VOA慢速英语--Differences Between American, British Grammar

 

Many of you have the goal of learning¹ American English. After all, you are listening to or reading a lesson from the Voice of America.

But you will still probably have some contact with British English. The popularity² of British television shows and musical groups, for example, reaches across borders.

So, how does British English differ from American English? You may already know that there is a clear difference in accent. Other differences include some vocabulary and expressions.

Less commonly discussed, however, are the variations⁴ in grammar. American and British Englishes share almost all of the same grammar. But there are differences, and some are worth noting – especially for English learners.

On today's program, we will discuss a few of them.

Use of prepositions⁶

First, let's talk about where the two Englishes vary⁷ on preposition⁵ use.

In British English, the preposition "at" is used in several time-related phrases, such as when talking about weekends. But speakers of American English use the preposition "on" in such a case. Listen to this American English speaker:

On weekends, I like to watch sports.

Can you think of how a British English speaker would say this?

That's right, it is: "At weekends, I like to watch sports."

Americans also use the preposition "on" with street names. Yet, British English speakers use "in."

Listen to this American talking about where someone lives:

She lives on 17th street near Dupont Circle.

Can you guess how the British English speaker would say it?

That's right: "She lives in 17th street near Dupont Circle."

These are just a few examples of the small differences in preposition use.

The present perfect

Now, let's move on to verb tenses.

American and British English speakers use the present perfect verb tense in similar ways. But Americans use it in fewer situations. In many other situations, we use the simple past instead.

Listen to an American use the simple past tense to talk about a lost object:

Ugh! I lost my phone...again.

British English speakers would generally use the present perfect in this situation, as in "I've lost my phone...again." The present perfect verb here is "have lost."

This is also true when giving news. In American English, we use the simple past to do this. Speakers of British English generally use the present perfect.

Listen to an American give a piece of news to someone:

Your supervisor⁸ just called.

Again, such news would involve the present perfect for Britons, as in, "Your supervisor has just called" or the contracted "You supervisor's just called."

Notice use of the word "just," a common time-related adverb. With other such adverbs, like "yet" and "already," Americans also tend to use the simple past tense while Britons use the present perfect.

Listen to an American use a past tense verb and the adverb "already":

Would you like more?

No thanks. I already ate too much.

So, what might a British answer sound like? A person is likely to say, "I have already eaten too much," which uses the present perfect verb "have eaten."

Have and get

The two dialects¹⁰ also differ in some ways in their usages¹¹ of the verbs "have" and "get."

When talking about human relationships, British English speakers generally use the wording "have got." For instance¹², a Briton might say, "I've got an uncle in New York City." But an American is likely to say, "I have an uncle in New York City."

This same rule applies when talking about possession of objects and when discussing illness. A British English speaker would likely say, "I've got a cold," while an American would probably just say, "I have a cold."

The two dialects also have their own ways of saying that something is required or necessary. The modal verb "Have to" is more common to American English. The phrasing "have got to" is much more common to speakers of British English. An American would likely say, "We have to be there by 7" while a British person is more likely to say, "We have got to be there by 7."

And, speaking of "got," let's not forget an unusual difference between the past participle forms of "get." In American English, the past participle of "get" is "gotten." But Britain discontinued the use of "gotten" more than 300 years ago. In British English, the past participle of "get" is "got."

So, you might hear an American English speaker say this:

He has not gotten far on the project.

Yet a British English speaker might say, "He has not got far on the project."

Auxiliaries¹³ in replies

And finally, let's touch on something that deals with giving short answers to questions.

British English speakers often add the auxiliary¹⁴ verb "do" in short replies. An American would use just a modal verb. Listen to an answer from this American English speaker:

Are you bringing the whole family?

I might.

The modal verb in the reply is "might."

Yet, speakers of British English would generally use both a modal and the auxiliary "do," as in the reply "I might do."

What can you do?

So...what can you do with this information?

First, keep in mind that British and American English both contain several dialects and accents. However, generally speaking, they are each still identifiably American or British.

The next time you come into contact with British English, make a mental note when you hear or see the differences you learned¹⁵ about today. Then, ask yourself: How would an American say this? It could be a fun exercise and may help you pay closer attention to American English grammar.

Words in This Story

accent – n. a way of pronouncing words that occurs among the people in a particular region¹⁶ or country

vocabulary – n. the words that make up a language

variation³ – n. something that is similar to something else but different in some way

phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence

guess – v. to form an opinion or give an answer about something when you do not know much or anything about it

contracted – adj. made smaller or shorter

dialect⁹ – n. a form of a language that is spoken in a particular area and that uses some of its own words, grammar, and pronunciations

uncle - the brother of your father or mother or the husband of your aunt

modal – v. a verb (such as can, could, may, might, should, will, or would) usually used with another verb to express ideas such

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

3 variation   

n.变化，变动；变体，变种；变奏(曲)

参考例句：

• The prices for food are subject to variation.食品的价格可能变更。
• The air flow will have some variation of angularity.风的流向将有一定程度的变化。

4 variations   

变化( variation的名词复数 )； 变异； 变奏（曲）； 变量

参考例句：

• regional variations in pronunciation 发音的地区差异
• The dial records very slight variations in pressure. 该刻度盘能显示很微小的压力变化。

5 preposition   

n.介词

参考例句：

• You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
• We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。

6 prepositions   

n.介词( preposition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She lays a lot of emphasis on the usage of prepositions. 她把重点放在介词的使用上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Prepositions and conjunctions are particles. 介词和连词是小品词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 vary   

vi.变化，有不同；vt.改变，使不同

参考例句：

• Cherries vary in colour from almost black to yellow.樱桃的颜色由近乎黑到黄各不相同。
• Old people don't like to vary their habits.老年人不喜欢改变他们的习惯。

8 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

9 dialect   

n.方言，土语，地方话

参考例句：

• He wrote a play in a local dialect.他用当地方言写了一个剧本。
• They began to speak rapidly in dialect.他们开始叽里呱啦地说起地方话来。

10 dialects   

方言，土语( dialect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He can speak several dialects. 他会说好几种方言。
• The region became a hodgepodge of languages and dialects, some from the east, some from the south and some from other countries entirely. 这个地区成为语言和方言的大杂烩，有些来自东部，有些来自南部，而有些完全是来自别的国家。

11 usages   

使用( usage的名词复数 )； 用法； 习惯； 惯例

参考例句：

• Industrialization influences social usages. 工业化影响着社会的习俗。
• A dictionary helps one to distinguish correct and incorrect usages. 词典可用以辨识遣词造句的正误。

12 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

13 auxiliaries   

n.助动词 ( auxiliary的名词复数 )；辅助工，辅助人员

参考例句：

• These auxiliaries have made our work much easier. 有了这些辅助人员，我们的工作才顺利多了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In English the future tense is often rendered by means of auxiliaries. 在英语中，将来时常用助动词来表现。 来自辞典例句

14 auxiliary   

adj.辅助的，备用的

参考例句：

• I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
• The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。

15 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

16 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。