British English and standard American
English accents there are a few clear
differences there are differences in the
way that vowels are pronounced ha ha ha
ok so we would say hot hot and we say
aren’t and at leisure leisure leisure
leisure Americans tend to pronounce a
flap T when the letter T is between two
vowel sounds like in these words the
flat T is a flatter sound that actually
sounds more like a D water water bottle
bottle little little daughter daughter
hear that flap T sound it’s also very
common in my Australian accent as well
standard American English clearly
pronounces the R after a vowel sound
where most British English speakers
don’t so for example burger yes and I
just a daughter daughter you can hear
some more of those examples in this
video right here okay so accent is one
difference but there are some more
frustrating differences that can
actually get you into trouble
like spelling Americans spell English
words differently to the rest of us some
of you may actually think that the
American spelling is easier it was
changed only a few hundred years ago
from the British way to a new American
English way and the reason was to make
words look more phonetic so words are
actually spelt more like they sound it
makes a lot of sense right words that
end in O you are in British English so
think about the words color honor
neighbor
they simply end in O R in American
English in British English verbs that
end in an L after a short vowel sound
have a double L when II D or ing are
added traveled or modeling for example
but in American English there is only
one L Jewelry is another example of this
though even more changes were made to
make jewelry more phonetic words ending
in is e in British English and in I said
E in American English like realize and
organize words ending in our a in
British English and in E are in American
English most of the time like in the
word Center words ending in ence in
British English and in e-m-s E in
American English like defense and
license you’ll also find some small
differences with past forms of regular
verbs so the past tense of learn in
American English is learnt but in
British English learnt or learnt is
possible though the ad form is more
common
where I’m from notice that the
pronunciation is the same the same rule
applies for dreamt and burnt as an extra
hint make sure you’re using a spellcheck
tool that is set to the type of English
that you’re learning so that it’s
correcting your spelling with the right
type of English vocabulary the most
frustrating difference between British
and American English is surely
vocabulary even for native speakers
there are hundreds of everyday words
that are just different and to make
matters worse Australian English
Canadian English New Zealander English
South African English can also use
different words for the same thing the
difference is really obvious in nouns
especially food where each type of
English has different nouns for the same
thing so for example the herb coriander
is called cilantro in America nothing
alike and there are heaps of differences
just like that I made a whole video
about it right here these differences in
vocabulary are something that even
native English speakers have to try and
understand too we don’t always know
exactly what another English speaker is
talking about because we use different
words for the same thing in those
situations we usually try to use the
context of the sentence to understand
what this new word is and if we still
don’t know we just have to ask if you
know what type of English you need then
I highly recommend finding a native
English teacher who can help you to
learn and understand the English
vocabulary that is used in that place
cambly is a really great place for you
to do that because they’ve got native
English teachers from all in
speaking countries so if you’re
traveling to Canada you can find a
Canadian teacher to help you if you’re
applying for a university in the United
Kingdom then find a teacher who uses the
accent the vocabulary and the spelling
rules that will get you really great
results in your exams it will just make
it so much easier for you once you
arrive and you can try a free 15-minute
lesson with cambly by using the link in
the description just below this video
I’ve had a chat to a few different
teachers there and they’ve been super
friendly and helpful so I really
recommend it now prepositions are
confusing enough without me telling you
that sometimes American and British
English use prepositions differently ah
but don’t worry most of them are exactly
the same but there’s just a few that you
need to be aware of because they use
differently what are you doing on the
weekend is common in American English
whereas what are you doing at the
weekend is more commonly used in the UK
in Australia we mostly use on when
talking about a period in a week through
is really common in American English my
brother works Monday through Friday
whereas two is more common in British
English and also Australian English my
brother works Monday to Friday these
mean exactly the same thing the good
news is that native English speakers
will understand you no matter what
whichever one you choose so it’s not a
major problem it’s just something that
you need to be aware of there are a
couple of small differences in grammar
between American and British English
you’ve probably already been confused at
some point by get in past participle
form is it I have got or I have gotten
and this is simply a difference between
British and American English when
describing something that has recently
occurred that affects the present moment
I would use the present perfect probably
but my American friends would likely use
the past simple tense instead so let me
explain with an example if I’ve just
eaten a big meal and someone asked if I
want to dessert I’d say no thanks I’ve
eaten too much but an American would
probably choose the past simple and
simply say no thanks I ate too much
someone speaking British English would
probably choose to use the present
perfect tense in this situation
collective nouns which are nouns that
refer to a group of things like a group
of students is called a class or a group
of colleagues working on the same
project is a team or a group of cows is
called a herd a family an audience a
crowd these are all examples of
collective nouns and British English and
American English treat these nouns
differently in English sentences in
American English collective nouns are
singular so they’re treated in the same
way as other singular nouns are the team
has asked for more resources the band is
really good the class is meeting at the
library after lunch so even though there
are many individuals that make up the
class grammatically they’re treated as a
single thing as one in British English
collective nouns can be singular but
they can also be plural nouns as well so
someone using British English could say
either of these different options the
class is meeting at the library after
lunch so referring to the class as a
whole
or the class are meeting at the library
after lunch and that refers to all of
the individuals that are part of the
class the difference is simply about
whether the group is being referred to
as a whole as a single unit or as a
collection of individuals inside the
group then it’s traded as plural the
team has asked for more resources so
that’s the team as one unit the team
have asked for more resources the team
as a group of individuals and the
meaning is identical the band is really
good or the band are too tired the
individual members of the band are too
tired
while this lesson makes it seem like
there are lots of differences between
American and British English they are
really only a tiny tiny percent of
English with the grammar and
prepositions the differences are less
serious and less obvious because people
will still understand you the vocabulary
and the spelling are the two main areas
that you need to pay attention to on the
whole American English and British
English are mostly very similar we watch
each other’s TV shows we read each
other’s books we’re used to it so really
the two types of English are not so
different at all if you’ve got any
questions about this lesson then pop
them in the comments box below this
video so that I can get back to you make
sure that you subscribe to my channel by
clicking that red button right there and
if you want you can watch these two
lessons right here to learn more about
the differences between British and
American English thanks for watching and
I’ll see you next week
bye for now
hello I’m Emma from mmm English my
students are always asking me what’s the
difference between British English and
American English which one’s the best
which one should I learn it’s really
confusing in my last lesson I talked
about which type of English you should
learn you can watch that right here if
you missed it but in this lesson we are
going to look at the main differences
between standard British English and
standard American English while it’s
incorrect to say that one type of
English is better than the other or that
one is more correct than the other it is
important to be aware of the differences
between British and American English and
focus on the type of English that is
most relevant for you and that is what
this lesson is all about the main areas
that you’ll notice differences between
British and American English are accent
obviously spelling vocabulary and some
areas of grammar including use of
prepositions and use of collective nouns
now if you are studying for an English
exam applying for or studying at an
English University or using English
professionally for your job then this
lesson is especially important for you
usually in all of these situations you
need to pay attention to spelling and
grammar rules because it can affect your
score or even your reputation okay so
let’s talk about some of these
differences starting with accent it’s
probably the most obvious difference but
the difference is not as simple as
British and American accent
right regional accents in both of these
countries can differ dramatically
someone from South London sounds very
different than someone from Scotland and
both sound very different from the Queen
of England and it’s the same in America
the accent can vary significantly
depending on where you are in the
country that said if we compare standard
British English and standard American
English accents there are a few clear
differences there are differences in the
way that vowels are pronounced ha ha ha
ok so we would say hot hot and we say
aren’t and at leisure leisure leisure
leisure Americans tend to pronounce a
flap T when the letter T is between two
vowel sounds like in these words the
flat T is a flatter sound that actually
sounds more like a D water water bottle
bottle little little daughter daughter
hear that flap T sound it’s also very
common in my Australian accent as well
standard American English clearly
pronounces the R after a vowel sound
where most British English speakers
don’t so for example burger yes and I
just a daughter daughter you can hear
some more of those examples in this
video right here okay so accent is one
difference but there are some more
frustrating differences that can
actually get you into trouble
like spelling Americans spell English
words differently to the rest of us some
of you may actually think that the
American spelling is easier it was
changed only a few hundred years ago
from the British way to a new American
English way and the reason was to make
words look more phonetic so words are
actually spelt more like they sound it
makes a lot of sense right words that
end in O you are in British English so
think about the words color honor
neighbor
they simply end in O R in American
English in British English verbs that
end in an L after a short vowel sound
have a double L when II D or ing are
added traveled or modeling for example
but in American English there is only
one L Jewelry is another example of this
though even more changes were made to
make jewelry more phonetic words ending
in is e in British English and in I said
E in American English like realize and
organize words ending in our a in
British English and in E are in American
English most of the time like in the
word Center words ending in ence in
British English and in e-m-s E in
American English like defense and
license you’ll also find some small
differences with past forms of regular
verbs so the past tense of learn in
American English is learnt but in
British English learnt or learnt is
possible though the ad form is more
common
where I’m from notice that the
pronunciation is the same the same rule
applies for dreamt and burnt as an extra
hint make sure you’re using a spellcheck
tool that is set to the type of English
that you’re learning so that it’s
correcting your spelling with the right
type of English vocabulary the most
frustrating difference between British
and American English is surely
vocabulary even for native speakers
there are hundreds of everyday words
that are just different and to make
matters worse Australian English
Canadian English New Zealander English
South African English can also use
different words for the same thing the
difference is really obvious in nouns
especially food where each type of
English has different nouns for the same
thing so for example the herb coriander
is called cilantro in America nothing
alike and there are heaps of differences
just like that I made a whole video
about it right here these differences in
vocabulary are something that even
native English speakers have to try and
understand too we don’t always know
exactly what another English speaker is
talking about because we use different
words for the same thing in those
situations we usually try to use the
context of the sentence to understand
what this new word is and if we still
don’t know we just have to ask if you
know what type of English you need then
I highly recommend finding a native
English teacher who can help you to
learn and understand the English
vocabulary that is used in that place
cambly is a really great place for you
to do that because they’ve got native
English teachers from all in
speaking countries so if you’re
traveling to Canada you can find a
Canadian teacher to help you if you’re
applying for a university in the United
Kingdom then find a teacher who uses the
accent the vocabulary and the spelling
rules that will get you really great
results in your exams it will just make
it so much easier for you once you
arrive and you can try a free 15-minute
lesson with cambly by using the link in
the description just below this video
I’ve had a chat to a few different
teachers there and they’ve been super
friendly and helpful so I really
recommend it now prepositions are
confusing enough without me telling you
that sometimes American and British
English use prepositions differently ah
but don’t worry most of them are exactly
the same but there’s just a few that you
need to be aware of because they use
differently what are you doing on the
weekend is common in American English
whereas what are you doing at the
weekend is more commonly used in the UK
in Australia we mostly use on when
talking about a period in a week through
is really common in American English my
brother works Monday through Friday
whereas two is more common in British
English and also Australian English my
brother works Monday to Friday these
mean exactly the same thing the good
news is that native English speakers
will understand you no matter what
whichever one you choose so it’s not a
major problem it’s just something that
you need to be aware of there are a
couple of small differences in grammar
between American and British English
you’ve probably already been confused at
some point by get in past participle
form is it I have got or I have gotten
and this is simply a difference between
British and American English when
describing something that has recently
occurred that affects the present moment
I would use the present perfect probably
but my American friends would likely use
the past simple tense instead so let me
explain with an example if I’ve just
eaten a big meal and someone asked if I
want to dessert I’d say no thanks I’ve
eaten too much but an American would
probably choose the past simple and
simply say no thanks I ate too much
someone speaking British English would
probably choose to use the present
perfect tense in this situation
collective nouns which are nouns that
refer to a group of things like a group
of students is called a class or a group
of colleagues working on the same
project is a team or a group of cows is
called a herd a family an audience a
crowd these are all examples of
collective nouns and British English and
American English treat these nouns
differently in English sentences in
American English collective nouns are
singular so they’re treated in the same
way as other singular nouns are the team
has asked for more resources the band is
really good the class is meeting at the
library after lunch so even though there
are many individuals that make up the
class grammatically they’re treated as a
single thing as one in British English
collective nouns can be singular but
they can also be plural nouns as well so
someone using British English could say
either of these different options the
class is meeting at the library after
lunch so referring to the class as a
whole
or the class are meeting at the library
after lunch and that refers to all of
the individuals that are part of the
class the difference is simply about
whether the group is being referred to
as a whole as a single unit or as a
collection of individuals inside the
group then it’s traded as plural the
team has asked for more resources so
that’s the team as one unit the team
have asked for more resources the team
as a group of individuals and the
meaning is identical the band is really
good or the band are too tired the
individual members of the band are too
tired
while this lesson makes it seem like
there are lots of differences between
American and British English they are
really only a tiny tiny percent of
English with the grammar and
prepositions the differences are less
serious and less obvious because people
will still understand you the vocabulary
and the spelling are the two main areas
that you need to pay attention to on the
whole American English and British
English are mostly very similar we watch
each other’s TV shows we read each
other’s books we’re used to it so really
the two types of English are not so
different at all if you’ve got any
questions about this lesson then pop
them in the comments box below this
video so that I can get back to you make
sure that you subscribe to my channel by
clicking that red button right there and
if you want you can watch these two
lessons right here to learn more about
the differences between British and
American English thanks for watching and
I’ll see you next week
bye for now
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