Quiz: American or British English?

By RALPH BERRY

1) WHICH political leader said recently, “We teared up”, and what did he mean?
George W. Bush, Presidential debate. He shed tears.

2) Which of these is American/British usage?
(a) Call
(b) Ring
(c) Phone
(a) is American, (b) used to be standard British, but ‘call’ is now widely used too, (c) is British

3) Which of these terms is American, and which the British equivalent?
(a) lorry/truck
(b) sidewalk/pavement
(c) aluminium/aluminum
(d) apartment/flat
(e) jug/pitcher
American - truck/sidewalk/aluminum/apartment/pitcher

4) The United States of America - singular (it) or plural (they)?
Now always taken to be a single State, and followed by a singular verb

5) What is the general American, and British, pronunciation of these words?
(a) lieutenant
(b) schedule
(c) tomato
(d) potato
(e) medicine
(a) “lootenant” (US), “leftenant” (British)
(b) “skedule” (US), now often heard in Britain, where “shedule” is still usual
(c) “tomayto” (US), “tomahto” (British)
(d) always “potayto” in US and Britain.
(e) recommended as two syllables in RP (“medsin”), three syllables in the US and elsewhere

6) Which of these exchanges is American, and British usage?
a) “Do you have any money?” “No, I don’t.”
b) “Have you got any money?” "No, I haven’t.”
(a) is American, and is now beginning to replace (b) in Britain

7) The past tense may differ in the United States and outside. Which usage belongs where?
a) He pleaded guilty. He pled guilty.
b) He dived in. He dove in.
c) He span the celestial globe gently. He spun towards the sound.
(a) “pleaded” is British, “pled” American
(b) “dove” is American
(c) “span” is a minority form in the United States and elsewhere; it is acceptable but not recommended

8) Which are the British/American spellings?
a) theater/theatre
b) glamor/glamour
c) traveler/traveller
d) check/cheque
e) catalog/catalogue
American first, in each instance

9) What is American in this sentence?
Feeling nauseous, she walked toward the exit, but fainted before she had gotten there.
“Nauseous” meaning “feeling sick” is an American sense now sometimes found in England; “toward” is American, “towards” British; “gotten” is 100% American

10) Which spellings of American institutions are retained in a non-American context?
a) Secretary of Defense
b) Lincoln Center
c) Pearl Harbor
d) Labor Day
(a) “Defense” becomes “Defence” in English spelling because the term is universal; (b) “Center” also becomes “Centre”; (c) “Pearl Harbor” is a specific place and is always so spelt; (d) there is no British equivalent of Labor Day and the American spelling is retained.