English is the official language in many countries that were often former colonies of the United Kingdom. But the English spoken in these countries has evolved, and no longer is the same as the “British” English spoken in Great Britain. For example, when comparing British and American English, we can see differences in vocabulary, especially in words for food or clothing.
For example, the tasty fried potatoes that come with your meal are called “chips” in Great Britain, but “french fries” in the USA. As well, what you wear on your lower body are called “trousers” by the
English but the Americans use the word “pants”.
One grammatical difference is using the Present Perfect tense, which is used to express an event in the recent past that affects the present. Although British people will always use the Present Perfect to do
this, an American might use the Past Simple. Compare these two sentences: “I’ve already eaten” (UK) and “I already ate.” (US). One spelling difference is removing the “u” in words like “colour” (US – color) or “favour” (US – favor) in Amercian English.
Glossary
| colony – kolonie to evolve – vyvíjet se vocabulary – slovní zásoba chips/french fries – hranolky |
trousers/pants – kalhoty spelling – pravopis colour/color – barva favour/favor – laskavost |
Jazyková agentura Channel Crossings
pro vás ve spolupráci se svými lektory připravila celoroční seriál
výukových textů z angličtiny. Máte tak jedinečnou možnost procvičit si
gramatiku, obohatit slovní zásobu i zlepšit konverzační schopnosti.
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