UK AND US ENGLISH DIFFERENCES-5

Good morning. I hope you had a great weekend.

Today we continue looking at some of the minor grammatical differences between standard UK and US English.

UK English favours needn't and American English favours don't need to for lack of obligation.

We have plenty of money; we needn't ask for a loan. (UK)
We have plenty of money; we don't need to ask for a loan. (US)

In UK English, but not US English, do can be used alone to substitute the verb after an auxiliary.

US
-Will you go to the party?
-I may. I haven't decided yet.

UK
-Will you go to the party?
-I may do. I haven't decided yet.

There is variation in the use of prepositions in the two varieties.

They arrived at ten after three (3:10). US
They arrived at ten past three (3:10). UK

How many people were in the course? US
How many people were on the course? UK

My mother came over to see us. US
My mother came round to see us. UK

There are also differences in the use of articles.

My father is in the hospital. US
My father is in hospital. UK

My mother plays piano. US
My mother plays the piano. UK

There are, of course, a lot of other differences that we could cover, but it would take a long time and probably wouldn't be too helpful. The important differences between different dialects of languages generally come from vocabulary and pronunciation. Tomorrow we will look at some amusing vocabulary differences between standard US and UK English.

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Enjoy your day!