Period and comma: In British English, the period and comma are placed outside quotation marks. However, if the punctuation mark is a part of the quote itself, then the quotation mark is placed after the period or comma. In American English, the period and comma are always placed inside quotation marks.
What is American punctuation?
In this posting I talk about the American rules for 11 common punctuation marks: period (.), question mark (?), exclamation point (!), comma (,), quotation marks (“…”), apostrophe (‘), semi-colon (;), colon (:), parentheses ((…)), hyphen (-), and dash (–). There will be many example sentences.
What is the difference between American and British grammar?
Grammar differences
The British are also more likely to use formal speech, such as ‘shall’, whereas Americans favour the more informal ‘will’ or ‘should’. Americans, however, continue to use ‘gotten’ as the past participle of ‘get’, which the British have long since dropped in favour of ‘got’.
What is the difference between British and US English regarding punctuation with closing quotation marks?
British style (more sensibly) places unquoted periods and commas outside the quotation marks. For all other punctuation, the British and American styles are in agreement: unless the punctuation is part of the quoted material, it goes outside the quotation marks.
What is the difference between American and British English write an example?
The most noticeable difference between American and British English is vocabulary. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different. For example, Brits call the front of a car the bonnet, while Americans call it the hood. Americans go on vacation, while Brits go on holidays, or hols.
What is British punctuation?
British English puts commas and periods (full stops) outside the quotation marks unless the quotation is also a complete sentence or the punctuation is part of the quotation. The UWSC says that British people write it “this way”.
What is the difference between British and American writing?
In British English, the standard way of writing words that might include either the letter o or the letters ou is to use the ou form. For example, colour, humour, honour, behaviour. The standard way of writing such words in American English is to use only o. For example, color, humor, honor, behavior.
What are the major differences between American and British English?
Differences between the two include pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary (lexis), spelling, punctuation, idioms, and formatting of dates and numbers. However, the differences in written and most spoken grammar structure tend to be much fewer than in other aspects of the language in terms of mutual intelligibility.
Do Americans say shall we?
In British English, shall is sometimes used as an alternative to will to talk about the future, e.g. I shall/will be there later. In American English, shall is unusual and will is normally used. In British English, shall I/we is often used to ask for advice or an opinion, e.g.
What are the three major differences of American and British English?
There are three primary differences between American and British English that you should be aware of: accent (the pronunciation of the words and letters), spelling and word choice.
Do British people say full stop instead of period?
In American English, period is the term for the punctuation mark used to end declarative sentences. In British English, the mark is usually called a full stop. Neither term is right or wrong. They’re just different ways of saying the same thing.
Is Oxford comma American or British?
The Oxford comma did not actually originate at Oxford University in England. One can trace its origin in English guides from the early 20th century. The Oxford comma is “correct” in American Standard English but does not exist in other languages, nor is it mandatory in British or International English.
Why do the British use single quotation marks?
Single quotation marks should only be used when quoting within another quote, like the example above, or for a quote within a news headline. British English also uses single quotes within news headlines, and in that respect quote usage is the same.
What words do Americans British use differently?
Generally speaking, it’s true that most Americans will understand British English speakers and vice versa despite the many differences.
American and British Vocabulary and Word Choice.
| American English | British English |
|---|---|
| attorney | barrister, solicitor |
| cookie | biscuit |
| hood | bonnet |
| trunk | boot |
Do Americans or British use Z?
So Americans use Z’s because of nineteenth century dictionaries, while British people use S’s because they’re asserting their national identity.
Why do Americans say period?
In 19th-century texts, both British English and American English were consistent in their usage of the terms period and full stop. The word period was used as a name for what printers often called the “full point”, the punctuation mark that was a dot on the baseline and used in several situations.
Do British put comma before and?
Despite being named after a British University, the Oxford comma (the comma used before “and” in lists (e.g., I like wookies, ewoks, and droids)) is not considered standard in UK English because only one style guide (Oxford) recommends it.
Do British say Cents?
Why do the British say pence and not cent? It’s very simple. The currency is called the pound and it’s sub division is a penny. Other countries have different names for their currency, for example, the USA has the US dollar, which is divided into 100 cents.
Is it OK to mix American and British spelling?
You must choose all US spelling or all UK spelling. You can’t write some words with American spelling and other words with British spelling. Choose your language and stick to it.
Why do the British say mum?
What you are hearing is not mum as in mother, but ma’am, contraction of madam, with a strongly reduced vowel. In British English, it is mostly used as a sign of repect for a woman of superior rank, say, in the military or police.
Which accent is difficult British or American?
Although the British accent is harder to understand than the American accent , but still it has some royal flavour with glamorous essence . It is always suggested that both the accents are good and beautiful .