Inglés sin barreras: American vs British English

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mardi 15 avril 2014

Notes on usage: Underground / subway / metro / tube

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

A city’s underground railway/railroad system is usually called underground (often the Underground) in BrE and the subway in NAmE. Speakers of BrE also use subway for system in American cities and metro for systems in other European countries. The Metro is the name for the systems in Paris and Washington, D.C. London‘s system is often called the tube.

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Notes on usage: Toilet / bathroom

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

In BrE, but not in NAmE, the room that has a toilet in it is usually referred to as a toilet. This room in people’s houses can also be called the lavatory, or informally, the loo. An extra downstairs toilet in a house can be called the cloakroom. In public places, especially on signs, the words toilets, Gents (for men’s toilet) or Ladies (for women’s toilet) are used for a room or small building containing several toilets. You might also see WC or Public Conveniences on some signs.

In NAmE the room that contains a toilet is usually called the bathroom, never the toilet. A room with a toilet in a public place van also be called a restroom, ladies’ room, women’s room or men’s room. Washroom is also used, especially in Canada.

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No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Sea / ocean

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

In BrE, the usual word for the mass of salt water that cover most of the earth’s surface is the sea. In NAmE, the usual word is the ocean: A swimmer drowned in the sea/ocean this morning.

The names of particular areas of sea, however, are fixed: the Mediterranean Sea. | The Atlantic Ocean.

Sea/ocean are also used if you go to the coast on holiday/vacation: We’re spending a week by the sea/at the ocean in June. In NAmE it is also common to say: We’re going to the beach for vacation.

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No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: At / in school

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

In BrE somebody who is attending school is at school: I was at school with her sister. In NAmE in school is used: I have a ten-year-old in school. In school in NAmE can also mean ‘attending university’.

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No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Rubbish / garbage / trash / refuse

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

Rubbish is the usual word in BrE for the things that you throw away because you no longer want or need them. Garbage and trash are both used in NAmE. Inside the home, garbage tends to mean waste food and other wet material, while trash is paper, cardboard and dry material.

In BrE, you put your rubbish in a dustbin in the street to be collected by the dustmen. In NAmE, your garbage and trash goes in a garbage/trashcan in the street and is collected by garbage men/collectors.

Refuse is a formal word and is used in both BrE and NAmE. Refuse collector is the formal word for a dustman or garbage collector.

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No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Rent / hire / let

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

*Verbs
You can hire something for a short period of time (BrE only), but rent something for a longer period: We can hire bikes for a day to explore the town. | We don’t own our TV, we rent it.

In NAmE, rent is always used. It is sometimes now used in BrE instead of hire, too.

The owners of a thing can hire it out for a short period (BrE): Do you hire out bikes? Or they can rent (out)/ let (out) a building, etc.: We rent out rooms in our house to students.

Outside a building you could see: To let (BrE). | For rent (especially NAmE).

To hire can also mean to employ somebody, especially in NAmE: We hired a new secretary.

*Nouns
The amount of money that you pay to rent something is rent or rental (more formal). When you hire something you pay a hire charge (BrE). On a sign outside a shop you might see: Bikes for hire (BrE).

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No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Presently

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

In both BrE and NAmE, presently can men ‘soon’ or ‘after a short time’: I’ll be with you presently. In NAmE the usual meaning of presently is ‘at the present time’ or ‘now’: She is presently living in Milan. | There is presently no cure for the disease. This is becoming more accepted in BrE, but at present or currently are usually used.

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Top Tips Abz Ingles - Notes on usage - British/American
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See also:

No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Post / mail

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

*Nouns
In BrE the official system used for sending and delivering letters, parcels/packages, etc. is usually called the post. In NAmE it is usually called the mail: I’ll put an application form in the post/mail for you today. Send your fee by post/mail to this address. Mail is sometimes used in BrE in such expressions as the Royal Mail. Post occurs in NAmE in such expressions as the US Postal Service.

*Verbs
Compare: I’ll post the letter when I go out. (BrE) and I’ll mail the letter when I go out. (NAmE)

*Compounds
Note these words: postman (BrE), mailman/mail carrier (both NAmE); postbox (BrE), mailbox (NAmE) some compounds are used in both BrE and NAmE: post office, postcard, mail order.

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Top Tips Abz Ingles - Notes on usage - British/American
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See also:

No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Platform / track

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

In British stations the platforms, where passengers get on and off trains, have numbers: The Edinburgh train is waiting at platform 4.

In stations in the USA, it is the track that the train travels along that has a number: The train for Chicago is on track 9.

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See also:

No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Phone / call / ring

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

*Verbs

In BrE, to phone, to ring, and to call are the usual ways of saying to telephone. In NAmE the most common word is call, but phone is also used. Speakers of NAmE do not say ring. Telephone is very formal and is used mainly in BrE.

*Nouns

You can use call or phone call (more formal) in both BrE and NAmE: Were there any phone call for me? | How do I make a local call? The Idiom give sb a call is also common: I’ll give you a call tonight. In informal BrE you could also say: I’ll give you a ring tonight.

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See also:

No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Inclusive / through

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

In BrE inclusive is used to emphasize that you are including the days, months, numbers, etc. mentioned, especially in formal or official situations: Answer questions 8 to 12 inclusive. | The amusement park is open daily from May to October inclusive.

In NAmE through is used: Answer questions 8 through 12. | The amusement park is open (from) May through October.

To can also be used with this meaning in BrE and NAmE: The park is open from 1 May to 31 October.

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Top Tips Abz Ingles - Notes on usage - British/American
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No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Hospital

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

In BrE you say to hospital or in hospital when you talk about somebody being there as a patient: I had to go to hospital. | She spent two weeks in hospital.

In NAmE you need to use the: I had to go to the hospital. | She spent two weeks in the hospital.

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Top Tips Abz Ingles - Notes on usage - British/American
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See also:

No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Holiday / vacation

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

You use holiday (or holidays) in BrE and vacation in NAmE to describe the regular periods of time when you are not at work or school, or time that you spend travelling or resting away from home: I get four weeks’ holidays/vacation a year. | He’s on holiday/vacation this week. | I like to take my holiday/vacation in the winter. | The summer holiday/vacation.

In NAmE a holiday (or a public holiday) is a single day when the government offices, schools, banks and businesses are closed: The school will be closed Monday because it’s a holiday. This is called a bank holiday in BrE.

The holidays is used in NAmE to refer to the time in late December and early January that includes Christmas, Hanukkah and the New Year.

Vacation in BrE is used mainly to mean one of the period when universities are officially closed for the students.

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Top Tips Abz Ingles - Notes on usage - British/American
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Notes on usage: Floor

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

In BrE the floor of a building at street level is the ground floor, the one above is the first floor and the one below it is the basement, or lower ground floor in a public building.

In NAmE the floor at street level is usually called the first floor, the one above it is the second floor and the one below is the basement. In public buildings the floor at street level can also be called the ground floor.

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Top Tips Abz Ingles - Notes on usage - British/American
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No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

lundi 14 avril 2014

Notes on usage: Have you got? / Do you have?

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

Have got is the usual verb in BrE to show possession, etc. in positive statements in the present tense, in negative statements and in questions: They’ve got a wonderful house. | We haven’t got a television. | Have you got a meeting today? Questions and negative statements formed with do are also common in BrE: Do you have any brothers and sisters? | We don’t have a car.

Have is also used but is more formal: I have no objection to your request: Have you an appointment? Some expressions with have are common even in informal language: I’m sorry, I haven’t a clue.

In the past tense had is used in positive statements. In negatives and questions, forms with did have are usually used: They had a wonderful house. | We didn’t have much time. | Did she have her husband with her?

In NAmE have and forms with do/does/did are the usual way to show possession, in positive statements, negative and questions: They have a wonderful house. | We don’t have a television. | Do you have a meeting today? Have got is not used in questions, but is used in positive statements, especially to emphasize that somebody has one thins rather than another: Does your brother have brown hair? No, he’s got blond hair.

In both BrE and NAmE have and forms with do/does and did are used when you are referring to a habit or routine: We don’t often have time to talk.

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No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Different from / to / than

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

Different from is the most common structure in both BrE and NAmE. Different to is also used in BrE: Paul’s very different from/to his brother. | This visit is very different from/to last time.

In NAmE people also say different than: Your trains are different than ours. | You look different than before.

Before a clause you can also use different from (and different than in NAmE): She looked different from what I’d expected. | She looked different than (what) I’d expected.

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Top Tips Abz Ingles - Notes on usage - British/American
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No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Course / program

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

In BrE course is used for a series of lessons or lectures on a particular subject: a physics course | a course of ten lecturers.

In NAmE a course is usually an individual unit that forms part of a longer period of study: I have to take a physics course/class. This is called a module in Britain, especially in a college or university.

In BrE course can also mean a period of study at a college or university: a two-year college course. In NAmE you would say: a two-year college program.

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See also:

No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: College / university

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

In both BrE and NAmE a college is a place where you can go to study after you leave secondary school. In Britain you can go to a college to study or to receive training in a particular skill. In the US you can study for your first degree at a college. A university offer more advanced degrees in addition to first degrees.

In NAmE college is often used to mean a university, especially when talking about people who are studying for their first degree: the article The is not used when you are talking about someone studying there: My son has gone away to college. | Where did you go to college? | Ucayali State University.

In BrE you can say: My daughter is at university. In NAmE you cannot use university or college in this way. You use it with articles like a or the to mean a particular university or college: I didn’t want to go to a large university.

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Top Tips Abz Ingles - Notes on usage - British/American
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No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: A bit / a little bit

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

In BrE it is common to use a bit to mean ‘slightly’ or ‘to a small extent’: These shoes are a big tight. | I’ll be a bit later home tomorrow. | Can you turn the volume up a bit?

It is more common in NAmE to say a little, or (informal) a little bit. You can also use these phrases in BrE: These shoes are a little bit too tight. | I’ll be a little later home tomorrow. | Can you turn the volume up a little bit?

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No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Notes on usage: Already / just / yet

BrE = British English | NAmE = North American English

Already and yet are usually used with the present perfect tense, but in NAmE they can also be used with the simple past tense: I already did it. | Did you eat yet?

However, this is much more common in spoken than in written English and some Americans do not consider it acceptable, even in speech. The present perfect is more common in NAmE and almost always used in BrE: I’ve already done it. | Have you eaten yet?

Just is mostly used with the perfect tenses in BrE and with the simple past in NAmE: I’ve just had some bad news. (BrE) | I just go some bad news. (NAmE)

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Top Tips Abz Ingles - Notes on usage - British/American
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See also:

No te olvides de compartir esto con tus amigos y compañeros, hagamos de este blog una comunidad de difusión del Inglés como segundo idioma. Antes de irte deja tu comentario y haz clic en Me Gusta.

Common Phrasal Verbs	Irregular Verbs List
Common Sentences Errors	Frequently confused words
Common Clichés	Thematic list of Idioms
Common misspellings	Phrasal Verbs Particles list
Common Preposition	Lista de Términos Gramaticales

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mardi 15 avril 2014

lundi 14 avril 2014