American English & British English – 8 Grammar Differences

Hey friends! There is a small mistake in this lesson at 2:28. There is a correction on the board, but in case you missed it, the correct sentence is "The government HAS cut spending." The rule is correct — "has" is the singular form of the verb, which is usually used for collective nouns in American English. Sorry for the confusion.

engVid

Yes, I’ve got it. thanks. I had a lot of confusions, but now it’s clear.

O.Khan

That’s what I wanted to comment.

yankhonskiy

Thanks for the lesson! but don’t you think that in the difference 1, the singular form of the verb should be “HAS” not “HAVE”. I also noticed a moment of hesitation when you realized that it should be HAS but you moved on :)
I also think that for collective nouns there is no difference between British or American English, it is about the meaning of the word.

mkamali

Yes, you’re right. There is a correction on-screen. Please see my note at the top of the comment thread. However, the rule is pretty strong. In the US, there is a very strong preference for the singular form.

engVid

yah, i agree

nghia3108

Thanks, Jade.
It’s very useful.
Btw, I　want to know ‘irrigating system’ and ‘irrigation system’ which one is correct?

Sophie

I LIKE IT

induta1210

Hi Jade, I love each class that you give us, sometimes I use this web site for improve my English because I love English British
hhttp://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/
Let me know you¿ suggestion, I consider that you are my best teacher

wgonzalez

It´s : I love british english

Dorian Garcia

Thank you.

I know that “gotten” was used by British people hundreds of years ago, and I even read a book – “What not to Write” where the author mentioned that Shakespeare used “gotten”. I think that people in the UK don’t read poems created by Shakespeare. This is just an old-fashioned British word which is still used by Americans.
I hope that you will make similar lesson because you didn’t mention about differences in the punctuation in both varieties of English.

gbudny

I also notice that the word “forgotten” can be used as the past participle in British English. Unfortunately, they stopped to use “gotten” which is similar in this case.

gbudny

many thanks You’re gorgeous

khalidse10

I bet you are out of the learning range.

SaifAlAnazi

Thanks Jade. I had got 6 correct answers out of seven

koubalondon

Thank you mam.

SaifAlAnazi

I got 3 correct out of 7 :( I was really confused. I will review. Thank you, Jade :)

Happy04

Which sentence is correct ? and why?
you should set quietly and respect
or
you should set quietly and respectly

rosemarry

Hi Rosmarry! sorry that your both sentences are incorrect.the correct sentence is”You should sit quietly and respectfully” there are two adverbs in this sentences,”quietly” and “respectfully.”

Shakir444

Hi i have some doubts in English listening …
i can read and understand English easily , but i can’t understand while listening to BBC news or NDTV English news channels … i feel some dificulties in that … could you help me plz??

Gopinath Vicky

Hi Gopinath.u can’t understand native speakers of english, their speaking sound is ofcourse strange for u.so u must listen to them all the time,no matter if u can’t get their english in first.but with the passage of time u will easily get to understand what they r talking about.SO listen listen and listen…

Shakir444

Thank you Shakir …
I’ll try to listen … ,

Gopinath Vicky

i used to have the same problem, when i started watching BBC news. but now i don’t face such any such problems. one just needs to keep listening to the native speakers. you will be able to catch their accent soon enough. watch news on a regular basis but don’t watch CNN and BBC simultaneously. Shakir is right!

abhishek1995

Great lesson I was ever searching for…thank you so much Jade.your lessons help me 24/7. :))
l

Shakir444

Hi everybody.
Fortunately Jade hasn’t talked about the differences of “to forget”…!
Have a nice day.

jpfromparis

Thank you

ako slemani

Good lesson!

Amfortas

very interesting lesson. thanks

cheikh sneibe

Thanks got 43%.

Abdul Qayum

I have just realised that I’ve been using a British English the whole time.
Thanks Ms. Jade for this another wonderful lesson, by the way.

Anzu

Very strange pronunciation..sounds not so good, sorry.

AlexSem

If you dislike this way of pronunciation you may study chinese! You have to listen carefully and to understand , not to judge her, because English has to be one from England.
Good Lesson DEAR JADE!!!!!!
I liked lesson so much, British accent is Excellent and perfect! In UK People speak like this! I don’t know the other way of pronunciation.

Abdel Said

dear alex,
this is the original english. others are variations of it. so you have no choice, but to get used to it.

abhishek1995

I look forward to hearing James lesson! James, where are you? Wake up, Man!

AlexSem

Very nice lecture. Cheers!

hiubhp

Thank you for the lesson! It is always difficult for me to be consistent with either American or British English, I just realised I always mix them up. I thought the differences are only on the vocabulary.

Tsutrisn

Thanks Jade. I got 5.

somboon

6/7. Anyway I thought that American English was more easy, more direct than English English, and not a variety of English.

Jorge Pedroso

Thanks,very useful :)

byte

Hi Jade
Could we have some downloadable sheets about the American and English grammar differences on the Resources? It is certainly very important and useful!
Thank you very much for the video.

audrysilva

I really enjoy watching you Jade, you’re so gorgeous, and I like your accent.

scudstorm

Thanks teacher

fco10

a lovely blouse) Thank You for lesson!

vovchick

Thank you for your lesson.

bummia

THANKS JADE

AJITHPUSHPAKUMARA123

I always thought (due to studying of all versions of English for many years) that American English is obviously easier than British English. So why do the 4th question have the opposite meaning in its answer?

cosm

Oops, I have the same mistake as in the video :)
—
So why does…
—

cosm

Thanks for an informative lesson. But I can’t agree (and neither can Oxford Online Dictionary together with some English native speakers I consulted)that “smell” & “leap” are only used in -ed form in British English…
And it’s really true that American English (conversational)grammar and spelling are quite easier for most foreign learners cos’ they’re simplified/more primitive

anglorus

Thank you Jade. You made a good lesson.

CedomirP

Many thanks Jade for making that video so we can understand some differences between American and British English. Personally I prefer American to British English, since I was child I started learning American English and I’m used to the grammar and the sounds as well. But let me tell you that in institutes, and even in some universities, there’s no a standard way of teaching English, teachers sometimes mix American and British, which personally I find it badly, cause as you said if we learn American English and there’s some rule of British English that we find it much easier than American,it’s good to know it but we should not use it if we’re learning American English or vice versa.
well let me take advantage of this lesson to ask you a question: verbs such as like, hate, dislike,prefer and a few more… I know we can use them followed by to+ infinitive form or by gerunds, but which rule is for American English. For example if I said: she likes to hang out with her friends or she likes hanging out with her friends in that case which one would be American English.
Thanks in advance

Dick95

Hi Jade.
Can i use british & american english together?
I mean some words with american eng. and the other ones with british..is it weird?

dominikaberkova

Hi Dommie!ofcourse u can use brit: & amer: english together.but it would be a lil strange.so u should concentrate on 1 of them which is easier for u to speak.

Shakir444

Ok, american is easier for me. Thank you:)

dominikaberkova

Oh, yes I m agree Dommie jan

Sediqyar

Thanks very much jade

adalberto75

Hey Jade, love your accent! Now sounds me familiar and I can understand what you say!!!

piancci

thanks you very much for your teaching ,teacher Jade . I caught it very well

savith sahara

Jade! You’re here now! I’ve been watching your YouTube channel for a long time now and I love them.

rsanhuezaf

thank you and appreciate

Sediqyar

Thank you, Jade!

dorycam

I love it thank you jade

ahmadi774

Hello moderator! Why isn’t my comment yet approved?

cosm

Nice :( All you could do is just to remove it. “Thank you” for being “kind”…

cosm

wow I got too.

bujji

thank u jade

bujji

My comment disappeared if I hadn’t dreamt of writing here.

sasha11

I misplaced my comment, so the error is mine.

Thumb up for the lesson. Excellent!

sasha11

Thanks, Jade.

Thanh Nhu Quynh

Hi Jade!
You speak so fast!
Please reduce the speed of your speaking to understand better.
Thanks

alikazemi7

Thanks, Jade

van777kh

can you help my incident

sharjeel76

can you do that for me please

sharjeel76

thanks

omar sozaa

Thank you very much, Jade!

inspiramentum

HEY FRIENDS..HELP ME TO IMPROVE MY ENGLISH…9544972663

Hashiquehash

Hello dear Ronnie
I hope everything goes well around you. Thank you sooo much because of the great lessons!
May you please guide us to follow a good method for learning english (self study) in one of your videos??
You know whenever I’m going to start studying and learning it , I see I
have a load of books , a lot of lessons , different sources and they make me totally confused!!!
and at last I leave it and at the moment I’m really dissapointed :( please help me!!!
Regards

Alireza.Keikha

I have a question about rule 6:
“I’ve to go” and “I’ve a car” are right?
I mean, is it mandatory to use “got”?
Please, answer the question for both, American and British English.
Thanks and regards.

eduardorod

Thanks Jade. This lesson has cleared to me a lot of dobuts. Always, I’ve thought that American English is easier, but it is probably because I’ve got more contact with this one.
I’ve started to study B. English recently, and for this, your lesson was pretty useful.
Thanks again.

nancho

i got 6 questions correct, out of 7. the only one wrong being, “american english is easier than british english. yes or no.. “. i answered, ‘yes’, but it marked me wrong. why?

abhishek1995

Thank you so much…. :)
Love all your lesson!Very useful for my upcoming exam on EILTS.

Steph Lou

Thank!

arielk

Hi Jade,
thanks a lot for your helpful lesson.
You’re a great teacher, but I must concentrate very mutch to catch everything :)
take care

cep62

Thank you ..
I prefer american English ..

saffor

Hello Jade, I used to watch your classes on youtube but today I have registered here and feeling happy about it.
Thank you very much :)

kishore85

ı lıked that , thanks jade:)

wanna to learn

Thank you.
I hope that you will prepare a lesson about differences in the punctuation in British and American English.

gbudny

6/7 :D

Dinh Quoc Lap

Thanks jade i liked your teaching it’s really helpful.my regards to you.

Meand

hey jade how are you can’t speak english properly can you learn me how we speak english
i will wait your reply

meryem uzerli

I also prefer American English.
thanks your lesson.

AungKyaw

My goal is speak English with a British accent. American English has been more accessible than British English for decades, but with the internet, there is no excuse to learn it. Thank you so much, Jade!

marcelafviana

I love it British accent and prefer than American. I hope so…

Felipe88

Fulfilling lesson, thanks Jade

moezbesbes

hi jade.
this lesson is very difficult for me.
i will tray again soon.

nichinohe

thank you.

Iamhere.

thank you.

now i understanding amercan english and british english.

nichinohe

Hello Jade, Thank you for your usefull lesson. In the third minute of it you are telling about your “controversial” video in which …
You “dare” to compare British and American variants of English .
I liked this funny episode, but I can’t find it in the Internet now. Have you deleted this video? That’s bad if it is so. Or may be someone can give me the link to it?
Thank you.

proverbial horse

so thanks but still dont understand :((((

helmysy

hi thank you so much you are the best my teacher good luck

alexsuccess

i’ve got05/07

alexsuccess

Thanks Jade

mido1985

hi
thnak,
i have question about accent that make me confused i try to learn english for i want to work in customer service career so i learn english but i’m alawys confuse about accent just i want learn eng accent that help me to communicat waith any person who speaking native eglish Birtsh or American
what shell i do ? and what is salng ?
and thank you alot :)

MinaEssa

Hi Jade, thanks for your time. I have been a fan of British “telly” for years, I’ve always wanted to know how they can get away with saying “We are stood on it” mixing tenses…(heard on every Time Team episode)– oh and btw many of the grammar examples you used as differences above I’ve never heard in the US. Meaning, I’ve always heard what you are calling the British English version. Maybe it’s because I am from the South. Thanks again, Kelly.

LearnEnglishMan

ENTINON

Hello Jade! Because I am in the Philippines, I am exposed to both American and British English. It is the reason why I tend to mix these variety of English. Well, I just realize that I should not put them altogether. I also think that it is the reason why I am not confident and I find it difficult speaking in English. Thank you this video!

DanicaOrtiz11

thanks jade

deeptishree

Thank you, Jade! I think i have to review the video to reassure certain points…

MarKonNest

I’ve just finished this course. I’d like to give you a thumb up, but I don’t find the button. Thanks for your courses.

Dinaway

I love your big hug, Jade.
See you soon in next lessons.
By the way, thank you for your wonderful lesson.
I’ve been using them in mixing between these two English all the time.

Koichi

It’s very intresting. Thank you

Djojack

Great lesson, Jade.

As I love this language I make a great effort to
learn both the way they are, and whatsmore, if I
am talking to a British person or an American person I try to speak as they do.

But, Jade, I’ve heard some British people saying that Americans don’t speake English,
they speak American.

As long as I can speak correctly ( I try to)
both ways it’s okay by me.

Sonia1234

jade how about Tortoise & hare on your youtube?

chakim hamzah

Great lesson.Clear accent.I enjoy watching your videos teacher.You are a great teacher.Thanks for the video.

srini123

I have answered 7 out of 8.

srini123

I would like to ask you about the subjunctive in the British English you said that it’s commonly used the verbs which ends with -t instead of -ed so why it was written (rented) in the second pattern of the subjunctive in the British English?
also I would like to ask you about the collective nouns at the beginning of the lesson you said that in the American English we use a singular verb after it so why did you put it in the plural way in the sentence the government have cut spending why not has if we use the singular verb after it? Thanks in advance and please reply to learn more :)

reemoo951

I just have learned something new about English grammar.
Thank you, Teacher.

ssuns

thanks Jade

Hannady

I’ve also noticed that the past form of the verb TO TRAVEL is TRAVELLED in British English and TRAVELED in American English.

Fabri

Great lesson! I really enjoyed this lesson. Thank you Jade! :)

shafiafg

Yes I’ve got something from this lesson Jade..
anyway you’ve found that 8 diff between American English And English English.. .
English English this is I caught from you…

Sivakumar

Jade, love you and your classes

Claudemir Cordeiro

Hello dear Jade!
You English is posh and I really love it. I love British English most.

aynur1984

Very interesting lesson.Thanks!

Vivimi

5/7 :)

Very good lesson! I prefer American English, but British is also important for all of us!

Thanks Jade!

Isaias Menezes Silva

For some strange reason I prefer british pronunciation and british grammatical rules, in despite of I live in Latin America, a place where you can find American English everywhere.

hermelo

I’ve got 6/7
I love you miss/Jade and thanks

SandyAhmed

British English is awesome! I really like it :)

Jhonedp1

i’ve got 86 scores.6 out of 7 questions :)
thank you jade … :D

joko wahyu

hy eneryone

sajidrana

this is interesting…

asienka93

Hi, Jade! I`m comming back to your class.

jaeseon

Thanks Teacher

Ronaldo Ramos

5/7. thanks

macprivera

Thinks Jade.the same question i asked Emma,is it helpful to learn also the old english as it is in books of shakespeare.otherwise, can you teach us some of old english.

lino3

Hi, Jade! I have a question: when you said “the government have…..” gets a singular, it means it should have been “the government has…” as it’s the third person, right??

Valerush78

Thanks！

shihai182

thanks Jade ,thumbs up ;)

kantar007

Is have a singular verb?

Medhatmoh

I’m glad I have got 100% on the quiz (is my grammar correct?). By the way Jade, do you Concentra on grammar?

Charles Taze

Thanks for the lesson. I got 100 bravo.

OMbye3

Thanks for the lesson

al willis

how to open it in china

krisliu

Thanks Jade for this important lesson even if I didn’t really understand the eighth difference between American and British English

Emmanuel MANDEBI

Sorry, How the government in the first example for American grammar is singular? If it was singular, it had to be “The government has to cut spending”, wasn’t it?

lastdruid

Please disregard my comment. I’ve seen your note on the top after the fact. However, shouldn’t we have “to” between modal verb “has” and verb “cut” because it is considered as an obligation, e.g. equal to “must”?

lastdruid

American English & British English – 8 Grammar Differences

Test your understanding of this English lesson

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