In grammer

British English American English

1. Verb agreement with collective nouns

2. Tense ： Past tense forms present perfect have-get-take

3. Use of auxiliaries and modals

4. Use of prepositions

BrE AmE

The committee meets/meet tomorrow.

The committee meets tomorrow.

The team is/are going to lose.

The team is going to lose.

Collective nouns + verbBrE: singular /plural verbs AmE: singular verbs

Verb Agreement With Collective Nouns

The enemy is suing for peace. (AmE)

The government have not announced a new policy. (BrE)

The Beatles are a well-known band.

Past tense forms

Last night, I _____________ (dream) that I could fly.

The bad news has ___________ (spoil) my day. He suddenly sprang to his feet when he

___________(learn) the news.

dreamt/dreamed

spoilt/ spoiled

learnt/ learned

BrE: irregular form

AmE: regular form

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Infinitive Simple past(Br)

Simple past (Am)

Past participle

(Br)

Past participle

(Am)

burn burned/burnt

burned/burnt

burned/burnt

burned/burnt

dream dreamed/dreamt

dreamed/dreamt

dreamed/dreamt

dreamed/dreamt

get got got got gotten

learn learned/learnt

learned learned/learnt

learned

smell smelled/smelt

smelled smelled/smelt

smelled

spoil spoiled/spoilt

spoiled/spoilt

spoiled/spoilt

spoiled/spoilt

wake woke woke/waked

woken woken

BrE: present perfect (have/has + P.P) .AmE: simple past

Jenny feels ill. She ate too much. (AmE) Jenny feels ill. She's eaten too much. (BrE)

I can't find my keys. Did you see them anywhere? (AmE)

I can't find my keys. Have you seen them anywhere? (BrE)

Present Perfect Tense

你完成作业了吗？Have you finished your homework yet?

Did you finish your homework yet?

我刚吃过午饭。I've just had lunch.

I just had lunch.

我钥匙丢了。I have lost my key.

I lost my key.

你有笔吗？Have you got a pen?

Do you have a pen?

ChineseBrEAmE

Expressions

Possession

BrE: have gotAmE: have

Do you have a car? (AmE) Have you got a car? (BrE)

He hasn't got any friends. (BrE) He doesn't have any friends. (AmE)

Verb ‘Get’

‘get’: Past ParticipleBrE: gotAmE: gotten

He's gotten much better at playing tennis. (AmE)

He's got much better at playing tennis. (BrE)

Listen to the two sentences

He's got better at reading.

He's gotten better at reading.

BrE

AmE

Use of delexical verbs have & take

I'd like to have a bath.She's having a little nap.(BrE)

Joe‘s taking a shower.I’d like to take a bath.Let‘s take a short vacation.Why don’t you take a rest now? （ AmE ）

In British English, the auxiliary do is often used as a substitute for a verb when replying to a question, e.g.:

A: Are you coming with us? B: I might do.

In American English

A: Are you coming with us? B: I might.

Use of auxiliaries and modals

BrE They needn't come to school today.

AmE They don't need to come to school today.BrE I shall/will be there later.(future)

Shall we/I ask him to come with us? （ advice or opinion ）

AmE Should we ask him to come with us?

shall

British English

at the weekend

at university

Please write to me soon.

American English

on the weekend

in high school

Please write me soon.

Prepositions

•AmE "He jumped off of the box" • BrE "He jumped off the box".

BrE: This place is different from/to anything I've seen before.

AmE: This place is different from/than anything I've seen before.

A Game!

Who is Dirty Dan?

Scotland Yard police are looking for a famous American bank robber called Dirty Dan.

Dirty Dan robbed a bank in London last Friday night. They are interviewing three different people. All three have British accents, but the police know that Dirty Dan can imitate a British accent.

Read parts of each of the transcript. Can you identify Dirty Dan from the language he uses?

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I’ve already said this. On Friday night I went to see a film at the cinema. It was Matrix Revolutions. I don’t really like action films, but my friends really wanted to see it. It was rather boring. After that I went home and had a nice hot bath. I went to bed around midnight.

3

I wasn’t in town at the weekend, and I certainly wasn’t anywhere near the bank on Friday night. I was at a hotel in Paris with a special friend of mine. Shall I give you the hotel phone number? You needn’t bother asking me any more questions. You’ve got the wrong man.

2

I already said this. I didn’t do anything special on the weekend. Friday night I took a shower in my apartment and then went out to see a movie. It was a movie I had already seen, Matrix Revolutions. I really like action movies. I went with my girlfriend Samantha.

1

Thank you ！