English is the most widely spoken language in the world, being the official language of many countries and territories. English has spread in popularity primarily because it is the language spoken in most of First World countries such as the US, UK and Australia. It is also recorded in history that the UK, at certain periods of history colonised other countries and territories. As a result, these countries and territories have adopted the culture and language of the colonizers. The US itself was a former colony of the UK. This started the different versions of English, with the two most popular varieties being American and British English. There are differences between the two in terms of English grammar, spelling and usage. Below are some of the differences between US English grammar and UK English grammar:
- Using the Present Perfect Tense. In British English, the present perfect tense denotes an action that has occurred in the recent past which has an effect on the present moment. In American English, the following is acceptable:
“I lost my wallet.”
In British English however, the correct usage is to include “have” in between. Below is the complete acceptable sentence:
“I have lost my wallet”.
- Showing Possession. In both British English grammar and American English grammar, using the words “have” or “have got” to show possession is acceptable, the latter is more preferable in British English grammar with the former being the norm in American English grammar.
- Usage of the Verb “Get”. In American English grammar, the past participle of “get” is “gotten” while in British English grammar it is only “got” as in the following examples:
American English grammar - “He's gotten much better after drinking medicine.”
British English grammar - “He's got much better after drinking medicine”.
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