1.Accent
口音
It’s difficult to make clear distinctions between US and UK accents when there is such a wide variety of accents within both the US and UK. A Texan and a New Yorker are both Americans, but have very different accents. The same goes for British accents in London, Manchester and Glasgow.
要区别清楚美式英语和英式英语是很困难的，因为美国和英国都各自有着各式各样的口音。德克萨斯人和纽约人都是美国人，但是他们的口音也是相当不同的。对于英式口音也一样，在伦敦、曼彻斯特和格拉斯哥的口音也是不一样的。
However, some very general distinctions can be made. Americans usually pronounce every “r” in a word, while the British tend to only pronounce the “r” when it’s the first letter of a word.
然而，（美式英语和英式英语）也有一些一般的区别。美国人会读出单词里的每个“r”音，而英国人则倾向于只发单词中的第一个“r”音。
下面来看一下更加具象化的二者差异：
2.Spelling
拼写
含义 美式英语 英式英语
颜色 color colour
行为，态度 behavior behaviour
剧院 theater theatre
米，公尺 meter metre
组织 organize organise
旅行（过去式） traveled travelled
3.Vocabulary
词汇
含义 美式英语 英式英语
公寓 apartment flat
大学 college university
假期，休假 vacation holiday
炸马铃薯片 chips crisps
炸薯条 (french) fries chips
电影院 the movies the cinema
软饮料 soda / pop / coke / soft drink soft drink / fizzy drink
软运动鞋 sneakers / tennis shoes trainers
针织套衫 sweater jumper
邮箱 mailbox postbox
创可贴，石膏 band-aid plaster
药店 drugstore chemist’s
足球 soccer football
饼干 cookie biscuit
4.Grammar
语法
Prepositions
介词
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.
下面举例的区别只是一般规则。美国人的讲话方式通过流行文化影响到了英式英语，反之亦然。因此，有些介词上的区别并不是像它们曾经那样明显了。
中文 美式英语 英式英语
这周末我要去参加一个派对。 I’m going to a party on the weekend. I’m going to a party at the weekend.
你圣诞节要做什么呢？ What are you doing on Christmas? What are you doing at Christmas?
周一从到周五。 Monday through Friday. Monday to Friday.
这跟其他人不一样。 It’s different from/than the others. It’s different from/to the others.
5.Past Simple vs Present Perfect
一般过去时和现在完成时
Americans tend to use the past simple when describing something that has recently occurred, while people in the UK are more likely to use the present perfect.
美国人倾向于使用一般过去时去描述刚刚发生的事情，而英国人则更可能使用现在完成时来描述过去刚刚发生的事情。
中文 美式英语 英式英语
我吃太多了。 I ate too much. I’ve eaten too much.
我去过商店了。 I went to the store. I’ve been to the shop.
从周一到周五。 Monday through Friday. Monday to Friday.
你拿到报纸了吗？ Did you get the newspaper? Have you got the newspaper?
6.The past participle of get
Get的过去分词区别
In the UK, “gotten” as the past participle of “get” is considered archaic and was abandoned long ago in favor of “got” .However, in the US people still use “gotten” as the past participle.
在英国，用“gotten”作为“get”的过去分词形式是被认为很老派的，并且在很久之前就使用“got”来取代“gotten”了。然而，在美国，人们仍然使用“gotten”做为“get”的过去分词。
中文 美式英语 英式英语
得到 get — got — gotten get — got — got
我还没有收到关于他的消息。 I haven’t gotten any news about him. I’ve not got any news about him.
7.Collective nouns: singular or plural?
集合名词：单数还是复数？
In British English, a collective noun (like committee, government, team, etc.) can be either singular or plural, but more often tends toward plural, emphasizing the members of the group. Collective nouns in the US, by comparison, are always singular, emphasizing the group as one whole entity.
在英式英语中，集合名词（比如committee, government, team等等）作为单数和复数都是可以的，不过更多的情况下往往是倾向于复数，用来强调小组里的成员们。相比之下，在美国，集合名词总是单数形式，强调群体作为一个整体。
中文 美式英语 英式英语
政府在这次危机期间做了它能做的一切。 The government is doing everything it can during this crisis. The government are doing everything they can during this crisis.
我的队伍赢了。 My team is winning. My team are winning.
8.Regular or irregular verbs?
规则动词和不规则动词
This is a subtle difference that can be easily overlooked in speech, but is much more apparent in written form. Many verbs that are irregular in the preterite in Britain (leapt, dreamt, burnt, learnt) have been made regular in America (leaped, dreamed, burned, learned).
在口语中，规则动词和不规则动词的微妙区别是很容易被忽视的，不过在书面形式中会比较明显。许多动词在英国的过去时态中是不规则的（leapt, dreamt, burnt, learnt），到了美国就是规则动词了（leaped, dreamed, burned, learned）。
作为全球最常讲的第二语言，英语应该是一个很灵活的语言。毕竟，它不仅仅是在只在美国和英国两个国家使用的。所以，不论你使用的是美式英语还是英式英语，都不会妨碍你跟其他人进行交流。
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