GRAMMARGRAMMAR

• Differences• Between

• American and British• English

IntroductionIntroduction

Speakers of American English generally use the Speakers of American English generally use the present perfect tense less than speakers of present perfect tense less than speakers of British English. In spoken American English it is British English. In spoken American English it is very common to use the simple past tense as an very common to use the simple past tense as an alternative in situations where the present perfect alternative in situations where the present perfect would usually have been used in British English. would usually have been used in British English. The two situations where this is especially likely The two situations where this is especially likely areare

1.11.1In sentences which talk about an action in the past that In sentences which talk about an action in the past that

has an effect in the presenthas an effect in the present

• Jenny feels ill. She ate too much.

• American English

• Jenny feels ill. She's eaten too much

• British English

1.21.2In sentences which contain the words already, just or In sentences which contain the words already, just or

yetyet

• A: Are they going to the show tonight?

• B: No. They already saw it.

• American English

• A: Are they going to the show tonight?

• B: No. They've already seen it.

• British English

2 2

Verb agreement with collective nounsVerb agreement with collective nouns • In British English collective nouns can be followed by a singular or

plural verb depending on whether the group is thought of as one idea, or as many individuals

• My team is winning.

• The other team are all sitting down.

• In American English collective nouns are always followed by a singular verb, so an American would usually say:

• Which team is losing?

• whereas in British English both plural and singular forms of the verb are possible, as in:

• Which team is/are losing?

The endThe end