Learn English - Writing

American and British English - Differences in vocabulary - III

Illnesses

The names of illnesses are usually uncountable in standard British English. The can be used informally before the names of some common illnesses such as the measles, the flu; others have no article.

The words for some minor ailments are countable: e.g. a cold, a sore throat, a headache. However, toothache, earache, stomach-ache and backache are more often uncountable in British English. In American English, these words are generally countable.

• Love isn’t as bad as toothache. (GB)
• Love isn’t as bad as a toothache. (US)
• I have got backache. (GB)
• I have got a backache. (US)

Place names

In British English, the is unusual in the titles of the principal public buildings and organisations of a town.

Oxford University (NOT the Oxford University)
Hull Station (NOT the Hull Station)
Salisbury Cathedral
Birmingham Airport
Bristol Zoo
Manchester City Council

In American English, the is more often used in such cases.

The San Diego Zoo
The Detroit City Council

Holiday and holidays

In British English, the plural holidays is often used for the ‘big holiday’ of the year. In other cases, British people normally use the singular holiday.

• Where are you going for your summer holidays?
• Next Monday is a public holiday.

Americans normally use the word vacation. In British English, vacation is mainly used for the periods when universities are not teaching. Holiday is used in American English for a day of publicly observed celebration whether or not people work on it.

Ill and sick

Ill is often used to mean ‘unwell’ in British English. In American English, ill is unusual except in a formal style. Ill is most common in predicative position.

• Peter didn’t come because he was ill.

In attributive position many British people prefer to use sick. Sick is also the normal informal American word for ‘unwell’.

• He spent years looking after his sick father.
• He is sick.

Get the latest updates