Verb morphology

The past tense and past participle of the verbs learn, spoil, spell, burn, dream, smell, spill, leap, and others, can be either irregular ( learnt, spoilt, etc.) or regular (learned, spoiled, etc.). In BrE, both irregular and regular forms are current, but for some words (such as smelt and leapt) there is a strong tendency towards the irregular forms, especially by users of Received Pronunciation. For other words (such as dreamed, leaned, and learned[18]) the regular forms are somewhat more common. In most accents of AmE, the irregular forms are never or rarely used (except for burnt, leapt and dreamt).[19]

Use of tenses

Traditionally, BrE uses the present perfect to talk about an event in the recent past and with the words already, just and yet. In American usage these meanings can be expressed with the present perfect (to express a fact[citation needed]) or the simple past (to imply an expectation[citation needed]). This American style has become widespread only in the past 20 to 30 years; the British style is still in common use as well. Recently the American use of just with simple past has made inroads into BrE, most visibly in advertising slogans and headlines such as "Cable broadband just got faster".

"I have just arrived home." / "I just arrived home."

"I have already eaten." / "I already ate."

In BrE, have got or have can be used for possession and have got to and have to can be used for the modal of necessity. The forms that include got are usually used in informal contexts and the forms without got in contexts that are more formal. In American speech the form without got is used more than in the UK, although the form with got is often used for emphasis. Colloquial AmE informally uses got as a verb for these meanings—for example, I got two cars, I got to go.

In conditional sentences, US spoken usage often substitutes would and would have (usually shortened to [I]'d and would've) for the simple past and for the pluperfect (If you'd leave now, you'd be on time. / If I would have [would've] cooked the pie we could have [could've] had it for lunch). This tends to be avoided in writing because it is often still considered non-standard although such use of would is widespread in spoken US English in all sectors of society. Some reliable sources now label this usage as acceptable US English and no longer label it as colloquial.[35][36] (There are, of course, situations where would is used in British English too in seemingly counterfactual conditions, but these can usually be interpreted as a modal use of would: If you would listen to me once in a while, you might learn something.)[37][38] In cases in which the action in the if clause takes place after that in the main clause, use of would in counterfactual conditions is, however, considered standard and correct usage in even formal UK and US usage: If it would make Bill happy, I'd [I would] give him the money.[37]

The subjunctive mood (morphologically identical with the bare infinitive) is regularly used in AmE in mandative clauses (as in They suggested that he apply for the job). In BrE, this usage declined in the 20th century in favour of constructions such as They suggested that he should apply for the job (or even, more ambiguously, They suggested that he applied for the job). However, the mandative subjunctive has always been used in BrE.[39]

Verbal auxiliaries

Shall (as opposed to will) is more commonly used by the British than by Americans. [40][41] Shan't is almost never used in AmE, rather is almost invariably replaced by won't or am not going to. American grammar also tends to ignore some traditional distinctions between should and would;[42] however, expressions like I should be happy are rather formal even in BrE.[citation needed]

The periphrastic future "be going to" is about twice as frequent in AmE as in BrE.[43]

So where exactly does the difference lie?

1. Accent

2. Spelling

3. Noun

4. Verb

5. Tenses

6. Verb Auxiliaries

7. Slangs

8. Abbreviations

9. Intonation and inflection

10. Terminology

WORD	BRITISH MEANING	AMERICAN MEANING
Bomb	Great, Fabulous	Disastrous, dreadful
Fag	Cigarette	Homosexual
Crib	To cheat in exam	A cot for babies
Fancy	Desire	Extravagant
Pants	Underwear	Trousers
Rubber	Eraser	Condom
School	Younger children institution	College and even university
Torch	Flame or to inflame	Flashlight
Smart	Well dressed and behaved	intelligent

British English	American English	British English	American English
diversion	detour	drink-driving	drunk driving
anti-clockwise	counter-clockwise	driving licence	driver's license
articulated lorry	trailer truck	dual carriageway	divided highway
autumn	autumn, fall	dummy (for baby)	pacifier
barrister	attorney	dustbin	garbage can, trash can
bill (restaurant)	bill, check	dustman	garbage collector
biscuit	cookie	engine	engine, motor
block of flats	apartment building	estate agent	real estate agent
bonnet (clothing)	hat	estate car	station wagon
bonnet (car)	hood	film	film, movie
boot	trunk	flat	apartment, flat, studio
bumper (car)	bumper, fender	flat tyre	flat tire
caravan	trailer	flyover	overpass
car park	parking lot	gearbox (car)	transmission
chemist's shop	drugstore, pharmacy	gear-lever	gearshift
chest of drawers	dresser, chest of drawers, bureau	Girl Guide	Girl Scout
chips	fries, French fries	ground floor	ground/first floor
the cinema	the movies	handbag	handbag, purse, shoulder bag
clothes peg	clothespin	high street	main street
coffin	coffin, casket	holiday	vacation
crisps	potato chips	hood (car)	convertible top
crossroads	intersection; crossroads (rural)	jam	jam, preserves
cupboard	cupboard (in kitchen); closet (for clothes etc)	jug	jug, pitcher
juggernaut	18-wheeler
lift	elevator	torch	flashlight
lorry	truck, semi, tractor	trousers	pants, trousers
mad	crazy, insane	tube (train)	subway
main road	highway	underground (train)	subway
maize	corn	vest	undershirt
maths	math	waistcoat	vest
motorbike	motorcycle	wallet	wallet, billfold
motorway	freeway, expressway	wellington boots	rubber boots, rain boots
motorway	highway, freeway, expressway, interstate highway, interstate	whisky	whiskey, scotch
nappy	diaper	windscreen	windshield
naughts and crosses	tic-tack-toe	zip	zipper
pants, underpants	underpants, drawers
pavement	sidewalk
pet hate	pet peeve
petrol	gas, gasoline
The Plough	Big Dipper
pocket money	allowance
post	mail
postbox	mailbox
postcode	zip code
postman	mailman, mail carrier, letter carrier
pub	bar
public toilet	rest room, public bathroom
railway railroad return (ticket) round-trip
reverse charge	collect call
ring road	beltway, freeway/highway loop
road surface	pavement, blacktop
roundabout	traffic circle, roundabout
rubber	eraser
rubbish	garbage, trash
rubbish-bin	garbage can, trashcan
saloon (car)	sedan
shop	shop, store
silencer (car)	muffler
single (ticket)	one-way
solicitor	lawyer, attorney
spanner	wrench
sweets	candy
taxi	taxi, taxi cab
tea towel	dish towel
telly (informal), TV	television, TV
third-party insurance	liability insurance
timetable	schedule
tin	can
toll motorway toll road, turnpike

So what to teach and be taught?

1. The British accent and how is it different than the American accent

2. The grammar..
Noun (Proper noun, Collective Noun) Verb (past tense and past participle, regular and irregular verbs) Tenses (revise past class, and teach perfect tense)

3. Conditional sentence, would and should, shall and will.

Present Perfect

USE 1 Unspecified Time Before Now

• I have seen that movie twenty times.
• I think I have met him once before.
• There have been many earthquakes in California.
• People have traveled to the Moon.
• People have not traveled to Mars.
• Have you read the book yet?
• Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
• A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?
  B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.

TOPIC 2 Change Over Time

• Man has walked on the Moon.
• Our son has learned how to read.
• Doctors have cured many deadly diseases.
• Scientists have split the atom.

TOPIC 3 Accomplishments

• Man has walked on the Moon.
• Our son has learned how to read.
• Doctors have cured many deadly diseases.
• Scientists have split the atom.

TOPIC 4 An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting

• James has not finished his homework yet.
• Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.
• Bill has still not arrived.
• The rain hasn't stopped.

TOPIC 5 Multiple Actions at Different Times

• The army has attacked that city five times.
• I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.
• We have had many major problems while working on this project.
• She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why she is sick.

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