MEPX
Chapter 8 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Why English is like this
  2. 2Doubling consonants
  3. 3Adding endings
  4. 4The i before e rule
  5. 5Words people mix up
  6. 6The commonly misspelled
  7. 7Plurals and possessives
  8. 8British and American
  9. 9Spell checkers
  10. 10Getting better

Chapter 8 of 10

British and American

Two consistent systems.

The patterns

-our and -or in colour and color. -re and -er in centre and center. -ise and -ize in organise and organize. -ogue and -og in catalogue and catalog.

  • Neither is more correct; consistency within a document is what matters.
  • Some words differ entirely: aluminium and aluminum, tyre and tire.

Set the checker

Configure your spell checker to one variety and leave it. Most mixed-variety documents happen because nobody chose.