美式英语与英式英语的区别

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Many of you have the goal of learning American English. After all, you are listening to or reading a lesson from the Voice of America.

听众朋友中的很多人都有学习美式英语的目标，毕竟你们现在就正在听或者读《美国之音》的一节课。

But you will still probably have some contact with British English. The popularity of British television shows and musical groups, for example, reaches across borders.

但大家还是有很大概率会接触到英式英语的。比如，英国的很多电视节目和音乐团体在全球范围内都十分受欢迎。

So, how does British English differ from American English? You may already know that there is a clear difference in accent.

那么，英式英语和美式英语的区别在哪里呢？大家可能已经知道两者的发音方式有明显区别。

Other differences include some vocabulary and expressions. Less commonly discussed, however, are the variations in grammar.

两者还有词汇和短语上区别。不过，人们更少谈及的是语法上的区别。

American and British Englishes share almost all of the same grammar. But there are differences, and some are worth noting – especially for English learners.

英式英语和美式英语的语法几乎一模一样。但其实也是有区别的，其中，一些区别还是值得留意的——尤其是对英语学习者来说。

On today’s program, we will discuss a few of them. First, let’s talk about where the two Englishes vary on preposition use.

在今天的节目中，我们会讨论其中一些区别。首先，我们来聊聊两者在介词使用上的区别。

In British English, the preposition “at” is used in several time-related phrases, such as when talking about weekends. But speakers of American English use the preposition “on” in such a case.

在英式英语中，介词at用于几个与时间有关的短语中，比如在聊到周末的时候。但在美式英语中，介词on会用在这样一种情况下。

Listen to this American English speaker: On weekends, I like to watch sports.

请听这位说美式英语的人是怎样说的：我喜欢周末看体育比赛。

Can you think of how a British English speaker would say this? That’s right, it is: “At weekends, I like to watch sports”.

你能想到说英式英语的人会怎样说这句话不？答对啦，说英式英语的人会这样说”At weekends， I like to watch sports”。

Americans also use the preposition “on” with street names. Yet, British English speakers use “in”.

美国人还会把on用在街道名字上。不过，说英式英语的人会用in。

Listen to this American talking about where someone lives: She lives on 17th street near Dupont Circle.

请听这位美国人是如何谈及某个人生活的地方吧：她住在杜邦广场附近的第17条街上。

Can you guess how the British English speaker would say it? That’s right: “She lives in 17th street near Dupont Circle”.

大家能猜到说英式英语的人会怎样说这句话嘛？答对啦，英式英语的人会这样说”She lives in 17th street near Dupont Circle”。

These are just a few examples of the small differences in preposition use. Now, let’s move on to verb tenses.

以上只是介词使用的一些小区别。现在我们来聊聊动词时态的区别。

American and British English speakers use the present perfect verb tense in similar ways. But Americans use it in fewer situations.

英式英语和美式英语在现在完成式的使用上是比较相似的。但美式英语很少使用现在完成式。

In many other situations, we use the simple past instead. Listen to an American use the simple past tense to talk about a lost object:

多数情况下，我们会用一般过去式。下面是美国人在丢了东西的时候使用过去式的一个例子：

Ugh! I lost my phone… again. British English speakers would generally use the present perfect in this situation, as in “I’ve lost my phone… again”.

呀！我手机又……丢了。在这种情况下，说英式英语的人一般会用现在完成式”I’ve lost my phone…again”。

The present perfect verb here is “have lost”. This is also true when giving news.

这里表示现在完成式的动词是”have lost”。在表述消息时，这一点也有用到。

In American English, we use the simple past to do this. Speakers of British English generally use the present perfect.

在美式英语中，我们会用一般过去式来表达。但英式英语一般会用现在完成式。

Listen to an American give a piece of news to someone: Your supervisor just called.

下面是用美式英语来向某个人传达消息的例子：你的主管刚才给你打电话了。

Again, such news would involve the present perfect for Britons, as in, “Your supervisor has just called” or the contracted “You supervisor’s just called”.

这里如果是英式英语的话，会用现在完成式，

“Your supervisor has just called”或者把has缩写变成”You supervisor’s just called”。 Notice use of the word “just,” a common time-related adverb.

要注意”just”这个词的使用，这是一个与时间有关的常见副词。类似的副词还有”yet”和”already”，

With other such adverbs, like “yet” and “already,” Americans also tend to use the simple past tense while Britons use the present perfect.

不过美国人依然倾向于用一般过去式，而英国人依然会用现在完成式。下面是美式英语中在有already的情况下用一般过去式的例子：

Listen to an American use a past tense verb and the adverb “already”: Would you like more?

你还再来点儿不？不了，谢谢，我已经吃得很多了。

No thanks. I already ate too much. So, what might a British answer sound like?

这句话如果用英式英语来回答的话会怎么说呢？

A person is likely to say, “I have already eaten too much,” 大概会这样说”I have already eaten too much”，

也就是变为”have eaten”来表达现在完成式。美式英语和英式英语在have和get的使用上也有区别。

which uses the present perfect verb “have eaten”. The two dialects also differ in some ways in their usages of the verbs have and get.

在谈及人与人之间的关系时，英式英语通常会用”have got”。

When talking about human relationships, British English speakers generally use the wording “have got”.

比如，一个英国人可能会这样说”I’ve got an uncle in New York City（我在纽约有个叔叔）”。但美国人可能会这样说”I have an uncle in New York City”。

For instance, a Briton might say, “I’ve got an uncle in New York City”. But an American is likely to say, “I have an uncle in New York City”.

在讨论物品所属以及疾病时，这个规则依然适用。英式英语的话可能会这样说”I’ve got a cold（我感冒了）”，

This same rule applies when talking about possession of objects and when discussing illness. A British English speaker would likely say, “I’ve got a cold,”

而美式英语大概会说”I have a cold”。在表达必要或者需要的含义时，两者也有各自的方式。

while an American would probably just say, “I have a cold”. The two dialects also have their own ways of saying that something is required or necessary.

情态动词”have to”在美式英语中更为常见。而”have got to”在英式英语中则更为常见。

The modal verb “Have to” is more common to American English. The phrasing “have got to” is much more common to speakers of British English.

美国人可能会说”We have to be there by 7（咱们必须在7点前达到那里）”，

An American would likely say, “We have to be there by 7” while a British person is more likely to say, “We have got to be there by 7.”

对了，说到”got”，不要忘了两者在”get”的过去式上也有不同寻常的区别哦。在美式英语中，”get”的过去分词是”gotten”。

而英国人可能会说”We have got to be there by 7″。 And, speaking of “got,” let’s not forget an unusual difference between the past participle forms of “get”.

而英式英语在300多年前就不再使用”gotten”了。英式英语中”get”的过去分词是”got”。

In American English, the past participle of “get” is “gotten”. But Britain discontinued the use of “gotten” more than 300 years ago.

爱丽丝·布莱恩特为您播报。

In British English, the past participle of “get” is “got”. I’m Alice Bryant.