英式英语和美式英语在语法上的不同.doc

Differences in American and British English grammar Introduction Speakers of American English generally use the present perfect tense (have/has + past participle) far less than speakers of British English. In spoken American English it is very common to use the simple past tense as an alternative in situations where the present perfect would usually have been used in British English. The two situations where this is especially likely are: (i) In sentences which talk about an action in the past that has an effect in the present: American English / British English Jenny feels ill. She ate too much. Jenny feels ill. Shes eaten too much. I cant find my keys. Did you see them anywhere? I cant find my keys. Have you seen them anywhere? (ii) In sentences which contain the words already, just or yet: American English / British English A: Are they going to the show tonight? B: No. They already saw it. A: Are they going to the show tonight? B: No. Theyve already seen it. A: Is Samantha here? B: No, she just left. A: Is Samantha here? B: No, shes just left. A: Can I borrow your book? B: No, I didnt read it yet. A: Can I borrow your book? B: No, I havent read it yet. 1. Verb agreement with collective nouns In British English collective nouns, (i.e. nouns referring to particular groups of people or things), (e.g. staff , government, class, team) can be followed by a singular or plural verb depending on whether the group is thought of as one idea, or as many individuals, e.g.: My team is winning. The other team are all sitting down. In American English collective nouns are always followed by a singular verb, so an American would usually say: Which team is losing? whereas in British English both plural and singular forms of the verb are possible, as in: Which team is/are losing? 2. Use of “have” and “take” In British English, the verb have frequently functions as what is technically referred to as a delexical verb, i.e. it is used in contexts where it has very little meaning