BRITISH ENGLISH: Grammar, vocabulary and style features
British English (BrE) is one of the major standard varieties of English and is particularly influential in education, publishing, and international standards. Its distinguishing features are most noticeable in vocabulary and grammar, though variation exists within the UK itself.
VOCABULARY FEATURES
British English often uses words and expressions that differ from those in other varieties, especially American English.
Everyday vocabulary
Many common items have different names in British English:
• flat (AmE: apartment)
• lorry (truck)
• petrol (gas/gasoline)
• biscuit (cookie)
• holiday (vacation)
• boot of a car (trunk)
• timetable (schedule)
Institutional and cultural terms
British English reflects UK-specific institutions and cultural practices:
• public school (a private, fee-paying school)
• state school (government-funded school)
• MP (Member of Parliament)
• the High Street (main shopping street)
Verbs and verb phrases
Some verbs are preferred or used differently:
• to ring someone (call someone)
• to post a letter (mail a letter)
• to revise (study for an exam)
Phrasal verbs are very common and often preferred over Latinate verbs:
• put off (delay)
• carry on (continue)
GRAMMAR FEATURES
Use of the present perfect
British English strongly favors the present perfect for recent or relevant past actions:
• I've just eaten.
• Have you finished your homework yet?
In American English, the past simple is often used instead (I just ate).
Collective nouns
Collective nouns can take singular or plural verbs, depending on whether the group is seen as a unit or as individuals:
• The team is winning.
• The team are arguing among themselves.
This plural usage is much more common in British English.
Prepositions
British English shows distinctive preposition usage:
• at the weekend (AmE: on the weekend)
• in a team (on a team)
• different from / to (AmE strongly prefers different from)
Verb forms and irregularities
Some past tense and past participle forms differ:
• learnt, dreamt, spoilt (AmE: learned, dreamed, spoiled)
British English also commonly uses got rather than gotten:
• She's got better recently.
Articles and determiners
Articles may be used differently:
• in hospital (AmE: in the hospital)
• at university (at the university)
STYLE AND USAGE FEATURES
British English often maintains a slightly more formal tone in written grammar:
• Greater use of modal verbs (shall, might, ought to)
• Polite indirect forms (Would you mind…?, I was wondering if...)
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES
British English includes Standard British English, used in formal writing, education, and national media, as well as numerous regional varieties spoken across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Examples of region-specific or non-standard vocabulary include:
• wee (small) - Scottish and Northern Irish English
• bairn (child) - Northern England and Scotland
• lass / lad (girl / boy) - Northern England
• nipper (child) - informal Southern British English
• chippy (fish-and-chip shop) - widespread
• cwtch (hug, safe place) - Welsh English
• craic (fun, conversation) - Northern Irish English
• kip (sleep or nap) - informal British English
Common grammatical features found in regional varieties include:
• Non-standard verb agreement:
→
you was, they was
• Reduced present-tense marking:
→
she walk to school every day
• Double negatives:
→
I didn't see nothing
• Article reduction or omission:
→
going to shop instead of going to the shop
Regional forms often extend or modify standard pronoun usage:
• yous / youse as a plural form of you (Northern England and Northern Ireland)
•
us used instead of
me in some dialects →
"Give us a hand"
Variation is also seen in tags and conversational grammar:
• "isn't it?", often pronounced "innit?" used as a general question tag in some varieties
• Frequent use of discourse markers such as
like, you know, right
