british and american english

British English and American English

British people and American people can always understand each other – but there are a few notable differences between British English and American English

Grammar
Americans use the present perfect tense less than speakers of British English and a British teacher might mark wrong some things that an American teacher would say are correct.

US.»  Did you do your homework yet?
Brit.» Have you done your homework yet?
US.» I already ate.
Brit.» I’ve already eaten.

In British English, ‘ have got ’ is often used for the possessive sense of ‘have’ and ‘have got to ’ is informally used for ‘have to ’. This is much less common in American English.

Brit.» I’ve got two sisters.
US » I have two sisters.
Brit.» I’ve got to go now.
US » I have to go now.
There are a number of other minor grammatical differences.

Vocabulary

There are a lot of examples of different words being used in British and American English. Here are a few of the commonest.

angry (Brit .) = mad ( US)
autumn = fall
boot (of a car) = trunk
chemist’s = drug store
cupboard = closet
flat = apartment
lift = elevator
nappy = diaper
pavement = sidewalk
petrol = gas/gasoline
rubbish = trash
tap = faucet
trousers = pants

There are British words which many Americans will not understand and vice versa. There are also words which exist in both British and American English but have very different meanings.

Spelling
There are also a number of different spelling rules between British English and American English.

1 Some words that end in ‘-tre ’ in British English end in ‘-ter ’ in American English.
US » theater, center
Brit. » theatre, centre

2 Some words that end in ‘-our ’ in British English end in ‘-or ’ in American English.

US » color, labor
Brit. » colour, labour

3 Some words are shorter in American English than in British English.

US » catalog, program
Brit. » catalogue, programme

There are other minor spelling differences between British and American English.

adjectives and prepositions

Adjectives & Prepositions

Some adjectives go with certain prepositions. There is no real pattern – you need to learn them as you meet them. Here are some examples but remember that there are many other adjective + preposition combinations that are not covered here.

With ‘at’
I’m quite good at English but I’m bad at maths and I’m terrible at physics.
With ‘for’

● Jogging is good for your health but smoking is bad for you.
● The town is famous for its cheese.

As well as ‘good for ’, ‘bad for ’ and ‘famous for’ we also say ‘qualified for’ ‘ ready for ’, ‘responsible for ’, ‘suitable for’ and several others.

With ‘of’
● I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself, thank you.
● I’m very fond of this old sweatshirt.

As well as ‘capable of ’ and ‘ fond of ’ we also say ‘aware of ’, ‘full of ’, ‘tired of ’ and several others.

With ‘with’
● We’re very pleased with your progress.
● You’re not still angry with me are you?

As well as ‘pleased with’ and ‘angry with ’ we also say ‘bored with’, ‘delighted with’, ‘satisfied with ’ and several others.

With ‘to’
● She’s the one who’s married to a doctor, isn’t she?
● You’ll be responsible to the head of the Finance department.

Notice that you can be responsible fo r something but
responsible to someone.

Other common adjective + preposition combinations include ‘interested in’ and ‘keen on’. It’s a good idea to make a note of new combinations in your vocabulary notebook as you meet them. Remember too that a preposition is followed by a noun or a gerund (‘ing’ form).

Source:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/quick-grammar/adjectives-prepositions

question tags

Question tags

Question tags are the short questions that we put on the end of sentences – particularly in spoken English.

There are lots of different question tags but the rules are not difficult to learn.

Positive/negative

If the main part of the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative ….

☆ He’s a doctor, isn’t he?

☆ You work in a bank, don’t you?

... and if the main part of the sentence is negative, the question tag is positive.

☆ You haven’t met him, have you?

☆ She isn’t coming, is she?

With auxiliary verbs

The question tag uses the same verb as the main part of the sentence. If this is an auxiliary verb (‘ have’, ‘be ’) then the question tag is made with the auxiliary verb.

☆ They’ve gone away for a few days, haven’t they?

☆ They weren’t here, were they?

☆ He had met him before, hadn’t he?

☆ This isn’t working, is it?

Without auxiliary verbs

If the main part of the sentence doesn’t have an auxiliary verb, the question tag uses an appropriate form of ‘do’.

☆ I said that, didn’t I?

☆ You don’t recognise me, do you?

☆ She eats meat, doesn’t she?

With modal verbs

If there is a modal verb in the main part of the sentence the question tag uses the same modal verb.

☆ They couldn’t hear me, could they?

☆ You won’t tell anyone, will you?

With ‘I am’

Be careful with question tags with sentences that start ‘I am ’. The question tag for ‘I am ’ is ‘ aren’t I ?’

☆ I’m the fastest, aren’t I?

Intonation
Question tags can either be ‘real’ questions where you want to know the answer or simply asking for agreement when we already know the answer.

If the question tag is a real question we use rising intonation . Our tone of voice rises.

If we already know the answer we use falling intonation . Our tone of voice falls.

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/quick-grammar/question-tags

countable and uncountable nouns part two

Countable & Uncountable nouns (2)

Some words can be both countable and uncountable depending on how they are used.

● Would you like a chocolate?

● Would you like some chocolate?

● In a box of chocolates , the chocolates are countable and you can take one .

When you have a bar of chocolate the chocolate is uncountable and you can take some.

There are several other nouns that can be both countable and uncountable.

● Can I have a glass of water, please?

● There’s some broken glass on the pavement.

‘Glass’ is one. Many foodstuffs can be countable or uncountable.

Think about the difference between ‘an ice cream’ and ‘some ice cream’ and ‘a coffee’ and ‘ some coffee’

‘few/a few’ and ‘little/a little’

We use few and a few with countable nouns and we use little
and a little with uncountable nouns.

● A few friends are coming round for dinner tonight.

● We’ve got a little time before our train leaves. Shall we go to a museum?

A few and a little both mean ‘ some’. They have a positive meaning.

● I’ve got very few friends here. I feel really lonely.

We’ve got very little time – hurry up or we’ll miss the train.

Few and little both mean ‘almost none ’. They have a negative meaning.
Commonly confused words

● I’d like an information about train times please

● I’d like some information about train times please.

Although ‘information ’ is countable in many languages, it is uncountable in English.

● Have you had any news from Pete?

● I haven’t brought much luggage with me.

● Can you give me some advice please?

As well as information , the following words are all uncountable: news , luggage , advice , furniture , weather , travel

countable and uncountable noun

Countable & Uncountable nouns (1)

Nouns can be countable or uncountable. When you learn a new noun you should make a note of whether it is countable or uncountable as we use different words with countables and uncountables.

Countable nouns

■ There is a cat in the garden.

■ There are some birds in the trees.

For positive sentences we can use a/an or some (with a plural verb form)

■ There isn’t a dog in the garden.

■ There aren’t any birds in the tree.

For negatives we can use a/an or any (with a plural verb form).

■ Is there an orange on the tree?

■ Are there any chairs in the garden?

■ How many chairs are there?

In questions we use a/an , any or how many .

Uncountable nouns

■ There is some milk on the floor.

Uncountable nouns have no plural. The verb form is singular and we use some.

■ Is there any sugar?

■ How much wine is there?

In questions we can use any or how much .

Other expressions of quantity

■ There are a lot of apples on the trees.

■ There is a lot of snow on the road.

A lot of can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

■ Bill Gates has much money.

Notice that we don’t usually use ‘ much’ or ‘many ’ in positive sentences. We use ‘ a lot of ’.

■ Bill Gates has a lot of money.

■ There’s a lot of beer but there isn’t much wine.

■ There are a lot of carrots but there aren’t many potatoes.

We use not many with countable nouns and not much with uncountable nouns.

Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable, depending on how they are used, and some nouns are commonly confused. These are covered in another section.

Sumber :  https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/quick-grammar/countable-uncountable-nouns-1

past continuous and past simple

Past Continuous and Past Simple

1. The most common use of the past continuous tense is to talk about something that was happening around a particular time in the past.

What were you doing at 8 o’clock last night? I was watching television.

I started watching television before 8 o’clock and I continued watching it after 8 o’clock.

In 1994 he was working in a small town in Poland.

At 6 o’clock on Saturday morning we were travelling to the airport.

2. We often use the past continuous and the past simple tense together.

When this happens, the past continuous describes a longer, ‘background’ action or situation and the past simple describes the action or events.

When I woke up this morning it was raining and my father was singing in the kitchen.

I was walking home, whistling happily, when I saw two masked men run out of the bank.

Often, the ‘action’ described by the past simple tense
interrupts the ‘situation’ described by the past continuous tense.

I broke my leg when I was skiing.

I was playing a computer game when the doorbell rang.

Notice that the past continuous describes ‘situations’ that go on for some time – ‘skiing’ and ‘playing’ but the past simple describes ‘actions’ that happen quickly – ‘broke’ and ‘rang’.

Notice too the important difference between these two sentences.

When they arrived, Jeff was cooking dinner. Jeff started cooking before they arrived.

When they arrived, Jeff cooked dinner. Jeff started cooking dinner after they arrived.

Sumber : https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/quick-grammar/past-continuous-and-past-simple

present perfect simple and present perfect continuous

Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous
We use the present perfect tense to talk about things where there is a connection between the past and the present.

He’s written 16 books.
He started writing books at some time in the past. So far, he has written 16 books. He may write more books.

As well as the present perfect simple, we can use the
present perfect continuous tense to talk about events with a connection to the present.

1 Look at these 2 sentences:

I’ve been decorating the house this summer.
The focus is on the action – decorating – and the action is unfinished.

I’ve painted the living room blue.
The focus is on the finished result.

The activity is finished but we can see the result now.

We use the present perfect continuous when the focus is on an activity that is unfinished.

2 Look at these two sentences.

I’ve read that book you lent me. I finished it yesterday.

I’ve been reading that book you lent me. I’ve got another 50 pages to read.

The present perfect simple ( I’ve read ) gives the idea of completion

while the present perfect continuous ( I’ve been reading) suggests that something is unfinished.

3 Look at these two sentences.

She’s been writing emails for 3 hours.

She’s written 10 messages.

The present perfect continuous ( has been writing ) talks about how long something has been happening.

The present perfect simple ( has written) talks about how much/how many have been completed.

4 Look at these two sentences.

I’ve worked here for thirty years.

I usually work in London but I’ve been working in Birmingham for the last 3 weeks.

We can use the present perfect simple to talk about how long when we view something as permanent.

But the present perfect continuous is often used to show that something is temporary.

Source :  https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/quick-grammar/present-perfect-simple-and-present-perfect-continuous