The PhraseBook has been written very much with international use in mind. It suggests ways to make your writing standard worldwide:

  • Suitable for writing for all English-speaking countries, including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa
  • British and American alternatives marked throughout the PhraseBook
  • Detailed list of British-US spelling differences given in the Writing Help section
  • Writing Help on z- and s- spellings in words such as recognize, analyse, organization, compromise
  • British and American differences in punctuation and vocabulary

 

British and American punctuation

Punctuating Quotations

 

‘Single’ or “double”?

Quotation marks can be single or double. They are written in the pattern 6-9 for single quotes and 66-99 for double quotes, for example:

Examples
The Anti-Apartheid Movement campaigned for ‘One man, one vote’.
The American Civil Rights Movement campaigned for “One man, one vote.”

 

You can use either single or double quotation marks, though you should of course be consistent. Your choice also depends on normal usage for your subject, journal or publisher. Generally, British English uses single quotation marks, and American English double quotation marks.

 

‘”Quotes” within quotes’

For quotes within quotes, use double quotation marks if you normally use single quotation marks, and single quotation marks if you normally use double quotation marks, for example:

Examples
The Anti-Apartheid campaigner stated, ‘We will not rest until we achieve “One man, one vote” in South Africa’.
The Civil Rights campaigner stated, “We will not rest until we achieve ‘One man, one vote’ in America.”

 

Punctuation at the end of quotations

British and American English differ in the position of commas and full stops or periods at the end of quotations. If you are writing in British English, place a full stop or comma inside the closing quotation mark if it is part of the quotation, and outside if it is not. If you are writing in American English, always place a period or comma inside the closing quotation mark. Compare the following examples:

 

Comma (British English)
‘Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.’
It was all very well to say ‘Drink me’, but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry.
Although the Anti-Apartheid and American Civil Rights Movements campaigned for ‘One man, one vote’, their slogan today would be ‘One person, one vote’.
Comma (American English)
“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task…that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
It was all very well to say “Drink me,” but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry.
Although the Anti-Apartheid and American Civil Rights Movements campaigned for “One man, one vote,” their slogan today would be “One person, one vote.”

 

In both British and American English, always place semicolons and colons outside the end of quotes:

Semicolon and colon
The American Declaration of Independence includes ‘the pursuit of happiness’; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes ‘the right to rest and leisure’ and the right to holidays with pay.
‘To be or not to be,’ said Hamlet: ‘that is the question.’

 

In both American and British English, place a dash, question mark, exclamation mark (GB) or exclamation point (US) inside the final quotation mark if it is part of the quotation, and outside if it is not:

Exclamation mark or exclamation point
Employees soon understood the meaning of ‘downsizing’ — redundancy.
The film version of ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ starred Elizabeth Taylor.
What can we say about Virginia Woolf’s ‘To the Lighthouse’?

 

Punctuating abbreviations

There are sometimes differences between British and American English in punctuating abbreviations. Generally speaking, American English uses more punctuation with abbreviations than British English. For example, in American English a full stop or period is often used in:

With punctuation
Ph.D. B.A. U.S.
Dr. Dept.

 

But in British English it is usually omitted:

Without punctuation
PhD BA UK
Dr Dept

Some American authorities, including Merriam-Webster and the Council of Science Editors, also recommend forms without a full stop or period in some cases.

 

In both British and American English, full stops or periods are often omitted in acronyms, i.e. words made of letters from a longer name or title:

Acronyms
AIDS DNA MIT

 

Commas with etc., e.g. and i.e.

A comma may be used after i.e. and e.g. and before etc., especially in American English:

With a comma
Smith’s paper, i.e., her most recent work, has been widely cited.
Several American writers, e.g., Herman Melville, Tennessee Williams, Walt Whitman, spring to mind.
Several American writers – Herman Melville, Tennessee Williams, Walt Whitman, etc. – spring to mind.

 

Or not, especially in British English:

Without a comma
Smith’s paper, i.e. her most recent work, has been widely cited.
Several British writers, e.g. Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, spring to mind.
Several British writers – Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer etc. – spring to mind.

 

British and American spellings

The differences in writing between British and American English are small. Apart from minor spelling, vocabulary and punctuation differences, written English is essentially the same worldwide: as well as British and American English, national varieties such as Australian, New Zealand, Canadian, Irish and South African English also have only minor differences, particularly in writing. Similarly, differences in speech should not be exaggerated: there is greater variation in spoken English between London and Glasgow than between London, San Francisco, Cape Town or Sydney.

A number of spelling and vocabulary differences in British and American English are listed below.

 

-ou- and -o-

British American
arbour arbor
ardour ardor
armour armor
behaviour behavior
candour candor
clamour clamor
colour color
demeanour demeanor
enamour enamor
endeavour endeavor
favour favor
fervour fervor
flavour flavor
glamour glamour or glamor
harbour harbor
honour honor
humour humor
labour labor
mould mold or mould
neighbour neighbor
odour odor
parlour parlor
rancour rancor
some meanings rigour rigor
rumour rumor
saviour savior or saviour
savour savor
smoulder smolder or smoulder
splendour splendor
succour succor
tumour tumor
valour valor
vapour vapor
vigour vigor

 

-ae- and -e-

British American
aesthetic aesthetic also esthetic
anaemia anemia
anaesthesia anesthesia
archaeology archaeology or archeology
Caesarean section cesarean section
caesium cesium
faeces also feces feces
gynaecology gynecology
haematology hematology
hypoglycaemia hypoglycemia
leukaemia leukemia
orthopaedic orthopedic
paediatrics pediatrics
palae(o)- or pale(o)- pale(o)-

 

-oe- and -e-

British American
amoeba amoeba or ameba
apnoea apnea
diarrhoea diarrhea
gonorrhoea gonorrhea
manoeuvre maneuver
oesophagus esophagus
oestrogen estrogen

 

-ph- and -f-

British American
sulphur sulfur
sulphate sulfate
sulphite sulfite
sulphuric sulfuric

 

-pp- and -p-

British American
worshipping worshiping or worshipping
worshipped worshiped or worshipped
worshipper worshiper or worshipper

 

-ll- and -l-

British American
counselling counseling or counselling
equalling equaling or equalling
labelling labeling or labelling
signalling signaling or signalling
totalling totaling or totalling
cancelled canceled or cancelled
fuelled fueled or fuelled
levelled leveled or levelled
libelled libeled or libelled
modelled modeled or modelled
tunnelled tunneled or tunnelled
counsellor counselor or counsellor
traveller traveler or traveller
jewellery jewelry
tranquillize or tranquillise tranquilize
woollen woolen or woollen

 

-l- and -ll-

British American
distil distill
enrol enroll or enrol
fulfil fulfill or fulfil
instalment installment
instil instill
enrolment enrollment
fulfilment fulfillment
skilful skillful
wilful willful or wilful

 

-c and -k

British American
leucocyte or leukocyte leukocyte etc.
sceptic skeptic
sceptical skeptical
scepticism skepticism

 

-qu and -ck

British American
(bank) cheque check
chequer checker

 

-xion and -ction

British American
inflection or inflexion inflection

 

-ce and -se

British American
defence defense
a licence, to license license or licence
offence offense or offence
a practice, to practise practice or practise
pretence pretense or pretence

 

-re and -er

British American
calibre caliber or calibre
centre center
fibre fiber or fibre
goitre goiter
litre, millilitre etc. liter
lustre luster or lustre
manoeuvre maneuver
meagre meager or meagre
some meanings metre meter
measuring device meter meter
mitre miter or mitre
sabre saber or sabre
sceptre scepter
sepulchre sepulchre or sepulcher
theatre theater or theatre
titre titer

 

Long and short endings

British American
analogue analogue and analog
computing analog analog
catalogue catalog or catalogue
gram or gramme etc. gram
programme program
computer program program

 

Other differences

British American
aluminium aluminum
autumn fall or autumn
some meanings draught draft
grey gray
maths math