.Spelling differences between American and British English.
.[size=9]-or vs. -our..
American
British
col.or.
col.our.
fav.or.ite
fav.our.ite
hon.or.
hon.our.
.[size=9]-ll vs. -l..
American
British
enro.ll.ment
enro.l.ment
fulfi.ll.
fulfi.l.
ski.llf.ul
ski.l.ful
.[size=9]-og vs. -ogue..
American
British
anal.og.
anal.ogue.
catal.og.
catal.ogue.
dial.og.
dial.ogue.
.[size=9]-ck or -k vs. -que..
American
British
ban.k.
ban.que.
che.ck.
che.que.
che.ck.er
che.que.r
.[size=9]-ense vs. -enze..
American
British
def.ense.
def.ence.
lic.ense.
lic.ence.
.[size=9]-ze vs. -se..
American
British
analy.ze.
analy.se.
critici.ze.
critici.se.
memori.ze.
memori.se.
.[size=9]-er vs. -re..
American
British
cent.er.
cent.re.
met.er.
met.re.
theat.er.
theat.re.
.[size=9]-e vs. -oe or -ae..
American
British
encylop.e.dia
encylycop.ae.dia
man.e.uver
man.oe.uvre
medi.e.val
medi.ae.val
.[size=9]-dg vs. -dge (or -g vs. -gu)..
American
British
a.g.ing
a.ge.ing
argu.ment.
argu.e.ment
judg.ment.
jud.ge.ment
.[size=9]Other..
American
British
jewe.l.ry
jewe.lle.ry
dra.f.t
drau.gh.t
p.a.jamas
p.y.jamas
plo.w.
plou.gh.
progr.am.
progr.amme.
t.i.re
t.y.re
In British English, words that end in -l preceded by a vowel usually double the .-l. when a suffix is added, while in American English the letter is not doubled. The letter will double in the stress is on the second syllable.
.[size=9]Base Word..
.[size=9]American..
.[size=9]British..
counsel
counse.l.ing
counse.ll.ing
equal
equa.l.ing
equa.ll.ing
model
mode.l.ing
mode.ll.ing
quarrel
quarre.l.ing
quarre.ll.ing
signal
signa.l.ing
signa.ll.ing
travel
trave.l.ing
trave.ll.ing
excel
exce.ll.ing
exce.ll.ing
propel
prope.ll.ing
prope.ll.ing
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[size=13]Spelling of verbs. This is related to formation of the past participle for verbs. For a complete list of irregular verb spellings, see Susan Jones' Complete List of English Irregular Verbs at this web site. Below is a sampling of the three main categories of differeneces with verbs. .[size=9]-ed vs. -t.. The first category involves verbs that use -ed or -t for the simple past and past participle. Generally, the rule is that if there is a verb form with -ed, American English will use it, and if there is a form with .-t., British English uses it. However, these forms do not exist for every verb and there is variation. For example, both American and British English would use the word 'worked' for the past form of 'to work', and in American English it is common to hear the word 'knelt' as the past tense of 'to kneel'.
.[size=9]Base form..
.[size=9]American..
.[size=9]British..
to dream
dream.ed.
dream.t.
to leap
leap.ed.
leap.t.
to learn
leared.ed.
learn.t.
.[size=9]base form vs. -ed.. The second category of difference includes verbs that use either the base form of the verb or the .-ed. ending for the simple past.
.[size=9]Base form..
.[size=9]American..
.[size=9]British..
to fit
fit
fitt.ed.
to forecast
forecast
forecast.ed.
to wed
wed
wedd.ed.
.[size=9]irregular vs. -ed.. The third category of difference includes verbs that have either an irregular spelling or the .-ed. ending for the simple past.
.[size=9]Base form..
.[size=9]American..
.[size=9]British..
to knit
knit
knitt.ed.
to light
lit
light.ed.
to strive
strove
striv.ed.
So what does tall his mean for learners of English? In the beginning, unfortunately, it means a lot of memorization (or memorisation) and of course, a few mistakes. For spoken English, the differences are barely audible, so forge ahead and don't be too concerned with whether a word is spelled 'dwelled' or 'dwelt'. With written English, however, if you are unsure about the spelling, better to ask your teacher or look the word up in the dictionary and see what the experts say.