MEPX
Chapter 8 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Sound alike
  2. 2Look alike
  3. 3Meanings people get wrong
  4. 4Who is doing what
  5. 5Grammar-driven pairs
  6. 6Words misused at work
  7. 7Phrases people mangle
  8. 8British and American differences
  9. 9Checking yourself
  10. 10Why it matters

Chapter 8 of 10

British and American differences

Both correct, in their place.

Vocabulary

Practice and practise split by part of speech in British English and not in American. Licence and license do the same. Programme and program differ except in computing.

  • Pick one variety and apply it consistently.
  • Set the spell checker rather than relying on memory.

Different from, to and than

Different from is safe everywhere. Different to is standard in Britain, different than in America. None is an error in its own variety.