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While there are certainly many more varieties of English, American English and British English are the two varieties that are taught in most ESL/EFL programs. Generally, it is agreed that no one version is "correct," but there are certainly preferences in use. The three major differences between American and British English are:當(dāng)然還有更多的英語(yǔ)種類，但美式英語(yǔ)和英式英語(yǔ)是在大多數(shù)ESL/EFL課程中教授的兩個(gè)種類。一般來(lái)說(shuō)，大家都認(rèn)為沒(méi)有一個(gè)版本是“絕對(duì)正確的”，但在使用中肯定有一些偏好。美式英語(yǔ)和英式英語(yǔ)的三個(gè)主要區(qū)別是：

Pronunciation - differences in both vowel and consonants, as well as stress and intonation發(fā)音-元音和輔音的差異，以及重音和語(yǔ)調(diào)

Vocabulary - differences in nouns and verbs, especially phrasal verb usage and the names of specific tools or items詞匯.名詞和動(dòng)詞的區(qū)別，特別是短語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞的用法和特定工具或項(xiàng)目的名稱

Spelling - differences are generally found in certain prefix and suffix forms拼寫(xiě)-在某些前綴和后綴形式中通常會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)差異

The most important rule of thumb is to try to be consistent in your usage. If you decide that you want to use American English, then be consistent in your spelling (i.e. "The color of the orange is also its flavour" - color is American spelling and flavour is British). Of course, this is not always easy or possible. The following guide is meant to point out the principal differences between these two varieties of English.最重要的經(jīng)驗(yàn)法則是在使用中保持一致。如果你決定使用美式英語(yǔ)，那么你的拼寫(xiě)要一致（即“橙色也是它的味道”——color是美式拼寫(xiě)，flavour卻是英式）。當(dāng)然，這并不總是容易或可能的。下面的指南旨在指出這兩種英語(yǔ)的主要區(qū)別。

Minor Grammar Differences語(yǔ)法上的細(xì)小差異

There are very few grammar differences between American and British English. Certainly, the words we choose might be different at times. However, generally speaking, we follow the same grammar rules. With that said, there are a few differences.美式英語(yǔ)和英式英語(yǔ)幾乎沒(méi)有語(yǔ)法差異。當(dāng)然，我們選擇的詞有時(shí)可能會(huì)有所不同。但是，一般來(lái)說(shuō)，我們遵循相同的語(yǔ)法規(guī)則。盡管如此，還是有一些不同之處。

Use of the Present Perfect現(xiàn)在完成時(shí)的用法

In British English, the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment. For example:在英式英語(yǔ)中，現(xiàn)在完成語(yǔ)是用來(lái)表達(dá)最近發(fā)生的、對(duì)現(xiàn)在產(chǎn)生影響的動(dòng)作。例如：

I"ve lost my key. Can you help me look for it?我的鑰匙丟了。你能幫我找一下嗎？

In American English, the following is also possible:在美式英語(yǔ)中，也可能出現(xiàn)以下情況：

I lost my key. Can you help me look for it?我把鑰匙丟了。你能幫我找一下嗎？

In British English, the above would be considered incorrect. However, both forms are generally accepted in standard American English. Other differences involving the use of the present perfect in British English and simple past in American English include already, just and yet.在英國(guó)英語(yǔ)中，上述內(nèi)容被認(rèn)為是錯(cuò)誤的。然而，這兩種形式都是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)美式英語(yǔ)。在英式英語(yǔ)中使用現(xiàn)在完成時(shí)和在美國(guó)英語(yǔ)中使用簡(jiǎn)單過(guò)去語(yǔ)的其他差異包括“已經(jīng)”、“剛剛”和“尚未”。

British English:英式英語(yǔ)

I"ve just had lunch.我剛吃過(guò)午飯。

I"ve already seen that film.我已經(jīng)看過(guò)那部電影了。

Have you finished your homework yet?你做完作業(yè)了嗎？

American English:美式英語(yǔ)：

I just had lunch OR I"ve just had lunch.我剛吃過(guò)午飯或剛剛吃過(guò)午飯。

I"ve already seen that film OR I already saw that film.我已經(jīng)看過(guò)那部電影了。

Have you finished your homework yet? OR Did you finish your homework yet?你做完作業(yè)了嗎？

Two Forms to Express Possession兩種表示占有的形式

There are two forms to express possession in English: have or have got.用英語(yǔ)表達(dá)占有有兩種形式：有或有。

Do you have a car?你有車嗎？

Have you got a car?你有車嗎？

He hasn"t got any friends.他沒(méi)有朋友。

He doesn"t have any friends.他沒(méi)有朋友。

She has a beautiful new home.她有一個(gè)漂亮的新家。

She"s got a beautiful new home.她有一個(gè)漂亮的新家。

While both forms are correct (and accepted in both British and American English), have got (have you got, he hasn"t got, etc.) is generally the preferred form in British English, while most speakers of American English employ the have (do you have, he doesn"t have etc.)雖然這兩種形式都是正確的（在英國(guó)和美國(guó)英語(yǔ)中都被接受），但是got（你有，他沒(méi)有，等等）通常是英國(guó)英語(yǔ)中的首選形式，而大多數(shù)說(shuō)美國(guó)英語(yǔ)的人都使用have（你有，他沒(méi)有等等）。

The Verb Get關(guān)于動(dòng)詞get

The past participle of the verb get is gotten in American English.動(dòng)詞get的過(guò)去分詞是用美式英語(yǔ)來(lái)表示的。

American English: He"s gotten much better at playing tennis.美式英語(yǔ)：他網(wǎng)球打得好多了。

British English: He"s got much better at playing tennis.英式英語(yǔ)：他網(wǎng)球打得好多了。

"Have got" is used predominately in British English to indicate "have" in the sense of possession. Strangely, this form is also used in the United States with the British participle "got," rather than "gotten." Americans will also use "have got to" in the sense of "have to" for responsibilities.“have got”在英國(guó)英語(yǔ)中主要用于表示“have”的占有意義。奇怪的是，這種形式在美國(guó)也是用英國(guó)分詞“got”而不是“got”來(lái)表示的，美國(guó)人也會(huì)用“have got to”來(lái)表示“必須”的責(zé)任。

I"ve got to work tomorrow.我明天得工作。

I"ve got three friends in Dallas.我在達(dá)拉斯有三個(gè)朋友。

Vocabulary詞匯

The largest differences between British and American English lie in the choice of vocabulary. Some words mean different things in the two varieties, for example:英式英語(yǔ)和美式英語(yǔ)最大的區(qū)別在于詞匯的選擇。有些詞在這兩個(gè)變體中的含義不同，例如：

Mean: American English - angry, bad humored, British English - not generous, tight-fisted.mean的含義：美式英語(yǔ)-憤怒，不幽默，英式英語(yǔ)-不慷慨，握緊拳頭。

American English: Don"t be so mean to your sister!美式英語(yǔ)：別對(duì)你姐姐那么刻薄！

British English: She"s so mean she won"t even pay for a cup of tea.英式英語(yǔ)：她太吝嗇了，連一杯茶都不付錢。

There are many more examples (too many for me to list here). If there is a difference in usage, your dictionary will note the different meanings in its definition of the term. Many vocabulary items are also used in one form and not in the other. One of the best examples of this is the terminology used for automobiles.還有更多的例子（我在這里列舉的例子太多了）。如果在用法上有差異，你的詞典將在其術(shù)語(yǔ)定義中注明不同的含義。許多詞匯項(xiàng)也以一種形式使用，而不是以另一種形式使用。其中一個(gè)最好的例子就是汽車術(shù)語(yǔ)。

American English - hood / British English - bonnet美式英語(yǔ)-引擎蓋hood/英式英語(yǔ)-引擎蓋bonnet

American English - trunk / British English - boot美式英語(yǔ)-后備箱trunk/英式英語(yǔ)-后備箱boot

American English - truck / British English - lorry美式英語(yǔ)-卡車truck/英式英語(yǔ)-卡車lorry

For a more complete list of the vocabulary differences between British and American English, use this British vs. American English vocabulary tool.為了更完整地列出英式英語(yǔ)和美式英語(yǔ)之間的詞匯差異，請(qǐng)使用這個(gè)英式和美式英語(yǔ)詞匯工具。

Spelling拼寫(xiě)

Here are some general differences between British and American spellings:以下是英式拼寫(xiě)和美式拼寫(xiě)之間的一些一般差異：

Examples of words that end in -or in American English and -our in British English: color/colour, humor/humour, flavor/flavour以美國(guó)英語(yǔ)和英國(guó)英語(yǔ)結(jié)尾的單詞示例：顏色/顏色、幽默/幽默、風(fēng)味/味道

Examples of words that end in -ize in American English and -ise in British English: recognize/recognise, patronize/patronise美國(guó)英語(yǔ)和英國(guó)英語(yǔ)中以-ise結(jié)尾的單詞示例：識(shí)別/識(shí)別、惠顧/惠顧

The best way to make sure that you are being consistent in your spelling is to utilize the spell check tool associated with your word processor and select the type of English (American or British) you"d like to use.確保拼寫(xiě)一致的最佳方法是使用與文字處理程序相關(guān)聯(lián)的拼寫(xiě)檢查工具，并選擇要使用的英語(yǔ)類型（美國(guó)或英國(guó)）。