{"id":148659,"date":"2023-06-26T14:07:07","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T18:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/american-english-grammar\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T03:51:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T07:51:44","slug":"american-english-grammar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/american-english-grammar\/","title":{"rendered":"8 American English Grammar Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

American English has its own style, characteristics, words and even grammar.<\/p>\n

If you want to avoid being misunderstood or just want to sound more like a natural American English speaker<\/a>, it’s important to learn these traits.<\/p>\n

I’ve put together an easy, eight-step guide to understanding how American English<\/a> grammar works<\/strong>, and what makes it different from British English<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Collective Nouns Are Singular<\/h2>\n

“Collective nouns” refer to groups of people, like team<\/em>, family<\/em> or band. <\/em><\/p>\n

American English usually treats them as singular nouns<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

American English: The staff is<\/strong> taking the day off.
\n<\/em>American English: The committee is<\/strong> making the decision today.<\/em><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in British English, collective nouns are treated as plural<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

British English: The staff are<\/strong> taking the day off.
\n<\/em>British English: The committee are<\/strong>\u00a0making the decision today.<\/em><\/p>\n

Present Perfect Isn’t Used Very Often<\/h2>\n

Talking about the past is simple in American English grammar. Americans typically stick to the simple past tense<\/a> to describe recent, completed actions.<\/p>\n

American English: He ate<\/strong>\u00a0his lunch.
\n<\/em>American English: I went<\/strong> to the store.<\/em><\/p>\n

However, British speakers sometimes use the present perfect tense instead of the simple past<\/strong> in these cases. The present perfect is constructed from the auxiliary verb “to have” plus the past participle of the main verb.<\/p>\n

British English: He has eaten<\/strong> his lunch.
\n<\/em>British English: I have gone<\/strong> to the store.<\/em><\/p>\n

In both types of English, the present perfect tense<\/a> is used to describe an action taking place in an ongoing or unspecified time frame. For example:<\/p>\n

\u00a0British and American English: I have drawn<\/strong> a picture every day this week.<\/em><\/p>\n

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs Can Differ<\/h2>\n

A “transitive verb” is a verb that takes a direct object. In other words, transitive verbs describe an action that’s happening to something else, like in these examples.<\/p>\n

She will bring<\/strong> pasta to the party.<\/em> (“Pasta” is the direct object.)<\/p>\n

They named<\/strong> the baby Charlotte.<\/em> (“The baby” is the direct object.)<\/p>\n

An “intransitive verb” has no direct object. These include verbs like “to smile” or “to fall.” The key thing to notice is that\u00a0intransitive verbs are often followed by prepositions and then indirect objects.<\/p>\n

She smiled<\/strong> at me cheerfully. <\/em>(“At” is a preposition and “me” is the indirect object.)<\/p>\n

Help! I\u00a0fell <\/strong>off my bike! <\/em>(“Off” is a preposition\u00a0and “my bike” is the indirect object.)<\/p>\n

Often, a transitive verb in American English will become intransitive in British English and vice-versa (the opposite).<\/p>\n

American English: They agree to the treaty<\/strong>. <\/em>(intransitive)
\nBritish English: They agree <\/strong>the treaty<\/strong>. <\/em>(transitive)<\/p>\n

American English: He appealed the decision<\/strong>. <\/em>(transitive)
\nBritish English: He appealed against the decision<\/strong>. <\/em>(intransitive)<\/p>\n

Simple Past Tense Verbs End with “-ed”<\/h2>\n

The simple past tense is used to describe completed actions. While there are many irregular verbs that must be memorized, the majority of American English verbs simply need an “-ed” at the end<\/strong> in order to transform them into the past tense.<\/p>\n

cook \u2192 cooked<\/em><\/p>\n

However, British English often adds a “-t” at the end instead of the “-ed.”<\/p>\n

American English: learned
\n<\/strong><\/em>British English: learnt<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

American English: dreamed
\n<\/strong><\/em>British English: dreamt<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

American English: dwelled
\n<\/strong><\/em>British English: dwelt<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

While you’re likely to be understood no matter which way you construct the past tense, it’s necessary to keep this in mind if you really want to sound like a native American English speaker.<\/p>\n

The Use of “Have Got” Isn’t Very Common<\/h2>\n

The use of “have” vs. “have got”\u00a0<\/em>varies in American and British English.<\/p>\n

American English uses “have got” less to show possession:<\/p>\n

American English: I have<\/strong> a dog.
\n<\/em>British English: I have got<\/strong> a dog.<\/em><\/p>\n

Also, American English is less likely to use “have got” to show obligation:<\/p>\n

American English: I have<\/strong> to go home.
\n<\/em>British English: I have got<\/strong> to go home.<\/em><\/p>\n

Don’t confuse these uses of “have got” with the present perfect tense of “got,” which is have\/has gotten\u00a0<\/strong>in American English.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This brings up one more key difference.<\/p>\n

American English uses “gotten,” while British English uses “got” as the past participle.<\/p>\n

American English: My job has gotten<\/strong> better.
\n<\/em>British English: My job has got<\/strong> better.<\/em><\/p>\n

Some Modal Verbs Differ from British English<\/h2>\n

Modal verbs are a type of “helping verb” or “auxiliary verb” that help change the tense or mood of your sentence, such as should<\/em>, would<\/em>, will<\/em>, could<\/em>, might<\/em> and must<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The usage of these modal verbs differs between American and British English. For example, both types of English use\u00a0will<\/em> and\u00a0won’t<\/em>, but British speakers also sometimes use\u00a0shall\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0shan’t<\/em> (especially in very formal situations). Americans use will<\/em> and\u00a0won’t <\/em>at all times:\u00a0<\/p>\n

American English: I will<\/strong> go.
\n<\/em>British English: I shall<\/strong> go.<\/em><\/p>\n

American English: I won’t<\/strong> attend.
\n<\/em>British English: I shan’t<\/strong> attend.<\/em><\/p>\n

Americans say “would like to” or “want to” to refer to something they plan or want to do. But British English speakers may also use the phrase “should like to.”<\/p>\n

American English: I would like to go\/want to go<\/strong> on a date with you.
\n<\/em>British English: I should like <\/strong>to<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0go<\/em> <\/strong>on a date with you<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

It may seem like a small difference, but native speakers can instantly tell whether someone is from the U.K. or the U.S. just by listening to this one modal verb.<\/p>\n

Adverb Placement Varies<\/h2>\n

American English changes the position of adverbs quite easily, sometimes placing them before the verb and sometimes after it.<\/p>\n

American English: She\u00a0drank quickly<\/b>.\/She\u00a0quickly drank<\/b>.<\/em><\/p>\n

On the other hand, British speakers usually place the adverb after the verb.<\/p>\n

British English: She\u00a0drank quickly<\/b>.<\/em><\/p>\n

While this is generally true, do keep in mind that adverb placement is a tricky concept to master because it really depends on the type of adverb. In other words, is the adverb revealing (showing) manner, duration, time or certainty?<\/p>\n

For an in-depth explanation, take a look at this article on types of adverbs and how to use them<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Well” Has Fewer Uses<\/h2>\n

In American English grammar, the word “well” is only used as an adverb to mean “good.”<\/p>\n

However, in informal, conversational British English, the word “well” can also be used to mean “very.”<\/p>\n

American English: I’m very<\/strong> sleepy.
\n<\/em>British English: I’m well<\/strong> sleepy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Resources for Practicing American English Grammar<\/h2>\n

There are a number of ways to practice American English grammar, including the fun and easy option to simply watch TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are tons of American TV shows from which to choose<\/a>, but I recommend “Modern Family”<\/a> to get you started<\/strong>. The actors on the show have a variety of American accents, and the characters greatly differ in age. This means that you’ll be exposed to a lot of different grammatical structures and colloquial vocabulary.<\/p>\n

Here’s a great video featuring the 10 best moments of the show:<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

\"american-english-grammar\"<\/p>\n

If you want to practice your listening skills, try listening to some American podcasts like the famous “This American Life,”<\/a>\u00a0a weekly program with diverse stories.<\/p>\n

One of my personal favorites is “Serial,”<\/a>\u00a0a podcast that tells one story each season and usually focuses on crime or big political news. The host, Sarah Koenig, has an American accent that’s easy to understand, and she uses impeccable\u00a0(very good) grammar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Want to be sure that you understand any American English video or audio clip? FluentU<\/a> was created to make authentic English material accessible for language learners.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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