British English vs. American English
- There are a variety of differences between American and British English. Most differences are small and will not affect overall understanding of a text. There are too many small differences to outline below; however, we’ll go over some basic differences.
Most people have heard of the differences in vocabulary. Here’s a list of some of the most common words that differ in American and British English.
| American English | British English |
| Counter-clockwise | Anti-clockwise |
| Trailer | Caravan |
| Parking lot | Car park |
| Fries, French fries | Chips |
| Garbage can | Dust bin |
| Apartment | Flat |
| Vacation | Holiday |
| Truck | Lorry |
| Corn | Maize |
| Math | Maths |
| Diaper | Nappy |
| Gas, gasoline | Petrol |
| Attorney, lawyer | Solicitor |
- British and American English use the verbs "have" and "take" a bit differently. British English uses "have," while American English leans towards "take" as a delexical verb (a verb placed before a noun which describes an action).
| American English | British English |
| I’ll take a bath later. | I’ll have a bath later. |
| I took a nap today. | I had a nap today. |
- Time and date formats are different in American and British English.
| American English | British English |
| MM/DD/YYYY | DD/MM/YYYY |
| July 14th | 14th of July |
| Two weeks | Fortnight |
| A week from Wednesday | A week Wednesday |
| Half past four | Half four |
| A quarter past ten | A quarter after ten |