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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:當然還有更多的英語種類，但美式英語和英式英語是在大多數ESL/EFL課程中教授的兩個種類。一般來說，大家都認為沒有一個版本是“絕對正確的”，但在使用中肯定有一些偏好。美式英語和英式英語的三個主要區別是：

Pronunciation - differences in both vowel and consonants, as well as stress and intonation發音-元音和輔音的差異，以及重音和語調

Vocabulary - differences in nouns and verbs, especially phrasal verb usage and the names of specific tools or items詞匯.名詞和動詞的區別，特別是短語動詞的用法和特定工具或項目的名稱

Spelling - differences are generally found in certain prefix and suffix forms拼寫-在某些前綴和后綴形式中通常會發現差異

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.最重要的經驗法則是在使用中保持一致。如果你決定使用美式英語，那么你的拼寫要一致（即“橙色也是它的味道”——color是美式拼寫，flavour卻是英式）。當然，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的主要區別。

Minor Grammar Differences語法上的細小差異

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.美式英語和英式英語幾乎沒有語法差異。當然，我們選擇的詞有時可能會有所不同。但是，一般來說，我們遵循相同的語法規則。盡管如此，還是有一些不同之處。

Use of the Present Perfect現在完成時的用法

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:在英式英語中，現在完成語是用來表達最近發生的、對現在產生影響的動作。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:在美式英語中，也可能出現以下情況：

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.在英國英語中，上述內容被認為是錯誤的。然而，這兩種形式都是標準美式英語。在英式英語中使用現在完成時和在美國英語中使用簡單過去語的其他差異包括“已經”、“剛剛”和“尚未”。

British English:英式英語

I"ve just had lunch.我剛吃過午飯。

I"ve already seen that film.我已經看過那部電影了。

Have you finished your homework yet?你做完作業了嗎？

American English:美式英語：

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

I"ve already seen that film OR I already saw that film.我已經看過那部電影了。

Have you finished your homework yet? OR Did you finish your homework yet?你做完作業了嗎？

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.用英語表達占有有兩種形式：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.他沒有朋友。

He doesn"t have any friends.他沒有朋友。

She has a beautiful new home.她有一個漂亮的新家。

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

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（在英國和美國英語中都被接受），但是got（你有，他沒有，等等）通常是英國英語中的首選形式，而大多數說美國英語的人都使用have（你有，他沒有等等）。

The Verb Get關于動詞get

The past participle of the verb get is gotten in American English.動詞get的過去分詞是用美式英語來表示的。

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

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

"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”在英國英語中主要用于表示“have”的占有意義。奇怪的是，這種形式在美國也是用英國分詞“got”而不是“got”來表示的，美國人也會用“have got to”來表示“必須”的責任。

I"ve got to work tomorrow.我明天得工作。

I"ve got three friends in Dallas.我在達拉斯有三個朋友。

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:英式英語和美式英語最大的區別在于詞匯的選擇。有些詞在這兩個變體中的含義不同，例如：

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

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

British English: She"s so mean she won"t even pay for a cup of tea.英式英語：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，你的詞典將在其術語定義中注明不同的含義。許多詞匯項也以一種形式使用，而不是以另一種形式使用。其中一個最好的例子就是汽車術語。

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

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

American English - truck / British English - lorry美式英語-卡車truck/英式英語-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和美式英語之間的詞匯差異，請使用這個英式和美式英語詞匯工具。

Spelling拼寫

Here are some general differences between British and American spellings:以下是英式拼寫和美式拼寫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以美國英語和英國英語結尾的單詞示例：顏色/顏色、幽默/幽默、風味/味道

Examples of words that end in -ize in American English and -ise in British English: recognize/recognise, patronize/patronise美國英語和英國英語中以-ise結尾的單詞示例：識別/識別、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.確保拼寫一致的最佳方法是使用與文字處理程序相關聯的拼寫檢查工具，并選擇要使用的英語類型（美國或英國）。