Spelling differences

British and American English have some spelling differences. The common ones
are presented in the table below.
British English American English
-oe-/-ae- (e.g. anaemia, diarrhoea, encyclopaedia) -e- (e.g. anemia, diarrhea, encyclopedia)
-t (e.g. burnt, dreamt, leapt) -ed (e.g. burned, dreamed, leaped)
-ence (e.g. defence, offence, licence) -ense (defense, offense, license)
-ell- (e.g. cancelled, jeweller, marvellous) -el- (e.g. canceled, jeweler, marvelous)
-ise (e.g. appetiser, familiarise, organise) -ize (e.g. appetizer, familiarize, organize)
-l- (e.g. enrol, fulfil, skilful) -ll- (e.g. enroll, fulfill, skillfull)
-ogue (e.g. analogue, monologue, catalogue) -og (e.g. analog, monolog, catalog)
*Note that American English also recognizes words spelled with –ogue
-ou (e.g. colour, behaviour, mould) -o (e.g. color, behavior, mold)
-re (e.g. metre, fibre, centre) -er (e.g. meter, fiber, center)
-y- (e.g. tyre) -i- (e.g. tire)

Vocabulary differences
The Americans and the British also have some words that differ from each other. The table
below lists some of the everyday objects that have
different names, depending on what form of English you are using.

British English American English

trousers -pantalone- pants
flat -stan- apartment
bonnet (the front of the car) - поклопац мотора, hauba- hood
boot (the back of the car) - пртљажник - trunk
lorry -kamion- truck
university -univerzitet- college
holiday -praznik, odmor, slobodan dan- vacation
jumper -džemper- sweater
crisps -čorbe, čips- chips
chips -pomfrit- French fries
trainers -patike, treneri- sneakers
fizzy drink -gazirani napitak, soda- soda
postbox -poštansko sanduče- mailbox
biscuit -keks- cookie
chemist -hemičar, apoteka- drugstore
shop -prodavnica- store
football -fudbal- soccer

Spelling
British English American English
colour -boja, bojiti- color
behaviour -ponašanje- behavior
theatre -pozorište, teatar- theater
metre -merač, sat, strujomer- meter
organise -organizovati- organize
travelled -putovao- traveled

Vocabulary
British English American English
flat -stan- apartment
university -univerzitet- college
theatre - pozorište, teatar - theater
holiday - praznik, odmor, slobodan dan - vacation

crisps - čorbe, čips - chips

chips - pomfrit - (french) fries
the cinema -bioskop- the movies
soft drink / fizzy drink - gazirani napitak, soda - soda / pop / coke / soft drink
trainers -patike, treneri- sneakers / tennis shoes
jumper - džemper - sweater
postbox - poštansko sanduče - mailbox
plaster -malter, gips, flaster band-aid
chemist’s - hemičar, apoteka - drugstore
football - fudbal - soccer
biscuit - keks - cookie

Grammar
Prepositions
The differences below are only a general rule. American speech
has influenced Britain via pop culture, and vice versa.
Therefore, some prepositional differences are not as
pronounced as they once were.

British English American English

- I’m going to a party at the weekend. I’m going to a party on the weekend.
- What are you doing at Christmas? What are you doing on Christmas?
- Monday to Friday. Monday through Friday.
- It’s different from/to the others. It’s different from/than the others.
Past Simple vs Present Perfect
Americans tend to use the past simple tense when describing
something that has recently occurred, while people in the U.K.
are more likely to use the present perfect tense.

British English American English

- I’ve eaten too much. I ate too much.
- I’ve been to the shop. I went to the store.
- Have you got the newspaper? Did you get the newspaper?

The past participle of get

In the U.K., “gotten” as the past participle of “get” is considered
archaic and was abandoned long ago in favor of “got.” However,
in the U.S. people still use “gotten” as the past participle.

British English American English

get — got — got get — got — gotten
I’ve not got any news about him. I haven’t gotten any news about him.

Collective nouns: singular or plural?

In British English, a collective noun (like committee,
government, team, etc.) can be either singular or plural, but
more often is plural, emphasizing the members of the group.
Collective nouns in the United States, by comparison, are always
singular, emphasizing the group as one whole entity.

British English American English

.
- The government are doing The government is doing
everything they can during everything it can during
this crisis. this crisis
- My team are winning. My team is winning.