UK/US differences: Spelling, Dates, Punctuation, Prepositions and Articles, Vocabulary ~ Grammar

1. UK/US differences

Needless to say, there are many more varieties of English than just those spoken in the United Kingdom and the United States; indeed, each of those countries is home to multiple dialects. Nevertheless, for the purposes of an English-language style guide, a comparison of the “standard” dialects of these two extensively used varieties can be instructive.

Of course, entire books have been devoted to the differences between BrE and AmE conventions with regard to spelling, vocabulary, punctuation and grammar. An exhaustive accounting thus falls well beyond the scope of this guide. Nevertheless, because, except where otherwise explicitly specified, the UOC prefers that the texts it publishes be written in BrE, this section has been included as a quick reference guide to some of the most common differences.

1.1. Spelling

Exceptions to spelling rules are common on both sides of the Atlantic. Therefore, when in doubt, the UOC recommends using the preferred spelling provided in the Oxford English Dictionary (British and World English version) (www.oxforddictionaries.com) for BrE and the preferred spelling provided in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (www.merriam-webster.com) for AmE. Please note that, unlike many other authoritative BrE sources, the OED uses the

-ize spellings of words like organize and maximize. For more information on this difference, see the relevant section below.

Notwithstanding the plethora of exceptions, some of the most common differences in BrE and AmE spelling conventions are listed below:

-ae-/-e- and -oe-/-e-

BrE has retained the digraphs -ae- and -oe- in certain words of primarily French, Latin and Greek origin that AmE spells with a bare e.

Examples:

*-ae-/-e-* and -oe-/-e-
BrE	AmE
paediatrician	pediatrician
anaemia	anemia
amoeba	ameba
oestrogen	estrogen

However, some words can be, and often are, spelled with the digraph in AmE, too, although the bare e spelling is also accepted. Examples:

aesthetics (or esthetics) archaeology (or archeology)

Likewise, certain words may be spelled with either the digraph or the bare e in BrE. Examples:

encyclopaedia (or encyclopedia) mediaeval (or medieval)

-ce/-se

BrE generally uses the spelling -ce for nouns and -se for verbs. Examples:

a licence but to license

some practice but to practise

AmE preserves this distinction with some words (eg some advice but to advise) but in other cases always uses -se (eg defense, license, offense)

-e before suffixes

Unlike AmE, BrE retains the final silent e in certain words when adding suffixes. Compare:

-e before suffixes
BrE	AmE
acknowledgement	acknowledgment
ageing	aging
judgement	judgment
likeable	likable
saleable	salable
sizeable	sizable

Nevertheless, for some words, both spellings are accepted in both AmE and BrE. AmE tends to be more flexible than BrE in this regard. Examples:

acknowledg(e)ment judg(e)ment

-ise/-ize and –yse/-yze

While BrE often prefers to spell this and related suffixes (-isation, -ising, etc.) with an s, AmE uses only the version with z. Compare:

*-ise/-ize*
BrE	AmE
organise/organize	organize
maximise/maximize	maximize
philosophise/philosophize	philosophize

This notwithstanding, the OED prefers to spell these words according to their etymological origin, the Greek root -izo and thus also uses the z spelling.

Similar differences are found with the suffix -yse/-yze. Compare:

*-yse/-yze*
BrE	AmE
analyse	analyze
catalyse	catalyze
hydrolyse	hydrolyze
paralyse	paralyze

In this case, the OED uses the s spelling, as these words are formed from a different Greek root, lyo, rather than from -izo. For more information on OED spelling conventions, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_spelling.

Separately, please note that some words are always spelled with an s in all varieties of English. This is generally because the -ise is actually part of a longer component of the word, such as -cise, -prise or -vise, rather than a separate suffix in itself. Nevertheless, a smaller group are always spelled with z. Examples:

Always -ise	Always -ize
advise	capsize
comprise	prize
compromise	seize
excise	size
revise
supervise
televise

-ll-/-l-

BrE generally doubles the final l before adding -ed, -ing, -er, -est or -or in words with an unstressed final syllable. AmE generally does not.

Examples:

*-ll-/-l-* before -ed, -ing, -er, -est, -or
BrE	AmE
cancellation	cancelation (although cancellation is also accepted)
labelled	labeled
modelling	modeling
traveller	traveler

In contrast, BrE often uses a single l in words formed from monosyllabic root words ending in ll and many of their derivatives, whereas AmE generally retains the double l. Compare:

*-ll-/-l-* in words formed from monosyllabic root words ending in ll
BrE	AmE
enrol	enroll
enrolment	enrollment
fulfil	fulfill
fulfilment	fulfillment
instalment	installment
wilful	willful

-ogue/-og

BrE generally uses the ending -ogue, while AmE generally prefers -og. Compare:

*-ogue/-og*
BrE	AmE
catalogue	catalog (although catalogue is also used)
dialogue	dialog
monologue	monolog

-our/-or

Words ending in an unstressed -our/-or in which the vowel sound is reduced (ie the ending is pronounced -er) generally take a u in BrE but not in AmE. Compare:

*-our/-or* when the vowel sound is reduced
BrE	AmE
behaviour	behavior
colour	color
favour	favor
neighbour	neighbor

The u is used in AmE, too, when the vowel sound is not reduced (ie when the ending is pronounced -or). Examples:

paramour troubadour

-re/-er

Certain words, mainly of French, Latin and Greek origin, that originally ended in a consonant + -re retain that spelling in BrE but are spelled with a final -er in AmE. This mainly occurs in words in which the -re/-er is unstressed and is particularly common when the preceding consonant is a b or a t. Examples:

*-re/-er*
BrE	AmE
centre	center
fibre	fiber
litre	liter
theatre	theater

Note, however, that BrE uses metre for the unit of length, but meter for the measuring instrument.

Likewise, some words retain the original -re spelling in AmE, too, particularly when it is preceded by a c or when the original French pronunciation has been retained. Examples:

acre massacre mediocre genre

double entendre

but also macabre, timbre

-t/-ed in past tenses

In BrE, the past forms of certain verbs may be spelled with a -t or -ed, whereas in AmE they almost exclusively end with -ed. Compare:

*-t/-ed* in past tenses
BrE	AmE
burnt	burned
dreamt	dreamed
learnt	learned

That said, both spellings are understood and accepted in both BrE and AmE,

Note, too, that BrE and AmE tend to use different forms for the past participle of the verb to get. Whereas BrE generally uses the forms get-got-got, except in certain set phrases (eg ill-gotten gains), AmE generally uses get-got-gotten, except with the possessive have got (eg I’ve got three pens). Compare:

BrE: Information they had got from the internet.

AmE: Information they had gotten from the internet.

-wards/-ward

While both -wards and -ward can be found on both sides of the Atlantic, BrE tends to favour -wards, while AmE tends to favour-ward. Thus:

*-wards/-ward*
BrE	AmE
backwards	backward
forwards	forward
towards	toward

This is particularly true when the words being formed function as adverbs. In contrast, when they function as adjectives or as part of a phrasal verb, the suffix -ward generally prevails on both sides of the Atlantic. Examples:

a backward glance an untoward remark to look forward to

Other spelling differences

In addition to the above, several common words that do not fall into any of the above categories are also generally spelled differently in BrE and AmE. These include, among others:

Other spelling differences
BrE	AmE
aluminium	aluminum
cheque (n.)	check (n.)
grey	gray
jewellery	jewelry
mould	mold
per cent	percent
plough	plow
programme (except in computing)	program
sceptical	skeptical
tyre (n.)	tire (n.)

1.2. Dates

In BrE, the date tends to be formatted day + month + year with no internal punctuation. In contrast, in AmE, it tends to be formatted month + day + year with a comma separating the final two elements. Thus:

BrE: 1 January 2012

AmE: January 1, 2012

In both varieties, ordinal numbers may also be used to indicate the day (eg 1st January 2012 or January 1st, 2012); however, the UOC prefers that cardinal numbers be used instead.

1.3. Punctuation

For a more detailed discussion of English punctuation, please see Sp. This section merely addresses some of the most common differences between BrE and AmE conventions.

Capitalization

While both sentence-case capitalization (capitalization of the first word and any proper nouns in a title or headline) and title-case capitalization (capitalization of the first and last word, as well as any function words in between) are used in both varieties of English, sentence-case capitalization is perhaps more common in BrE and title-case capitalization more common in AmE. Accordingly, the UOC prefers to use sentence-case capitalization for many of its texts. Thus:

University management: towards greater interaction with the environment

For more information on the UOC’s specific preferences with regard to capitalization, please see section 2 above.

Full stops

In BrE, full stops are used for truncations, but not for contractions. They are likewise omitted from initialisms. In contrast, AmE generally uses full stops for both contractions and initialisms. Compare:

Full stops in initialisms
BrE	AmE
Dr	Dr.
Mr	Mr.
UK	U.K.
EU	E.U.

Hyphenation

BrE often hyphenates compound nouns and adjectives that are written as a single unit in AmE. For example:

Hyphenation of compound nouns and adjectives
BrE	AmE
break-up	breakup
mouth-watering	mouthwatering
north-east	northeast

Likewise, BrE often uses a hyphen where AmE does not to separate prefixes from the words to which they are attached, particularly in cases where the final letter of the prefix and the first letter of the root word are the same or when omission of the hyphen could lead to mispronunciation. Compare:

Hyphenation to aid pronunciation
BrE	AmE
co-worker	coworker
pre-eminent	preeminent
re-enter	reenter

However, hyphens are generally used in both varieties of English to separate a prefix from a capitalized noun. Examples:

mid-Atlantic post-Renaissance sub-Saharan

Likewise, both varieties often use hyphens to distinguish between words with distinct meanings that would otherwise be homographs, such as recreation (activity done for enjoyment) and re-creation (something created anew) or unionized (organized in a labour union) and un-ionized (not ionized).

Notwithstanding the above, in practice both varieties often accept both hyphenated and unhyphenated spellings of a single word. It is thus above all important to be consistent within each text. In other words, do not use pre-eminent on first mention and preeminent a few pages later.

Quotation marks and placement of end punctuation

AmE generally uses double quotation marks to indicate direct quotations and single quotation marks for nested quotations within them. It also generally places full stops and commas inside the closing quotation mark, although placement of other forms of punctuation (eg dashes, question marks, exclamation points) depends on whether they pertain to the quote itself. Example:

“The virtual companionship,” Arroyo added, “was wonderful, and in many cases it has turned into real and lasting friendships.”

According to Mr Esteban, the conference represents “a critical review of the adaptation of healthcare technology to the environment.”

“How many times have you heard him cry ‘Impossible!’ only to watch him go on to get the job done?” he asked.

BrE usage varies, with some sources, such as The Economist, following some of the same conventions as AmE and others, such as Oxford University Press (OUP), essentially doing the opposite, that is, using single quotation marks to indicate direct quotations and double quotation marks to set off any further quotations within them. Under this system, end punctuation is only placed inside the closing quotation marks when it forms part of the sentence being quoted. Example:

‘The virtual companionship’, Arroyo added, ‘was wonderful, and in many cases it has turned into real and lasting friendships.’

According to Mr Esteban, the conference represents ‘a critical review of the adaptation of healthcare technology to the environment’.

‘How many times have you heard him cry “Impossible!” only to watch him go on to get the job done?’ he asked.

The UOC recommends following the guidelines established by The Economist for quotations in its texts: economist.com/style-guide/inverted-commas-quotation-marks. In short, single quotation marks are only used for quotations inside quotations and punctuation goes outside unless it forms an integral part of the quoted text.

“The virtual companionship”, Arroyo added, “was wonderful, and in many cases it has turned into real and lasting friendships.”

According to Mr Esteban, the conference represents “a critical review of the adaptation of healthcare technology to the environment”.

“How many times have you heard him cry ‘Impossible!’ only to watch him go on to get the job done?” he asked.

1.4. Prepositions and articles

In addition to the above differences, BrE and AmE also sometimes follow different conventions with regard to the use of prepositions and articles. Some of the most common examples include:

Prepositions and articles: different conventions
BrE	AmE
You live in/on Main Street.	You live on Main Street.
You enrol on a course.	You enroll in a course.
You convalesce in hospital.	You convalesce in the hospital.
You go out at the weekend.	You go out on the weekend.
You play in a team.	You play on a team.
An office is open Monday to Friday.	An office is open Monday through/to Friday.
You study English at university.	You study English in university.
You ring/call someone on 867-5309.	You call someone at 867-5309.

Additional examples can be found at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_American_ and_British_English

1.5. Vocabulary

Although BrE and AmE are (for the most part!) mutually comprehensible, there are nevertheless many lexical differences between them, some subtle, others quite stark and still others potentially problematic. The online Oxford English Dictionary offers a helpful introductory list to some of the most common differences at: oxforddictionaries.com/words/british-and-american-terms.

1.6. Helpful links

There are many informative and engaging online resources on the differences between BrE and AmE. Interested readers might begin with the following Wikipedia entries:

- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_American_and_British_English

- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences Also of interest are the following blogs:

- Not One-Off Britishisms (britishisms.wordpress.com): An American English professor reports on the seepage of traditional Britishisms into AmE.

- Separated by a Common Language (separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com): An American linguist living in the UK reflects on differences between BrE and AmE.

- The Best of British (effingpot.com): A Brit and former resident of Texas offers a comically annotated list of differences in BrE and AmE vocabulary.

Grammar