US vs. UK English Guide and a FREE Cheat Sheet
In this blog post, I summarize key differences between written English in the US and in the UK, including grammar, punctuation, and spelling conventions. Download a FREE UK English Cheat Sheet to help you with your writing or editing projects. And be sure to read to the end for a list of helpful resources, such as UK dictionaries, style manuals, and websites with guides.
Different Countries, Different Rules
When I was at school, my maths and science teachers often reviewed how the UK uses the metric system and the US uses customary units or the Customary system for measurements. However, my English teachers didn’t explain that the US and the UK follow different sets of conventions and style preferences when writing in English.
Confounded while reading what I later discovered to be a UK book edition, I once pencilled in corrections for nearly 50 pages before realizing that the writer, editor, and publisher were indeed following a set of rules I hadn’t learned.
If you find yourself wanting to make corrections while reading this blog post, that’s because I’ve used UK conventions! Read the full guide to learn the key differences between US and UK English.
UK Spelling and Usage Differences
Many UK English words use different suffix spellings
-re rather than -er (theatre, not theater)
-ise rather than -ize (apologise, not apologize)
-yse rather than -yze (analyse, not analyze)
-our rather than -or (behaviour, not behavior)
-single l instead of a double l (enrol, not enroll)
-often keeps -e for word modifications (judgement, not judgment)
UK English tends to use the verb ‘have’, and US English tends to use the verb ‘take’
UK: She had a shower. I had a nap.
US: She took a shower. I took a nap.
UK English favours different prepositions in some situations
at the weekend, not on the weekend
at school or at university, not in school or in university
different to or different from, not different than
written to her, not written her
in hospital, not in the hospital
tell the time, not tell time
UK English tends to put River before the name of the river
River Thames, not Thames River
UK Grammar Preferences
Plural verb forms with collective nouns
UK English uses both singular and plural verbs with collective nouns, but US English tends to use singular verbs with collective nouns (army, assortment, band, class, party, team, etc.). In both, the plural tends to be used to emphasise the individual members of a group who are acting separately rather than together as a unit.
UK: The team play on Monday.
US: The team plays on Monday.
Present perfect tense to describe the past
UK English often uses the present perfect tense to describe past events, and US English often uses the simple past tense to describe past events.
UK: I have just spoken to him. I have already spoken to them.
US: I just spoke to him. I already spoke to them.
‘That’ and ‘which’ can both be used for restrictive clauses in UK English
UK: The dinner which I put in the oven burned (restrictive) or The dinner that I put in the oven burned (restrictive). The dinner, which I put in the oven, burned (non-restrictive).
US: The dinner that I put in the oven burned (restrictive). The dinner, which I put in the oven, burned (non-restrictive).
UK Punctuation Preferences
Abbreviations
In UK English, don’t use periods or ‘full stops’ with abbreviations that end on the last letter of the word they abbreviate.
(Doctor) Dr
(Mister) Mr
(Missus) Mrs
(The Reverend) The Revd
(Saint) St
(Street) St
In UK English, do use periods or ‘full stops’ with abbreviations that don’t end on the last letter of the word they abbreviate or with French/Latin/Italian abbreviations.
(ante meridiem) a.m.
(Drive) Dr.
(exempli gratia) e.g.
ibid.
(id est) i.e.
(Monsieur) M.
(no date of publication) n.d.
(no place of publication) n.p.
(Page/s) p. or pp.
(Professor) Prof.
Colons and capitalisation
In UK English, typically only capitalise the first word after a colon if it is a proper noun or the first letter of an acronym. In US English, full sentences following a colon are typically capitalised.
En dashes with spaces for parenthetical material
UK English tends to use spaced en dashes – as I have here – to set off parenthetical asides or in place of a colon. US English tends to use em dashes—as I have here—without spaces. Consult your style guide for specifics.
UK: Harry Styles has won a Grammy for his recent album – Harry’s House.
US: Harry has won a Grammy for his recent album—Harry’s House.
e.g. and i.e.
UK English generally omits the comma after e.g. and i.e., and US English generally includes the comma after e.g. and i.e.
UK: e.g. and i.e.
US: e.g., and i.e.,
Single quotation marks, not double
UK English uses single quotation marks around titles and quotations, and US English uses double quotation marks around titles and quotations:
UK: ‘To thine own self be true.’
US: “To thine own self be true.”
However, UK English uses double quotation marks for quotations within quotations:
UK: The reporter said, ‘This book has been called “a game changer.”’
US: The reporter said, “This book has been called ‘a game changer.’”
Punctuation appears outside quotation marks unless it is part of the material being quoted or if the quote is, or ends with, a complete sentence:
UK English places commas and full stops outside quotation marks unless the punctuation is included in the material being quoted or is, or ends with, a complete sentence. However, US English places commas and periods inside quotation marks, even when they’re not in the original material.
UK: This sentence has only a partial quotation that the book is ‘a game changer’. But this one has a full sentence as the quotation: The reporter said, ‘This book has been called “a game changer.”’
US: This sentence has only a partial quotation that the book is “a game changer.” The reporter said, “This book has been called ‘a game changer.’”
Other UK Style Preferences
Dates
In UK English, dates read Day-Month-Year (not Month-Day-Year):
The 5th of April, 1985
5/4/85
I was born on 5 April 1985 (note there is no comma before the year)
Money
In UK English, remember to replace dollar symbols ($100) with pound symbols (£100)
Times
In UK English, use a period between the hours and minutes, not a colon:
11.30 (not 11:30)
Helpful Resources
Download my FREE UK English Cheat Sheet
UK Dictionaries and Tools
Verify UK spelling using Language Tool and toggling to English (British)
UK Style Manuals
The Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA) Style Guide
The University of Oxford Style Guide
