My understanding on the "prison" example is that here in the USA if one says "I'm going to prison.", it suggests that I will soon be occupying a cell. While "I'm going to the prison," suggests that rather than to become one, I will likely be visiting a resident.
And similarly, in British English, if you say, 'She's in hospital', that means she's there as a patient. If you say 'She's in the hospital', that means she's visiting the hospital or working there; she's not a patient. You get that kind of difference with 'in (the) church' and 'in (the) school' too.
@@natkretep I'm Australian and if someone was visiting a patient I'd say at rather than in, so it would be "My Dad's in hospital so my Mum is at the hospital visiting him." I'd also use at when talking about school and church as well. Visit is another one that varies, I visit my family, but (some) Americans visit *with* their families. I also say "chat to" which my American husband finds strange as he'd say "chat with," he's says using "to" makes it sound aggressive/one-sided, whereas with "with" the other person will also do some chatting.
@@TeeganLee Thanks Teegan. I don't think we're in disagreement. I was focussing on the article use, and you say 'Mum is at THE hospital' there in contrast to Dad being 'in hospital'. Yes, I say, 'chat to', 'talk to'and so on too. I think Americans might also say 'meet with' more often as well.
@@TeeganLeeIt's probably the same in the UK, but in the US, I find it funny how we say, "make love to," instead of "with." Seems it would make more sense using "with."
For at least my family, here in Utah. All the land outside you own/take care of is the yard. My Mom would say go outside and play in the yard but stay out of the gardens. She meant both the flower gardens (multiple everywhere) and the food gardens. But the whole thing was the yard.
American here: Yes that is exactly it. In both the UK and the US the word "garden" implies you are doing something to artificially "edit" nature and not just let whatever random stuff grow as it will. The only real difference is in where the threshold is - how artificial does it need to be to count? Your occasional use of a lawn mower causes you to have a field of stunted grass rather than the wild woodland or prairie meadow that would have naturally occurred in several decades if left alone. Thus how the UK calls every single little patch of land around every single house a "garden" even if it's just a lawn. If it's a lawn instead of wilderness, then that's because you *made it* that way. In the US, mowing the lawn isn't seen as *enough* to call it gardening, and thus you need something like making a flower patch or a carrot patch to count.
Yeah, in America, a "Garden" is dedicated... You can plant decorative flowers about the yard, too... Like a single row of rose bushes along the side of the driveway, but if that's it, then you've got a yard with a row of roses... You can even have a few scattered fruit or nut trees (if the yard is big enough) and under a dozen or so, it's still NOT an orchard, either. You just have fruit or nut trees in your yard. BUT if you specifically sculpt out a patch, and plant and tend a dedicated crop (even flowers of specific varieties), then it's a garden... be it a flower garden, and herbal garden, a vegetable garden... or you've dedicated the entire frontage to apple or cherry trees for your "private orchard"... AND no, I'm not 100% on the specific number being anything related to a dozen. It just seems "right" considering it's the smallest "grand collective" for a specific number that I can think of. A "pair" would suggest 2, and so would a "couple"... BUT I kind of doubt we're looking to respect a couple trees as a full-on orchard... I don't know... ;o)
There’s also ‘front yard’ and ‘backyard’ to differentiate between the front and back of the house. And yes, those are the correct spellings. ‘Backyard’ is a closed compound word while ‘front yard’ is an open compound word.
Yeah regulatory and legal stuff tends to be more frozen in time, in terms of form and very restricted meaning. So those formal registers keep verb forms that people no longer really use in spoken language.
I work in the customer service team at a UK magazine and we had over 20 emails when the word 'gotten' was used to complain about it sounding American, so I can confirm that some people in the UK definitely get annoyed about it.
@@helentee9863 The got/gotten thing is an example of how many British people automatically assume every dialectical difference is an American novelty. Even though many parts of the world, including even many parts of England, still use words like "gotten," "pants" for trousers, "mom" for mum, etc., if a person from South England _hears_ anyone say that, they automatically assume they picked up an Americanism. Sometimes even European imports are labeled "Americanisms." I've even seen exclusively British words (that have never existed in the US) labeled "Americanisms." I know most people don't care, but some Brits do get really defensive about their language, as evidenced by letters to the editor complaining about such inoccuous words as "reliable." And in this case, it's pretty disrespectful to every other English dialect than RP or SSE, implying they are all artificial American imports.
@@ColorNerdChrisI'm from the northeast but I love those! They're common in Homestar Runner cartoons, where half the humor is from wordplay (and the makers are from Georgia)
My son was watching this with me and he had an intelligent insight about why Americans say "the hospital" and not "hospital". If you are going to visit someone in a prison or go to visit your kids in college you may use "The prison" or "At college". If you are going to stay in the hospital we call that "being hospitalized". We can go to "the hospital", it is seen as a place we are visiting, we do not plan to live there, we are not staying there long. If we know we're gonna be there for awhile we have another word for that situation. I just thought I would point out that we may see that as changing the length of stay.
Yes, if you are going to visit someone there or something you wouldn't say "I'm going to prison" or "I'm going to college". You would have to use "the" but so do Brits in that case.
@@SWLinPHX I know somebody who is a defense attorney and she was telling a story of how she needed to take off her scarf when she went to prison (to see a prisoner).
I'm an American and I rather like the word "shan't" and use it quite frequently. I'm sure someday my family will accept it. They have no choice for I shan't stop using it whenever the opportunity arises. 😁
@@Sorrowdusk Brits pronounce it "carnt" which sounds quite different to "can" but Americans pronounce it the same as the architectural term "cant". The letter t is quite short when at the end of a word and sort of blends in with the previous consonant.
I was an English language assistant at a school in Germany after graduating with my Bachelors. I was very aware that I was an American and they learned mostly British English, so I made sure to learn some of the word differences including spelling and pronunciation. The 6th grade class I was helping was learning directions. What got me was the prepositions “in” and “on” being used differently. In America we usually say “turn onto this street.” I corrected every student’s written out directions because almost all used “turn into this street.” Lo and behold 2 students showed me in their English textbook that it said “into.” I was not expecting the difference to trip me up to be prepositions.
I lived for a year in England a few decades ago, and was always puzzled by the Brits saying the bookshop is in Queeen's Street, where we (Americans) would say the store is on Central. But considering how close and crowded together the buildings are in cities, towns and even villages in England, one did have the feeling of being "in" a street, rather than the more open and spacious feeling of streets in American -- except, of course, New York City!
@jmhohlfeld It’s not just NYC, the downtown areas of Chicago, or Dallas, or Boston, or LA, or Seattle, or any major US city are like that. It’s only once you get outside the major cities & into the suburbs & the rural areas that the US & UK differ significantly in that regard, and the UK remains cozy while everything spreads out & becomes super spacious here in the US.
@@jmhohlfeld It may be possible that saying "On Fleet Street" may come from a time with so many venders just setting up shop wherever was convenient.. They would literally be on 'Fleet Street', for example. I'm not a word smith, nor play one on UA-cam. 🥸
Prepositions are tricky because a lot of them tend to be picked arbitrarily. Another difference is "different to" (King's English) vs "different from" (President's English) vs "different than" (anarchist's English).
I never thought about "needn't". My mother was British and she used it so I do but never realized that it isn't common in the US. After watching this I realize that I use the British English more than I thought. As an aside I am 75 so my Mother's influence was much stronger than those around me.
One of legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Monk's best known compositions, was called "Well, You Needn't", so in his day (it was written in the late 1940's I believe) it must have been at least somewhat well known
The closest I come to having a direct British ancestor is a great grandfather. But my mother and I both use far more British grammar than those around us, to the point that it has been pointed out to us. 🤷♀️
typically, I see "in the hospital" as specific condition/place and "in prison" as general condition unless they are in a specific place. My Ex-wife was raise on Brit English, and their phraseology of "Can I go with?" drove me crazy...
But what about "I'm going to the bank" or "I'm going to the store"? To Americans, that's no different from "I'm going to the hospital". There's more than one hospital, bank, and store, but the implicit assumption is there's one of each that we would most likely go to based on where we live, and that's the one I'm going to. Now this doesn't always track, because one response to "I'm going to the hospital" is "Which one?", but I think that's still the general idea.
So glad you discussed singular vs collective... I've been corrected for saying " Liverpool is playing well"instead of "are playing" and was convinced I was wrong. I never was wrong- just using the American version I was raised with.
Almost all our teams end with s, as in, "The Mets are going to win the World Series." We wouldn't say New York is going to win because we have more than one team. In other words, in Britain, their team names are synonymous with the city they belong to, hence the confusion in verb.
@@reydemagival Right, but it's "the Bills are doing well" vs. "Buffalo is doing well." In America, the verb agrees in number with the word used to describe the team. In the UK, the verb in these cases is almost always plural.
I am Swiss, learned kind of a British-leaning English with a mild mid-Atlantic pronunciation as my fifth language in high school and got along fairly well with it for more than half a century. Then, due to a weird coincidence, I married a Michigoose (= my female version of "Michigander") at the tender age of 70 years. I moved to the northeastern Midwest where you hear weird things like, "I should have went earlier," and that from my wife, who is a writer and journalist. Enough material for endless teasing.
Michigoose and gander are ADORABLE! ❤❤❤ Congratulations on your nuptials to such a bird. 😊 (The ‘went’ thing - more common than you know. How does she conjugate ‘bring’? The reasonable way is just like ‘sing’: bring, brang , brung.)
@@itsjustme7487 If I remember correctly, the term was popularized by Abe Lincoln, and it was clearly meant to put down Lewis Cass, the former governor of the Michigan Territory. However, the Michiganians picked it up and wore it with pride. Michigander actually is the term most frequently used by - uh - Michiganders these days, including some governors from both sides of the aisle. Besides that, my marriage actually provided me with a whole Michigaggle including two Michigoslings.
As you cover this subject I'm reminded of how my Great-Grandmother spoke. No, she wasn't English, but Southern. Older Southern English was simply more English.
@@bigscarysteve historically speaking proper Southern English is closer to what's know as the King's English. You'll find much of it in the Smokey Mountains and the Appalachia Mountains. Speed up Dolly Parton's speaking voice and be amazed!!
He has already lived many years in the USA. Having adapted so well to living for so long there usuallt tends to play havoc with his strong British linguistic training. It happens even with people subjected to "inner migration", or whatever the name ( English is not my mother language), when faced with a very different accent, within their very country. 😮
@@CruzSanchezRipa I watch another channel called LangFocus. The guy on that channel, Paul, is from Vancouver. He has the exact same problem Laurence is having here--but Paul has it all the time. (BTW, Paul has been living in Japan for quite a few years--but I don't see how that would have any bearing on his pronunciation of "participle.")
@@bigscarysteve Not very sure about it, but every language has its rythm and its stress patterns. Maybe these have become a nuisance in his speech, or perharps he never got it right. Edit: I have looked it up in Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. It gives the following answers: The most widespread stress pattern, and the recommended one for learners of English is " pArticiple". Then it gives four more accepted pronunciations, in order of frequency: the first one is "partIciple" and the change of the third vowel sound (the second "-i". The third one is even more rare, and it's like #1, but with the same vowel change. Four and five also have the stress on the first vowel, but the sound corresponding to the second vowel disappears. And all of this in British English pronunciation. In the SINGLE transcription for the American pronunciation is "pArticiple". So, as annoying as it may be for you, according to this dictionary, it seems it's perfectly correct, at least for the British English variety. P.S. The vowel I have written in caps is the one that is stressed. I am not very apt at translating IPA symbols to the way English native speakers would reflect it, my apologies 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ Sorry for the Dead Sea Roll I have left here. I thought it could be mildly interesting for someone.
I also noticed when I lived in England that “sat” is used in some places when North Americans would say “seated”, especially in situations where choice isn’t involved, such as “She was sat/seated next to the window in science class.” The collective nouns always tripped me up. I grew to expect it but never quite adopted it. I figure if the group is functioning as a whole, it should be one singular action and thus a singular verb. If you wanted to speak about individual actions within a group, why use the collective noun at all? So that’s probably why North Americans changed that habit. Your discussion of auxiliary/helping verbs makes me realise that with a negative it’s more common (though not guaranteed) to hear the auxiliary contract with the subject pronoun in Britain than in North America, where we’d always contract with “not” if we had the option. For example, “I’ve not” would never be used in North America, because “I haven’t” is possible. Not sure why that is.
Yeah, you should say TeamA are good players or TeamB is a good team. Saying TeamC are a good team just sounds wrong (unless the name is pluralized), with the exception of using "they" instead of the team name, like "they're a good team".
Yeah, I don't think "sat" is precisely the same as "sitting." I think in some sense, it's almost passive. For instance, you could say "the lamp is stood in the corner of the room," which basically has the sense of "it's standing there," but arguably could mean "someone has stood it [up] there." In both America and Great Britain, you can say "I'm going to stand a lamp in the corner of the room." Therefore, the lamp has been stood there. And maybe it is still stood there. It's not exactly the way we usually use the passive voice, but it's very close. I think "sat" is similar, though General American would be "seated" (as the passive of "seat," not "sit," which is intransitive). That said, the nonstandard "sit" for "seat" is also somewhat common here (e.g. "I always sit my baby in his high-chair for meals").
The one that always gets me is British people saying stuff like “the sign over there has instructions on” where my American brain really really wants them to add “it” on the end. The one thing that helped me wrap my head around it is that I think they treat it the same way as clothes. Like the sign is _wearing_ the instructions. 😅
@@scotpensThat just sounds like a you problem lol I've definitely said and heard people say "I've never been" when talking about somewhere they've, well, never been.
You would make the best English teacher in school or university. Breaking down concepts like modal and participle into meaningful ideas is such a gift!
Also about the word "gotten," I've noticed a lot of British people seem to think Americans invented the word. Gotten originated in Britain long ago and has been used in many old texts (The King James Bible and Shakespeare's works for example), but fell out of use eventually in the UK.
I usually don't use "got" or "gotten" much at all. Example: some Americans say "I have got a car". I say "I have a car". I will say "he's gotten old" though.
Fun video! I’ve heard (in USA) that the collective verbs can be singular or plural, depending upon whether you’re emphasizing the group or the members, respectively.
It's mostly collective nouns that already appear plural. The New York "Yankees" "are" a good baseball team. Their "team" "is" very good. Despite both terms referring to the exact same thing, one feels more natural using plural verb tense while the other feels more natural using singular verb tenses.
There is also the thing where in the UK you add the extra “done” after “have”. For example, where we would say “I said I would clean my room, and I have.”, you would say “I said I would clean my room, and I have done.”
Chicagoans leave the endings up to the listener a lot. Especially direct objects. Though this case is not a direct object, the “I have” implies “done,” have is a helping verb left dangling.
Definitely a pet peeve of mine. The American "have" ending simply cuts off "cleaned my room." In British English, is it "have done cleaned my room"??? Seriously strange lol
My understanding of the difference between "shall" and "will" is that "shall" expresses a prediction of what's definitely going to happen whereas "will" expresses an intention to do something.
@@cocomonkillaI was taught this (American) way but when I got older and started writing because I wanted to (that is to say email & social media exploded 😅) it didn’t always look right. So if the punctuation matches the quote I put it inside; if not, or it isn’t a complete phrase worthy of punctuation, I put it “outside”.
This is a wonderful video. I appreciate grammatical investigations. One of my most enjoyable classes was learning about some of the shifts we've had to-date, so it's nifty to learn about current points of variance between America and England.
Canadians say, "got" and not "gotten" because they stayed with England long after the US left. "Gotten" can be considered old English as it is often found in the King James Bible.
I'm not sure if I've ever commented on your videos before, or not... However, I wanted to take a moment to tell you how much I enjoy them! Your facial expressions, and your sense of humor are HILARIOUS! I love how you keep things relatively simple, and yet explain quite a bit in the process. I also love that I actually learn something most every time I watch one of your episodes! Thank you for creating these! I look forward to every new one you put out!
I'm Canadian, so I have a mix of British and American spelling and grammar. It's useful in my job because I teach English and some of my students come from places where they learn British English and others from places where they learn American English. I will get tripped up sometimes, though.
It's a myth that Canadian spelling is a "mix" of American and British. Canadian spelling tends to be more conservative than both. We've maintained sounds such as "colour" and "centre" that the Americans have changed, as well as spellings such as "tire" that the British have inexplicably changed to "tyre" (the "tire" spelling originated in Britain, derived from "attire"). We also use both "-ise" and "-ize" spellings, which both were historically acceptable, but the Americans eventually settled on one, and the British on the other (except for Oxford, which uses "-ize").
This is my fav episode of yours. Love the gritty gritty of grammar. As an American, I do use "shall" but usually for extra emphasis, or as a declaration to psych myself up. "I shall clean the kitchen this weekend."
I always hated grammar in school thought it was entirely too boring. I learned English grammar when I studied German in my 20s. It probably sounds strange but studying a foreign language actually taught me more about English than any amount of boring lectures, memorizing rules or writing loads of bad papers
@@jesse123185I agree that learning a foreign language is a great aid in learning English grammar. I had a similar experience while learning Japanese. I think it helps give a bit of distance to something we are so familiar with that we can't easily understand how the parts work technically because we know so intuitively how to make them work.
@@jesse123185 Was just saying that! A refresher course in English would be great before studying a foreign language. I keep referring back to English often while studying Russian
@b.w.9244 there is a book I got years ago called English grammar for students of German. It's essentially just that a handy reference for English grammar that's relevant to learning German. I mentioned it because they make an edition of that book for nearly every major language I'm sure there's a Russian version too. I found it very useful
Many of the UK word choices are active in the US, but it depends upon context. The word "shall" for instance can be commonly found in contracts and other legal documents. Great video Lawrence! And I do understand the grammar references thanks to a VERY good high school teacher many years ago (and learning a couple other languages). Lots of older forms of English in the US vernacular - even accents and idioms. There's a textbook that I still have on the shelf called "The Story of English". I highly recommend it even if it dates from the 1980s. A great course, but the text is stand-alone.
in america shall means ought to and will means going to. i think we should change it to will means want to. but then we would have two ways to say want. but that's okay because we would be grammatically correct.
For "I was sat" or "I was stood", I would say that usage is correct if someone or something were to forcibly make you sit or stand, an outside influence.
This video is awesome. When I started learning Japanese as a second language I was so interested in learning how the grammar worked and realized while learning that just how badly my public school education failed me when it came to knowing much about English worked on the grammar front. So in learning another language I inadvertently have learned a lot more about my own native language as well, lol. Grammar is cool.
The process of learning a grammatically correct foreign language brings up issues of comparisons between one's native language. I found this out when I studied German in high school and college, and then later attempted to study Japanese in the way of my husband's native language.
I am not English. At school we had a looot of grammar because of my native language. It is sooo boring for kids. In England a lot of people study the English lang. at uni. My lang. is not that popular at home at all. I think because of the way it is taught. Grammar, grammar, grammar ...
I too learned much about my native language (American) by studying Japanese, mainly because the two languages are so very different I was able to look at English from the outside, although I received a pretty good education on English grammar and rhetoric in school. Especially when talking to Japanese people who spoke ESL, I would hear them apply Japanese grammar when forming English sentences and that would make me ponder how English actually works.
@@Greg-om2hb Excellent point. American English grammar seems to be a dynamic amalgamation. It's always a source of amusement when my husband attempts to use some his Japanese logic in attempting to remember how to say something in English. But, I can also apply this arbitrariness to trying to learn some electronic health record program after I've learned a different system. For example, my original workplace was the initiator of fine-tuning a new 'language' so we studied each situation and tried to find an overall rule that would take care of having to try to avoid exceptions to 'rules'. But, then I was transferred to a different workplace where they had a different program called Cerner which incorporates a lot of other healthcare related functionality. However, the instructors had a whole book of exceptions and workarounds. In the end, in order to document one clinical activity I had to go to four different places under different programs. Phooey!
@@danceswithbadgers I watch a lot of youtubers from the UK and always wondered about that since many use it that way, "I am sat". It always sounded wrong but I figured it was just English way of saying it. It is fun to hear the differences.
@@peggiescraftcafe7117 When I saw the thumbnail I thought the video was by someone who had never been to the UK. I was surprised the presenter was English and seriously asserting that people over here actually talk like that. "I am sat" not only sounds wrong, it IS wrong, as is "I was sat". I've never heard the phrase used in isolation in the manner described, and would be shocked at the poor grammar if I were to hear my 10 year old grand-niece, for instance, say such a thing.
@@danceswithbadgers Good to know. A lot of people in the states say all kinds of things incorrectly and don't know basic geography - that Australia is in Europe & Austria is half way around the world! And that Australians, "speak such good English"! I think no wonder people from other countries think we have such a poor education system.
@@danceswithbadgers I was born and lived in Kansas and never laid eyes on a tornado. Doesn't mean they never happen lol. Because I understand that the world is bigger than just my tiny myopic corner of it...
Besides conveying an imperative, such as "Laurence, you shall continue making these great videos", shall is also used in the US to propose an action, such as "Shall we go now?" or "Shall I serve your lunch now?"
The use of Shan't vs Won't is actually one of the differences in the First Chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone vs Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone
As an ESL speaker, I love it when you discuss the differences between British and American English in a fun way. These grammatical terms are words I deal with from time to time, so this really hits home. Thank you! :)
I watch this and realise that as a 60s born English person I studied very little grammar at school. This was later annoying to our foreign language teachers who had to fill the gaps. My daughter, a 90s child, can spout far more definitions than I ever could. I speak and write well enough because I know what sounds right having grown up with the old school BBC. 🤣
OH GOD... Latin flashbacks with their Nominative, Declarative, Pergorative, Interrogative, and then singular and plurals for every gender under the moon... AAAAAAAAAGH! ;o)
@@gemoftheocean AND the whole language shuddered and then collapsed inward under its shear magnitude... drawing its Empire with it as it had finally reached critical mass... AND a single city and some decrepit ruins are about all that's left... ;o)
This is great. I'm an ESL teacher and frequently have to point out differences between American and British English to my students. I'll send this link.
OMG, I've been out of school for many years now and when you started talking about verbs etc my eyes began to cross and my brain went numb. I guess nothing has changed.
I teach linguistics at university and there was a period in Britain when the educational activists (known as the blob) banned teaching grammar, saying it would weaken kids’ creativity. As a result, there a group aged thirty to fifty who know no grammar and still can’t write. But below them, when it was reintroduced, is a younger cohort who ARE taught grammar. They’re fine. I’m way over fifty, so I was taught it. One of my mature students gave a good description of nouns and verbs, but got them perfectly the wrong way around.
Helping verbs : Am, is, are was, were be, being, been has, have, had, do, does, did, may, might, can, could shall, should, will, would, must! My awesome English teacher, Mr. Thomas Stephan, creatively, and humoursly, drilled that into our 7th grade class' heads; as a 52-year old, I still remember that "rhyme" to this day!!!
I love your channel!! I just finished watching your American Accents again for the 100th time and I'm laughing so hard as if was the first ❤. I was born and raised in Alabama, but have been in northwest Florida for almost 40 years. I would love it if you could do a video on the different southern accents! Thank you, I'm always sharing your videos.
Ukulele is correctly pronounced as ooh-kooh-leh-leh. I don’t mean to offend, just trying to help. I’m kamaʻāina and hail from the island of ʻOahu. It’s wonderful to see you use one of our instruments 🤙🏽🧡
The "I am sat" version is very rarely used here. It would only come up in a sentence as a present tense hypothetical situation description in which you are sat against your will. An example would be describing a dream one would have in which they are a doll/puppet and are aware of what's going on as the person to which the doll/puppet belongs sits the doll/puppet against a wall. It would be written like this: I had a dream where I was a doll, and I am sat on a shelf.
@@freethebirds3578 You can say "I stood" or "I was standing" but often they are used for different intent. If you're telling a story about something that happened at the time you might say "I was standing" but if you are saying an action you performed you would say "I stood".
Love the explanations and descriptions about the English languages (yes, plural)! There’s England, American, Aussie, Canuck, Singlish, and I’m sure many others I have failed to include (not maliciously I assure you).
@YouthfulOne I think Candian English is interesting. Rather than 'electricity' they use 'hydro'. And while I don't know if it's my ears but 'about' sounds more like 'aboat'. From old PBS/Brit shows, I recall something like this..."He was taken to hospital." While Americans more often qualify that as "He was taken to the hospital." I have heard that English is a difficult language to learn. I believe it. And the bounty of scammers from the African continent have a way of sticking out like a sore thumb just because of their use of grammar...not to mention the titles they assign (Mr. Mrs. etc) seems rather formal?
when you say you are in a place versus at a place, there is usually an implied duration (like a stay). in the us, we linguistically don’t talk about hospitals as a place to stay, but only as a place to be. maybe it’s our optimism (you don’t want anybody to have to stay in hospital, but it might be more digestible for somebody to simply be at the hospital)
I think "in college" and "in prison" imply becoming a part of that whole collective of the place, partaking in all of that stuff associated with the particular word. You're in college even when you're not on the premises of the college. You're in prison implies a lot more than you're in a particular place. But when you're in the hospital, you're inside the building requiring immediate and regular care and also visitation from people who wish to go to the hospital to see you. You go to your boss and tell him your mom is in the hospital, and just that phrase expresses seriousness and urgency. If you become "in hospital" in the way that you become "in college", it sounds as though you've moved in, permanently, and it loses that urgency and stress. Americans will say "she's in hospice", but "in a nursing home." So it's a little scattered, who knows.
And yet there are some totally random exceptions. Such as 'I am in New York City' and 'I am on Long Island.' It's a regional thing, but it's a randomly odd one.
We also say I’m going to the house, but I’m going home. I’m going to church or school which doesn’t need the article either. I’m going to college verses I’m going to a university after high school is weird.
@@masterofallgoonsit’s the island part of that phrase or name that makes it different. You can be on an island, or say stranded on an island. The word in imply there is a perimeter (physical or imagined) or some boundary. So you’re in that city because you could presumably at some point take one step and be out of the city. But you’re either on or off of an island. Because it’s a spot that can be occupied in a vast space. Like your feet being on the floor.
@@tammywilliams-ankcorn9533one is an object (house), the other is a concept (home). Church and school are concepts. That why some old people or we used to say “schoolhouse” or even “church house”. The house part has fallen away because it’s unnecessary because we’re referring to a place to learn or worship. Not the building itself.
I was wondering if you can tell me why Americans pronounce so many Japanese words with added Rs, in particular vehicle manufacturers such as Honda (Hornda), Yamaha (Yarmahar), Kawasaki (Kawasarki), Mazda (Marzda), Toyota (Toyotar), Nissan (Neesarn) etc?
I found Japanese loved the topic of American and British English, but given the two versions are mutually intelligible, they should concentrate on being able to string a sentence together in any form of English.
Totally off-topic - but I hope you're doing well after the bad weather that barrelled through the greater Chicago area recently. I know you've spoken in the past about the extremes you've encountered in the US, weather (specifically winter) being a big one. I'm curious to hear your take on severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Being a lifelong Midwesterner, I'm used to the tornado sirens. I have so many memories as a kid of sitting under the basement stairs with the family, flashlights, and radio waiting for the severe weather to pass ...
As a Philadelphian born and bred who lived in Yorkshire for 8 years and now Ireland for 9 years, I find this very interesting. I, too have taken on the propensity to occasionally speak as if I was in a Jane Austen novel as well. New subscriber here.
When I had English Grammar in school, that was back in 7th and 8th grades. I used to get straight A's in it, but it was so long ago, I've forgotten all the terms for things that you mentioned in this video. I always thought "in hospital" sounded strange. But once you pointed out that we say "in prison" or "in school", then I realized it's not that strange after all.
I had English Grammar at about the same age. I remember diagramming sentences, and using a school-owned copy of English Grammar and Composition. Although I highly doubt I could still diagram a sentence, I must have absorbed all of the grammar rules and regs, as I'm fairly confident, but picky, when composing - down to actually punctuating texts! (I did have to check to see if "diagramming" has a double m!) That being said, I could never identify and name all the "parts" that Laurence does!
In school did you have to diagram sentences? We did in 8th and 9th grade, and my teacher made us do it so much that I still remember how. I've never needed to diagram a sentence after I was out of school,however once I did list it as a skill on a job application. It had nothing to do with the job I was applying for.
Lol, I got a C+ in 8th grade English bc I missed project due dates for reading novels in class 😅 But I can still diagram a sentence like nobody's business
@@b.w.9244 I would say "I" is the subject, "am" is the verb, and "unemployed" is an adjective modifying the subject "I." If you don't think "unemployed" qualifies as an adjective because it's too "verby," substitute "I am retired," and it would be the same sentence structure.
"Diagram" sentences?? During English Language (as opposed to English Literature) classes at school in England and Wales in the 1960s, analysing sentence structure and grammar was called "parsing". I always enjoyed those lessons as they appealed to my scientific leanings and later made it easier to learn other languages.
US American here: "I was sitting" or "I was seated" would be what we would use in my area of the South. We wouldn't use "I was sat" at all. "Sitting" describes the action and "seated" describes the state. An example using "seated" that folks would recognize around here: "I was seated at the dinner table with my family for our Thanksgiving Day meal." If I were to use the word "sat", then it would go thusly: "I sat at the dinner table with my family for our Thanksgiving Day meal." Alternatively, I could use "I was sitting" in the place of "I sat". The implication of "I was sat" is that somebody else physically put you into that place.
Well, here in the UK, at least in most of it, "I am sat", would result in groans from most people as being a sign of poor grammar. That's not to say people don't say it; it's just that it is considered incorrect and very sloppy grammar.
@@laurie7689 You said, "The implication of 'I was sat' is that somebody else physically put you into that place." I was just extending your explanation to those who were told to sit instead of just those "physically put" somewhere. It's just added nuance to a niche saying.
Laurence, I can't QUITE agree with your anatomisation of "shall" and "will." There are still an aging minority of us who were taught English grammar and usage by teachers who were themselves taught grammar, usage, and pedagogy sometime in the first quarter of the twentieth century. As one of that dwindling group, in Year 8 I had hammered into me that "shall" must be used only in the first person, with "will" reserved for the second and third persons. Thus: I _shall_ go into the village tomorrow, but my wife _will_ go to the shops on Saturday.
Love it! I’m an American and my boyfriend is a Geordie…we’ve playfully argued for ages about the proper use of so many words! Always fun 😂 thanks for the enlightenment and history as well! 💗
Fun Lawrence! Regarding yard and garden: conceptually....a yard is an area abutting a building. It may or may not include a garden. We think of a garden as being the planted area which may or may not include the yard. The grassy part is the lawn. The planted part is the garden. Altogether it forms the yard. :O)
Reminds me of English class in high school. I remember why my career was as a carpenter! I’ve been watching some documentaries about English gangs in London. I like these types of shows about historical crimes and such. I was watching one the other day when they interviewed some old gangsters and just folks around then, and I couldn’t understand what they were saying? Neither could the closed captioning!!
I started reading British books as a child. I had no idea there was a difference until my teacher started complaining. I still blend all these years later. I once had a grammar quiz and avoided reading anything British until I had passed the test.
It's funny, I always think of UK English as the definitive version (the clue is in the word "English") so it seems bizarre to lose marks for being too correct!
@@PhiyedoughI used to have to show my dictionary to the teachers if I used UK spelling. To this day my spelling is a blend, but Word catches it. American English spellings are intentional. They wanted to separate completely from the UK. We don’t consider UK English as definitive. Some may even be insulted to think so.
As a military kid I lived in England for 4 years. I often don't register the difference the how words are spoken or spelt unless someone points it out.
Most of these things I learned in grade school aka grammar school on through junior high school. I paid attention so I know most of these but have forgotten how to diagram a sentence. But there are many more people that didn't pay attention or care about how they spoke. I suspect that comes from not using proper grammar at home. The same goes for curse words. Where you hear them all the time, you are more likely to use them rather than find another word maybe more descriptive? All you have to do is go to any small town and just listen to the locals talk. You will know exactly what I'm talking about. Carry on.
In Britain, a grammar school is something you attend if you pass certain tests at the age of 11. Most counties no longer have them, preferring the comprehensive school system instead, but a few do. Edit: actually it's not Britain, it's England, as the Scots have their own education system. I'm not sure if there are any grammar schools in Wales or Northern Ireland.
@@CyberNut930 Is that why some people scatter it throughout every single sentence in every single conversation? Regardless of where they are, or who they are with? Is it indicative of laziness, carelessness, lack of manners, ignorance...?
You actually got the pronunciation of ukulele right the first time! It's like ooo-coo-lé-lé Still waiting desperately for your Hawai'i place names video 😊
@@SWLinPHX The primary stress is on the third syllable, but there's a secondary stress on the first syllable. You'd need something intermediate between lower-case letters and upper-case letters to represent a lower degree of stress in this scheme.
@@omp199 Yes, but the difference is barely discernible in speech, if at all. You need only pick the major stressed syllable for them to pronounce it correctly, especially for conveying in general discourse such as here in UA-cam comments. If they pronounce it "you-kuh-LAY-lee" then they are pronouncing correctly and they understand. Actually, that is more accurate than "YOU-kuh-LAY-lee" as then they are trying to stress both equally and it would NOT sound right -- especially non-English speakers unfamiliar with certain words.
As a dual citizen, my Ma being English, I had such a hard time growing up. I remember when I was about 13 and I was talking about a pram and my American friend had no idea what that was but I couldn’t think of the American word so I said “ perambular? A baby push cart?” My whole life was filled with these struggles😹 Don’t get me started on trying to learn how to pronounce “H” the American way. Btw- my Ma also speaks a type of Yorkshire/Jörvik English which apparently uses many Viking words/phrases which is super helpful 😹
@@capitalb5889 yes that’s how Americans say “H.” Every time coming back stateside though I would forget how they say it, and no one could understand what I was saying 😹
I would say your videos make me miss my late Nana, who was English, but TBH she was from East Anglia and my grandfather was from Alabama, so her accent was WEIRD by the time I was old enough to have memories of her and only got weirder.
I live in East Anglia, living in Suffolk but born in Norfolk. One really odd feature of the dialect is the ‘third person zero’, where he/ she/ it doesn’t add an s or es. So people would say he go, she say, it seem. This may have arisen because the area attracted a lot of Netherlandish people in Tudor times, including some of my ancestors. Flemish and French speakers, subjects of the king of Spain, fled their lands because he was persecuting Protestants, including baptists. East Anglia was the nearest safe place and there was already plentiful trade.
Thank you for highlighting the underestimated importance of the word 'get' in the English language. It may be a small chap but has more uses than a trip to B&Q
More years ago than I care to remember, my (US)) high school English teacher drilled into us that American English has three present tenses: present simple (I go), present continuous (I am going), and present emphatic (I do go)... and the context of the activity (duration, ongoing, etc.) determined the correct one to use.
- To ask a question with “I go”, you can use the auxiliary verb “do” to form the question. For example, “Do I go to the store?”. - To ask a question with “I am going”, you can invert the subject and auxiliary verb “am” to form the question. For example, “Am I going to the store?”. - To ask a question with “I do go”, you can use the auxiliary verb “do” to form the question. For example, “Do I go to the store often?” The first is a Yes/No question (as you could go once or a thousand times - if Yes is the answer). The third assumes that you have gone at least once, but seeks to draw out more information about the frequency and whether you still go to the store.
Reading British mysteries, I frequently come across some phrases that apparently didn't go through American editing. One that came up a few times is that instead of saying "She woke up", it will say "She waked". Some of those books are quite old so I wasn't sure if it was just the way they spoke way back then (30's- 50's), or just a British thing.
As an American fan of British mysteries , favorites being fr. " The Golden Age of Mystery " , I have also noticed & enjoy the differences in words & phrases . 📚 💙
I'm a native speaker of British English born in 1975, and I don't recall ever hearing "she waked". So if it was once a British thing, I think it must have gone extinct - or only survives in a dialect somewhere - before the 1970s. Or it might have been a dialect thing all along. It might be interesting to look up where the author spent their childhood.
I've definitely seen both of those, but I can't trace a pattern. I read a lotfrom both countries, so it doesn't prove much. I think I usually say "woke" and "woken" rather than "waked" and "waked".
As an ESL teacher, I’ve noticed how confusing it is to students when grammatical terminology from The UK is different from the terminology we is in The US. So I try to give examples rather than use labels and terminology. I also noticed, some words commonly used in British English like ‘shall’ or ‘needn’t’ are used less frequently or are becoming obsolete. They may be used in legal writings or things like that because those things hold to a previous iteration rather than evolve with common usage.
Legal English is a whole other animal of its own. I do legal transcription, and just last night I got to find out that "chose in action" is a specific legal term and its plural is "choses in action." I do know that initially to be a lawyer in the post-Old English world you had to speak English, French (Norman), and Latin, and legal English is still a mish-mash of terms from all three.
Here a fun one. My great grandma used to collect miniature pitchers when she traveled. On her first time in the UK she attempted to find one by asking a worker in the shop. The worker took her over to the Kodak picture section, which was not what she was expecting. After some back and forth she described what she was looking for and the worker said, "Oh, you mean a jug!" Many decades later my sister was in her high school musical production of Peter Pan. (There were 2 casts that splitting the performances and my sister was one of the Peters.) One of Peter's lines is (to Tinkerbell) "Do come out of that jug." The director didn't know what a jug was and my mom told him a jug was just a pitcher.
To me, a pitcher and a jug are different. A "pitcher" is more like a large mug with a spout, while a jug is more like a bottle that's gotten extremely fat.
I see the same difference, i buy a jug of orange juice (closed larger bottle) but i would make a pitcher of OJ (container with spout. cap optional for freshness)
I worked in public libraries in the USA--Ohio, in particular--long enough to see and experience many technological changes. One was the changes in the ways people paid for photocopies or--later--printing from online sources. Toward the end of my time there, around 2005, we had adopted a self-serve setup for both. Library customers no longer inserted coins in a slot or lied about the number of pages they should be accountable for. Instead, they used a library debit card. The machine that was involved with those dispensed new cards or added value to what someone already had. Thus arose a difficulty. the electronic device directly involved was manufactured somewhere in Europe but bought from a Canadian source. The instructions said "If you have not got a card, follow the instructions in Part B." That attracted the stereotypical OMETs and their kind; That stands for Old Maid English Teachers--a type that actually exists, so don't come down on me in a landslide of objections. they were merciless and overwhelmingly smug. It did little good to point out that the device was more about "getting" than "having". I appealed to a couple of grammarians who supported the Brit usage, but the clamor erupted time to time for years.
I think the library I go to in SE Wisconsin still has a photocopier where you insert coins in a slot. I know I used it at least once in either 2020 or 2021.
They're not plural per se. Very often (I would hazard to guess usually) you can use either form. Choosing either one doesn't change the substantive meaning of the phrase, but the choice can colour the perception of the thing in question. "The government are a shambles" - brings to mind the collective group of individual politicians who actually form the government; "The government is a shambles" - emphasises the concept of the government as monolithic institution. Having said that there are occasions where one form or the other is so standard that the other one feels ungrammatical. The two examples that spring immediately to mind are sports teams as mentioned in the video and also music bands, both of which sound very wrong to British ears when North American speakers use the "is" form ("Manchester United is playing Liverpool", "Radiohead is headlining the festival"). They habitually take the "are" form for most British folk ("Manchester United are playing Liverpool", "Radiohead are headlining the festival").
I've long been fascinated as to where this division originated. English is a Germanic language with plenty of Latin influence, yet neither German nor Romance languages equate collective and plural nouns. It's sometimes amusing to watch football/soccer matches which pair announcers from different backgrounds, until the American starts mimicking the British one. Ugh! I'm never happy to hear the British version, but I happily accept they do things their way.
As an American editor, I have been waiting for standing and sitting. 😂 I actually thought someone made a mistake in their manuscript. 'I was sat' really threw me but I noticed it was a recurring theme. Let’s just say the author wasn't very happy with me. She told me it was a dialect thing and she wasn’t going to change it. I'm happy to know I was right. I told her to use it in dialogue and not narrative to be safe. She nicely told me to sod off! 😂 I am also a historical fiction writer and use 'shall and mayhap' a lot.
Oddly enough, there is a correct way to use "was sat" or "was stood" in "American" English: "The statue was stood back on it's base", would be one rendition. Or, using sat, "The statue was sat back on its bench", or whatever. And I think that's why it sounds so odd and incorrect to United States people to use the British style is that there _is_ a proper place to use that version, but not like the British are using it. I get a mental picture of a person standing stiffly and being picked up by someone else and placed in the yard or on the chair. Really makes me chuckle.
@@staceyschmidt3149, yes but this wasn’t the case. And she was using American English to gain a USA audience. And writing in present tense. However, I freaking loved the story. It was brilliant.
@@ladylisaromance8129 Thanks. And, yes, if your British author was specifically writing for an American audience, you were right to try to alter her words. I read the American versions of some of the Harry Potter books (published by Scholastic), and was surprised to see some expressions that slipped through, such as "taking the mickey".
Thank you for a most educational video. You have cleared up a great many things that have been weighing on my mind to the point I’ve been losing sleep. Again, much thanks.
I keep hearing this from people over the pond. It's like they can't determine the difference between ground and floor or roof and ceiling. For instance, when your indoors it's a floor and a ceiling and when your outside it's the ground and the roof. This one gets me all the time. Where you born in a barn comes to mind when I hear that.
My understanding on the "prison" example is that here in the USA if one says "I'm going to prison.", it suggests that I will soon be occupying a cell. While "I'm going to the prison," suggests that rather than to become one, I will likely be visiting a resident.
Yes, but we never say "I'm going to hospital" either way.
And similarly, in British English, if you say, 'She's in hospital', that means she's there as a patient. If you say 'She's in the hospital', that means she's visiting the hospital or working there; she's not a patient. You get that kind of difference with 'in (the) church' and 'in (the) school' too.
@@natkretep I'm Australian and if someone was visiting a patient I'd say at rather than in, so it would be "My Dad's in hospital so my Mum is at the hospital visiting him." I'd also use at when talking about school and church as well.
Visit is another one that varies, I visit my family, but (some) Americans visit *with* their families.
I also say "chat to" which my American husband finds strange as he'd say "chat with," he's says using "to" makes it sound aggressive/one-sided, whereas with "with" the other person will also do some chatting.
@@TeeganLee Thanks Teegan. I don't think we're in disagreement. I was focussing on the article use, and you say 'Mum is at THE hospital' there in contrast to Dad being 'in hospital'. Yes, I say, 'chat to', 'talk to'and so on too. I think Americans might also say 'meet with' more often as well.
@@TeeganLeeIt's probably the same in the UK, but in the US, I find it funny how we say, "make love to," instead of "with." Seems it would make more sense using "with."
My American friend said 'yard' was the bit of land (usually grass) that surrounded your house and 'garden' was solely for growing flowers etc.
For at least my family, here in Utah. All the land outside you own/take care of is the yard. My Mom would say go outside and play in the yard but stay out of the gardens. She meant both the flower gardens (multiple everywhere) and the food gardens. But the whole thing was the yard.
Yes, I’ve lived all over the US and have found this to be pretty universal.
American here: Yes that is exactly it. In both the UK and the US the word "garden" implies you are doing something to artificially "edit" nature and not just let whatever random stuff grow as it will. The only real difference is in where the threshold is - how artificial does it need to be to count? Your occasional use of a lawn mower causes you to have a field of stunted grass rather than the wild woodland or prairie meadow that would have naturally occurred in several decades if left alone. Thus how the UK calls every single little patch of land around every single house a "garden" even if it's just a lawn. If it's a lawn instead of wilderness, then that's because you *made it* that way. In the US, mowing the lawn isn't seen as *enough* to call it gardening, and thus you need something like making a flower patch or a carrot patch to count.
Yeah, in America, a "Garden" is dedicated... You can plant decorative flowers about the yard, too... Like a single row of rose bushes along the side of the driveway, but if that's it, then you've got a yard with a row of roses... You can even have a few scattered fruit or nut trees (if the yard is big enough) and under a dozen or so, it's still NOT an orchard, either. You just have fruit or nut trees in your yard.
BUT if you specifically sculpt out a patch, and plant and tend a dedicated crop (even flowers of specific varieties), then it's a garden... be it a flower garden, and herbal garden, a vegetable garden... or you've dedicated the entire frontage to apple or cherry trees for your "private orchard"... AND no, I'm not 100% on the specific number being anything related to a dozen. It just seems "right" considering it's the smallest "grand collective" for a specific number that I can think of. A "pair" would suggest 2, and so would a "couple"... BUT I kind of doubt we're looking to respect a couple trees as a full-on orchard... I don't know... ;o)
There’s also ‘front yard’ and ‘backyard’ to differentiate between the front and back of the house. And yes, those are the correct spellings. ‘Backyard’ is a closed compound word while ‘front yard’ is an open compound word.
In the US National Electrical Code, the word "shall" is used to be perfectly clear that what is being directed is mandatory not a suggestion.
That’s any standard and government regulation
Yeah regulatory and legal stuff tends to be more frozen in time, in terms of form and very restricted meaning.
So those formal registers keep verb forms that people no longer really use in spoken language.
@@resourceress7 for good reason, we have to have very specific meanings of words.
also in most every other book of rules in the US.
God does that too. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
"This video is cheaper than melatonin" is one of your finest jokes so far! Thank you for always teaching & amusing us!
I work in the customer service team at a UK magazine and we had over 20 emails when the word 'gotten' was used to complain about it sounding American, so I can confirm that some people in the UK definitely get annoyed about it.
Probably letters from people living in the southern parts of England, as in the North/Midlands gotten is still( fairly) standard.
You really really have to be bored to complain about something like that haha
British folk:
Bitter since 1776
@@helentee9863 The got/gotten thing is an example of how many British people automatically assume every dialectical difference is an American novelty. Even though many parts of the world, including even many parts of England, still use words like "gotten," "pants" for trousers, "mom" for mum, etc., if a person from South England _hears_ anyone say that, they automatically assume they picked up an Americanism. Sometimes even European imports are labeled "Americanisms." I've even seen exclusively British words (that have never existed in the US) labeled "Americanisms."
I know most people don't care, but some Brits do get really defensive about their language, as evidenced by letters to the editor complaining about such inoccuous words as "reliable." And in this case, it's pretty disrespectful to every other English dialect than RP or SSE, implying they are all artificial American imports.
@@EebstertheGreat l'm sure my brother-in- law (born and raised in The Peak District, and a senior teacher) would totally agree with you 😁.
There are also huge regional differences here in the US.
Care to give some examples? I can't think of any on the spur of the moment.
@@gaileverett Here in the south, you might could hear people using double modal auxiliaries.
@@ColorNerdChrisGesundheit! 🤭
@@ColorNerdChris
Something about a tandem bicycle with a sidecar?
@@ColorNerdChrisI'm from the northeast but I love those! They're common in Homestar Runner cartoons, where half the humor is from wordplay (and the makers are from Georgia)
My son was watching this with me and he had an intelligent insight about why Americans say "the hospital" and not "hospital". If you are going to visit someone in a prison or go to visit your kids in college you may use "The prison" or "At college". If you are going to stay in the hospital we call that "being hospitalized". We can go to "the hospital", it is seen as a place we are visiting, we do not plan to live there, we are not staying there long. If we know we're gonna be there for awhile we have another word for that situation. I just thought I would point out that we may see that as changing the length of stay.
Yes, if you are going to visit someone there or something you wouldn't say "I'm going to prison" or "I'm going to college". You would have to use "the" but so do Brits in that case.
@@SWLinPHX I know somebody who is a defense attorney and she was telling a story of how she needed to take off her scarf when she went to prison (to see a prisoner).
I think he hit on the reason, we specify hospital because it is not obvious. In prison or college it is obvious who is going and why.
In Britain we say in front but never in back. In the back, yes, but never in back.
@@Joanna-il2ur We will often say "out back" when referring to being outside in the backyard.
I'm an American and I rather like the word "shan't" and use it quite frequently. I'm sure someday my family will accept it. They have no choice for I shan't stop using it whenever the opportunity arises. 😁
There's a silly little rhyme I've sometimes used to illustrate the use of "Shan't"...
"I would if I could, but I can't so I shan't" 😁
I suppose it does sound quite different to "shall". The way Americans pronounce the word "can't" sounds to me almost the same as "can".
@@Phiyedough👀As an American we drop the T's in the middle of words, BUT... I've never heard anyone remove it from the end.
@@Sorrowdusk Brits pronounce it "carnt" which sounds quite different to "can" but Americans pronounce it the same as the architectural term "cant". The letter t is quite short when at the end of a word and sort of blends in with the previous consonant.
@@bill.godwin-austensounds vaguely dirty. Gigglesnort.
I was an English language assistant at a school in Germany after graduating with my Bachelors. I was very aware that I was an American and they learned mostly British English, so I made sure to learn some of the word differences including spelling and pronunciation. The 6th grade class I was helping was learning directions. What got me was the prepositions “in” and “on” being used differently. In America we usually say “turn onto this street.” I corrected every student’s written out directions because almost all used “turn into this street.” Lo and behold 2 students showed me in their English textbook that it said “into.” I was not expecting the difference to trip me up to be prepositions.
That is so weird. They're driving, not becoming a street. . .
I lived for a year in England a few decades ago, and was always puzzled by the Brits saying the bookshop is in Queeen's Street, where we (Americans) would say the store is on Central. But considering how close and crowded together the buildings are in cities, towns and even villages in England, one did have the feeling of being "in" a street, rather than the more open and spacious feeling of streets in American -- except, of course, New York City!
@jmhohlfeld It’s not just NYC, the downtown areas of Chicago, or Dallas, or Boston, or LA, or Seattle, or any major US city are like that. It’s only once you get outside the major cities & into the suburbs & the rural areas that the US & UK differ significantly in that regard, and the UK remains cozy while everything spreads out & becomes super spacious here in the US.
@@jmhohlfeld It may be possible that saying "On Fleet Street" may come from a time with so many venders just setting up shop wherever was convenient.. They would literally be on 'Fleet Street', for example.
I'm not a word smith, nor play one on UA-cam. 🥸
Prepositions are tricky because a lot of them tend to be picked arbitrarily. Another difference is "different to" (King's English) vs "different from" (President's English) vs "different than" (anarchist's English).
I enjoy the dry humor delivery of your videos, Lawrence. While educational and interesting, they always get me laughing.
Your ability to cohesively tell a story is pretty cool
I never thought about "needn't". My mother was British and she used it so I do but never realized that it isn't common in the US. After watching this I realize that I use the British English more than I thought. As an aside I am 75 so my Mother's influence was much stronger than those around me.
A couple of centuries in America and my Mama said it too. So do I.
My Grandmother used it also and she wasn't British but born in Indiana.
One of legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Monk's best known compositions, was called "Well, You Needn't", so in his day (it was written in the late 1940's I believe) it must have been at least somewhat well known
The closest I come to having a direct British ancestor is a great grandfather. But my mother and I both use far more British grammar than those around us, to the point that it has been pointed out to us. 🤷♀️
@@waddsbaddsnever heard of it
The "in hospital" vs "in prison" is an awesome way of explaining the difference! Thanks Lawrence!
typically, I see "in the hospital" as specific condition/place and "in prison" as general condition unless they are in a specific place. My Ex-wife was raise on Brit English, and their phraseology of "Can I go with?" drove me crazy...
But what about "I'm going to the bank" or "I'm going to the store"? To Americans, that's no different from "I'm going to the hospital". There's more than one hospital, bank, and store, but the implicit assumption is there's one of each that we would most likely go to based on where we live, and that's the one I'm going to. Now this doesn't always track, because one response to "I'm going to the hospital" is "Which one?", but I think that's still the general idea.
I thought it was brilliant but for me "in hospital" is like "in debt" because Blue Cross sucks.
lol
the two are synonymous imo
@@jame3shookexactly 🎉 well said!
So glad you discussed singular vs collective... I've been corrected for saying " Liverpool is playing well"instead of "are playing" and was convinced I was wrong.
I never was wrong- just using the American version I was raised with.
Almost all our teams end with s, as in, "The Mets are going to win the World Series." We wouldn't say New York is going to win because we have more than one team. In other words, in Britain, their team names are synonymous with the city they belong to, hence the confusion in verb.
I honestly think id use singular or plural interchagably for sports teams
@@bigred9428 we do the same thing in cities with only one team though, if we refer to the Buffalo Bills as just Buffalo, we'll use it singularly.
@@reydemagival Right, but it's "the Bills are doing well" vs. "Buffalo is doing well." In America, the verb agrees in number with the word used to describe the team. In the UK, the verb in these cases is almost always plural.
Yep, Liverpool is A place. or A team. Therefore singular makes more sense tbh.
I am Swiss, learned kind of a British-leaning English with a mild mid-Atlantic pronunciation as my fifth language in high school and got along fairly well with it for more than half a century. Then, due to a weird coincidence, I married a Michigoose (= my female version of "Michigander") at the tender age of 70 years. I moved to the northeastern Midwest where you hear weird things like, "I should have went earlier," and that from my wife, who is a writer and journalist. Enough material for endless teasing.
Ohh boy, my wife (born & raised in Michigan) would throw a fit if anyone called her a "Michigoose"! 😉
Michigoose and gander are ADORABLE! ❤❤❤ Congratulations on your nuptials to such a bird. 😊
(The ‘went’ thing - more common than you know. How does she conjugate ‘bring’? The reasonable way is just like ‘sing’: bring, brang , brung.)
As a life long resident of Michigan, I really dislike "Michigander". I think it was someone's idea of a joke.
@@itsjustme7487 If I remember correctly, the term was popularized by Abe Lincoln, and it was clearly meant to put down Lewis Cass, the former governor of the Michigan Territory. However, the Michiganians picked it up and wore it with pride.
Michigander actually is the term most frequently used by - uh - Michiganders these days, including some governors from both sides of the aisle. Besides that, my marriage actually provided me with a whole Michigaggle including two Michigoslings.
@user-qo4yv8wg3d Thanks for Info. I still won't call myself a Michigander or a Michigoose. LOL.
As you cover this subject I'm reminded of how my Great-Grandmother spoke. No, she wasn't English, but Southern. Older Southern English was simply more English.
Agreed!
Older American of any variety was simply more English.
@@bigscarysteve historically speaking proper Southern English is closer to what's know as the King's English. You'll find much of it in the Smokey Mountains and the Appalachia Mountains.
Speed up Dolly Parton's speaking voice and be amazed!!
The old south had genteel articulation and refined manners as a point of pride.
True. Fun fact: "Ain't " was a word used by aristocrats in England, and southerners adopted its use so they could feel more refined.
In America the term garden is a place in the yard for growing plants like flowers, vegetables and herbs
I love how Laurence seems incapable of settling on one particular stress pattern for the word "participle."
He has already lived many years in the USA. Having adapted so well to living for so long there usuallt tends to play havoc with his strong British linguistic training. It happens even with people subjected to "inner migration", or whatever the name ( English is not my mother language), when faced with a very different accent, within their very country. 😮
@@CruzSanchezRipa I watch another channel called LangFocus. The guy on that channel, Paul, is from Vancouver. He has the exact same problem Laurence is having here--but Paul has it all the time. (BTW, Paul has been living in Japan for quite a few years--but I don't see how that would have any bearing on his pronunciation of "participle.")
It was too distressing for me
parTIciple
@@bigscarysteve Not very sure about it, but every language has its rythm and its stress patterns. Maybe these have become a nuisance in his speech, or perharps he never got it right.
Edit: I have looked it up in Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. It gives the following answers:
The most widespread stress pattern, and the recommended one for learners of English is " pArticiple".
Then it gives four more accepted pronunciations, in order of frequency: the first one is "partIciple" and the change of the third vowel sound (the second "-i". The third one is even more rare, and it's like #1, but with the same vowel change.
Four and five also have the stress on the first vowel, but the sound corresponding to the second vowel disappears. And all of this in British English pronunciation.
In the SINGLE transcription for the American pronunciation is "pArticiple".
So, as annoying as it may be for you, according to this dictionary, it seems it's perfectly correct, at least for the British English variety.
P.S. The vowel I have written in caps is the one that is stressed. I am not very apt at translating IPA symbols to the way English native speakers would reflect it, my apologies 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Sorry for the Dead Sea Roll I have left here. I thought it could be mildly interesting for someone.
I also noticed when I lived in England that “sat” is used in some places when North Americans would say “seated”, especially in situations where choice isn’t involved, such as “She was sat/seated next to the window in science class.”
The collective nouns always tripped me up. I grew to expect it but never quite adopted it. I figure if the group is functioning as a whole, it should be one singular action and thus a singular verb. If you wanted to speak about individual actions within a group, why use the collective noun at all? So that’s probably why North Americans changed that habit.
Your discussion of auxiliary/helping verbs makes me realise that with a negative it’s more common (though not guaranteed) to hear the auxiliary contract with the subject pronoun in Britain than in North America, where we’d always contract with “not” if we had the option. For example, “I’ve not” would never be used in North America, because “I haven’t” is possible. Not sure why that is.
Yeah, you should say TeamA are good players or TeamB is a good team. Saying TeamC are a good team just sounds wrong (unless the name is pluralized), with the exception of using "they" instead of the team name, like "they're a good team".
Yeah, I don't think "sat" is precisely the same as "sitting." I think in some sense, it's almost passive. For instance, you could say "the lamp is stood in the corner of the room," which basically has the sense of "it's standing there," but arguably could mean "someone has stood it [up] there." In both America and Great Britain, you can say "I'm going to stand a lamp in the corner of the room." Therefore, the lamp has been stood there. And maybe it is still stood there. It's not exactly the way we usually use the passive voice, but it's very close. I think "sat" is similar, though General American would be "seated" (as the passive of "seat," not "sit," which is intransitive). That said, the nonstandard "sit" for "seat" is also somewhat common here (e.g. "I always sit my baby in his high-chair for meals").
Or, "She sat next to the window in science class." would be used more often over here in Virginia.
I do use 'I've not', but I'm an Anglophile.
Surely ,"Sat", is a past tense , sitting a present , but used as an adjective..."Seated " is the best bet , but surely the second one is O.K.???
The one that always gets me is British people saying stuff like “the sign over there has instructions on” where my American brain really really wants them to add “it” on the end. The one thing that helped me wrap my head around it is that I think they treat it the same way as clothes. Like the sign is _wearing_ the instructions. 😅
That reminds me of the British idiom "I've never been," said when someone mentions a country or city. An American would say "I've never been THERE."
@@scotpensThat just sounds like a you problem lol I've definitely said and heard people say "I've never been" when talking about somewhere they've, well, never been.
8th grade grammar was 60 years ago. I believe that I learned the lessons well, but forgot most of the nomenclature.
learnt
@@tiatistimaren "learned" on the US side of the pond.
@@tiatistimarenBoth are acceptable. Thanks for giving him a second option though!
What have we learnt today? versus what did we learn today? Can someone tell me the grammatical difference?
@@qv6486how they’re spelt
You would make the best English teacher in school or university. Breaking down concepts like modal and participle into meaningful ideas is such a gift!
I agree. He makes it interesting.
@@eugenetswong Yep, same here.
We Yanks all learned the concepts, and more, in elementary school.
Unfortunately too many people didn't pay attention. @@ImYourOverlord
Also about the word "gotten," I've noticed a lot of British people seem to think Americans invented the word. Gotten originated in Britain long ago and has been used in many old texts (The King James Bible and Shakespeare's works for example), but fell out of use eventually in the UK.
This is true. It was brought to the colonies by the Elizabethan-era settlers and just hung on.
I just try to avoid using it. I don't say I got something; I received it.
Yes; I distinctly recall hearing that the usage was an anachronism. This may have been brought up in the old PBS/BBC series on The Story of English.
The British continue to like to think they are the best people in the entire world, and everyone who's not British is a peasant.
I usually don't use "got" or "gotten" much at all. Example: some Americans say "I have got a car". I say "I have a car". I will say "he's gotten old" though.
This is absolutely NOT boring, it's very interesting. Don't worry 😊
Fun video!
I’ve heard (in USA) that the collective verbs can be singular or plural, depending upon whether you’re emphasizing the group or the members, respectively.
I believe that that's true in England as well. It's just whether you look at the noun as plural or singular that makes the difference.
It's mostly collective nouns that already appear plural. The New York "Yankees" "are" a good baseball team. Their "team" "is" very good. Despite both terms referring to the exact same thing, one feels more natural using plural verb tense while the other feels more natural using singular verb tenses.
@@12jswilson i wonder if “Yankees are” feels natural, because Yankees ends with an S…
@@arashy that's part of it, but it applies to non-plural sports team names too like the Oklahoma City Thunder.
@@12jswilson I would say “is” when speaking of a team as a whole and “are” when referencing the individuals.
My husband is from Yorkshire and we have been married for just over 21 years. It is fun to hear you explain some of these differences
I love the Yorkshire accents. Best in England by far!
There is also the thing where in the UK you add the extra “done” after “have”. For example, where we would say “I said I would clean my room, and I have.”, you would say “I said I would clean my room, and I have done.”
Chicagoans leave the endings up to the listener a lot. Especially direct objects. Though this case is not a direct object, the “I have” implies “done,” have is a helping verb left dangling.
It applies to other tenses too. "He's working as hard as he can [do]."
Definitely a pet peeve of mine. The American "have" ending simply cuts off "cleaned my room." In British English, is it "have done cleaned my room"??? Seriously strange lol
This guy would make great TV comedy. He needs to be part of a sitcom.
I agree. I’d watch it.
"It's cheaper than melatonin" 😅😅
@@LindaC616 … True.
It because he sounds like David Mitchell
Not that funny
My understanding of the difference between "shall" and "will" is that "shall" expresses a prediction of what's definitely going to happen whereas "will" expresses an intention to do something.
What you called "determiners," we call "articles." This is why we would ask, "Ooooh Laurence, what is a determiner?"
Oooh, you showed another great example by showing the American way of putting punctuation inside of "quotation marks".
@@cocomonkillaOh, good. I'd like to say I meant to do that, but I didn't know about that difference in punctuation.
There are also other determiners besides articles, like "that", "those", "both", etc.
@@freyashipley6556The examples Laurence gave were all articles.
@@cocomonkillaI was taught this (American) way but when I got older and started writing because I wanted to (that is to say email & social media exploded 😅) it didn’t always look right. So if the punctuation matches the quote I put it inside; if not, or it isn’t a complete phrase worthy of punctuation, I put it “outside”.
This is a wonderful video. I appreciate grammatical investigations. One of my most enjoyable classes was learning about some of the shifts we've had to-date, so it's nifty to learn about current points of variance between America and England.
Canadians say, "got" and not "gotten" because they stayed with England long after the US left. "Gotten" can be considered old English as it is often found in the King James Bible.
I'm not sure if I've ever commented on your videos before, or not... However, I wanted to take a moment to tell you how much I enjoy them! Your facial expressions, and your sense of humor are HILARIOUS! I love how you keep things relatively simple, and yet explain quite a bit in the process. I also love that I actually learn something most every time I watch one of your episodes! Thank you for creating these! I look forward to every new one you put out!
As an ESL teacher in Asia, these videos help a LOT!
I'm Canadian, so I have a mix of British and American spelling and grammar. It's useful in my job because I teach English and some of my students come from places where they learn British English and others from places where they learn American English. I will get tripped up sometimes, though.
It's a myth that Canadian spelling is a "mix" of American and British. Canadian spelling tends to be more conservative than both. We've maintained sounds such as "colour" and "centre" that the Americans have changed, as well as spellings such as "tire" that the British have inexplicably changed to "tyre" (the "tire" spelling originated in Britain, derived from "attire"). We also use both "-ise" and "-ize" spellings, which both were historically acceptable, but the Americans eventually settled on one, and the British on the other (except for Oxford, which uses "-ize").
This is my fav episode of yours. Love the gritty gritty of grammar.
As an American, I do use "shall" but usually for extra emphasis, or as a declaration to psych myself up. "I shall clean the kitchen this weekend."
I love this!! I've been wondering about these differences for a while. I'm such a happy grammar nerd right now!
Do more videos on English and American grammar. I really enjoy it and hope to learn something. I was always bad at it in school.
I always hated grammar in school thought it was entirely too boring. I learned English grammar when I studied German in my 20s. It probably sounds strange but studying a foreign language actually taught me more about English than any amount of boring lectures, memorizing rules or writing loads of bad papers
@@jesse123185I agree that learning a foreign language is a great aid in learning English grammar. I had a similar experience while learning Japanese. I think it helps give a bit of distance to something we are so familiar with that we can't easily understand how the parts work technically because we know so intuitively how to make them work.
@@jesse123185 Was just saying that! A refresher course in English would be great before studying a foreign language. I keep referring back to English often while studying Russian
I am a member of a British cooking forum. On a regular basis, I find myself wondering, WTF is that?
@b.w.9244 there is a book I got years ago called English grammar for students of German. It's essentially just that a handy reference for English grammar that's relevant to learning German. I mentioned it because they make an edition of that book for nearly every major language I'm sure there's a Russian version too. I found it very useful
Regarding will vs. shall, “shall” is used in legal contexts (even in the US).
And by engineers in writing requirements, such as for software. A “shall” has to be tested, whereas a “will” does not.
In reading the Bible, one finds the use of 'shall' to be used frequently.
@@kateburk2168 That can depend on the translation you're reading.
One common example is when writing a "Statement of Work." The contractor "shall" do something...
Many of the UK word choices are active in the US, but it depends upon context. The word "shall" for instance can be commonly found in contracts and other legal documents. Great video Lawrence! And I do understand the grammar references thanks to a VERY good high school teacher many years ago (and learning a couple other languages).
Lots of older forms of English in the US vernacular - even accents and idioms. There's a textbook that I still have on the shelf called "The Story of English". I highly recommend it even if it dates from the 1980s. A great course, but the text is stand-alone.
in america shall means ought to and will means going to. i think we should change it to will means want to. but then we would have two ways to say want. but that's okay because we would be grammatically correct.
For "I was sat" or "I was stood", I would say that usage is correct if someone or something were to forcibly make you sit or stand, an outside influence.
This video is awesome.
When I started learning Japanese as a second language I was so interested in learning how the grammar worked and realized while learning that just how badly my public school education failed me when it came to knowing much about English worked on the grammar front. So in learning another language I inadvertently have learned a lot more about my own native language as well, lol. Grammar is cool.
The process of learning a grammatically correct foreign language brings up issues of comparisons between one's native language. I found this out when I studied German in high school and college, and then later attempted to study Japanese in the way of my husband's native language.
It was doing Latin in high school that taught me so much about our English language. And then, decades later, studying Italian.
I am not English. At school we had a looot of grammar because of my native language. It is sooo boring for kids. In England a lot of people study the English lang. at uni. My lang. is not that popular at home at all. I think because of the way it is taught. Grammar, grammar, grammar ...
I too learned much about my native language (American) by studying Japanese, mainly because the two languages are so very different I was able to look at English from the outside, although I received a pretty good education on English grammar and rhetoric in school. Especially when talking to Japanese people who spoke ESL, I would hear them apply Japanese grammar when forming English sentences and that would make me ponder how English actually works.
@@Greg-om2hb Excellent point. American English grammar seems to be a dynamic amalgamation. It's always a source of amusement when my husband attempts to use some his Japanese logic in attempting to remember how to say something in English.
But, I can also apply this arbitrariness to trying to learn some electronic health record program after I've learned a different system. For example, my original workplace was the initiator of fine-tuning a new 'language' so we studied each situation and tried to find an overall rule that would take care of having to try to avoid exceptions to 'rules'.
But, then I was transferred to a different workplace where they had a different program called Cerner which incorporates a lot of other healthcare related functionality. However, the instructors had a whole book of exceptions and workarounds. In the end, in order to document one clinical activity I had to go to four different places under different programs. Phooey!
I always enjoy learning new info from you about American and English language.
Hope you're enjoying your summer!
Definitely one of your funniest videos ever! Your humor was on point.
Really appreciate this one...The British "I am stood, I am sat" phenomema have always intrigued me 😂
In my 64 years in the UK I have never heard anyone ever say "I am sat" rather than "I am sitting"....ever.
@@danceswithbadgers I watch a lot of youtubers from the UK and always wondered about that since many use it that way, "I am sat". It always sounded wrong but I figured it was just English way of saying it. It is fun to hear the differences.
@@peggiescraftcafe7117 When I saw the thumbnail I thought the video was by someone who had never been to the UK. I was surprised the presenter was English and seriously asserting that people over here actually talk like that. "I am sat" not only sounds wrong, it IS wrong, as is "I was sat". I've never heard the phrase used in isolation in the manner described, and would be shocked at the poor grammar if I were to hear my 10 year old grand-niece, for instance, say such a thing.
@@danceswithbadgers Good to know. A lot of people in the states say all kinds of things incorrectly and don't know basic geography - that Australia is in Europe & Austria is half way around the world! And that Australians, "speak such good English"! I think no wonder people from other countries think we have such a poor education system.
@@danceswithbadgers I was born and lived in Kansas and never laid eyes on a tornado. Doesn't mean they never happen lol. Because I understand that the world is bigger than just my tiny myopic corner of it...
In Ireland we say ‘I am sitting’ also. I thought I am Sat is just an English thing not even used in Scotland.
Besides conveying an imperative, such as "Laurence, you shall continue making these great videos", shall is also used in the US to propose an action, such as "Shall we go now?" or "Shall I serve your lunch now?"
Yes, the only times any Americans ever say “shall”. Most of us dispense with that word entirely
Shall used in the legal sense means must.
The use of Shan't vs Won't is actually one of the differences in the First Chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone vs Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone
As an ESL speaker, I love it when you discuss the differences between British and American English in a fun way. These grammatical terms are words I deal with from time to time, so this really hits home. Thank you! :)
I have always associated 'I am sat here' with the north of England. Many of my northern friends say that as opposed to 'I am sitting here'.
I watch this and realise that as a 60s born English person I studied very little grammar at school. This was later annoying to our foreign language teachers who had to fill the gaps. My daughter, a 90s child, can spout far more definitions than I ever could. I speak and write well enough because I know what sounds right having grown up with the old school BBC. 🤣
OH GOD... Latin flashbacks with their Nominative, Declarative, Pergorative, Interrogative, and then singular and plurals for every gender under the moon... AAAAAAAAAGH! ;o)
I had the same experience growing up in Australia.
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Ablative, and vocative.
@@gemoftheocean AND the whole language shuddered and then collapsed inward under its shear magnitude... drawing its Empire with it as it had finally reached critical mass...
AND a single city and some decrepit ruins are about all that's left... ;o)
I love that the first visual when you talk about grammar is a Grimoire, complete with candlelight ambience.
This is great. I'm an ESL teacher and frequently have to point out differences between American and British English to my students. I'll send this link.
Just remember, in America "shall" is used in formal writing as a legal requirement and only spoken in a playful, almost sarcastic way 😅
OMG, I've been out of school for many years now and when you started talking about verbs etc my eyes began to cross and my brain went numb. I guess nothing has changed.
My mind was blown at the "gotten" vs "forgotten" argument 😅
I teach linguistics at university and there was a period in Britain when the educational activists (known as the blob) banned teaching grammar, saying it would weaken kids’ creativity. As a result, there a group aged thirty to fifty who know no grammar and still can’t write. But below them, when it was reintroduced, is a younger cohort who ARE taught grammar. They’re fine. I’m way over fifty, so I was taught it. One of my mature students gave a good description of nouns and verbs, but got them perfectly the wrong way around.
Helping verbs : Am, is, are
was, were
be, being, been
has, have, had,
do, does, did,
may, might,
can, could
shall, should, will, would, must!
My awesome English teacher, Mr. Thomas Stephan, creatively, and humoursly, drilled that into our 7th grade class' heads; as a 52-year old, I still remember that "rhyme" to this day!!!
Heading to England tonight! My choir's going to be in residence at Ely Cathedral & also sing at St. Albans & Southwark.
I love your channel!! I just finished watching your American Accents again for the 100th time and I'm laughing so hard as if was the first ❤.
I was born and raised in Alabama, but have been in northwest Florida for almost 40 years. I would love it if you could do a video on the different southern accents!
Thank you, I'm always sharing your videos.
Ukulele is correctly pronounced as ooh-kooh-leh-leh. I don’t mean to offend, just trying to help. I’m kamaʻāina and hail from the island of ʻOahu. It’s wonderful to see you use one of our instruments 🤙🏽🧡
❤ I appreciate knowing the proper pronunciation!
The "I am sat" version is very rarely used here. It would only come up in a sentence as a present tense hypothetical situation description in which you are sat against your will. An example would be describing a dream one would have in which they are a doll/puppet and are aware of what's going on as the person to which the doll/puppet belongs sits the doll/puppet against a wall. It would be written like this: I had a dream where I was a doll, and I am sat on a shelf.
But were you an Elf? 🧝♀️
Exactly. Same with stood. If you were stood in the garden, who or what put you there in a standing position?
@@freethebirds3578 You can say "I stood" or "I was standing" but often they are used for different intent. If you're telling a story about something that happened at the time you might say "I was standing" but if you are saying an action you performed you would say "I stood".
Actually in Britain we use both, pretty much interchangeably. There’s a Kate Bush song ‘Sat in your Lap’, not Sitting on you lap.
@@SWLinPHX I said "I was stood" not "I stood" The former is passive, the latter active.
I dont say shell, apart from "shall we go to the pub?"
Lol, I love how the computer mysteriously appears and disappears from his lap
Love the explanations and descriptions about the English languages (yes, plural)! There’s England, American, Aussie, Canuck, Singlish, and I’m sure many others I have failed to include (not maliciously I assure you).
These are considered varieties, I think. There are plenty of books studying them. And yes, there are many "Englishes".
@YouthfulOne I think Candian English is interesting. Rather than 'electricity' they use 'hydro'. And while I don't know if it's my ears but 'about' sounds more like 'aboat'.
From old PBS/Brit shows, I recall something like this..."He was taken to hospital." While Americans more often qualify that as "He was taken to the hospital."
I have heard that English is a difficult language to learn. I believe it. And the bounty of scammers from the African continent have a way of sticking out like a sore thumb just because of their use of grammar...not to mention the titles they assign (Mr. Mrs. etc) seems rather formal?
when you say you are in a place versus at a place, there is usually an implied duration (like a stay). in the us, we linguistically don’t talk about hospitals as a place to stay, but only as a place to be. maybe it’s our optimism (you don’t want anybody to have to stay in hospital, but it might be more digestible for somebody to simply be at the hospital)
I think "in college" and "in prison" imply becoming a part of that whole collective of the place, partaking in all of that stuff associated with the particular word. You're in college even when you're not on the premises of the college. You're in prison implies a lot more than you're in a particular place. But when you're in the hospital, you're inside the building requiring immediate and regular care and also visitation from people who wish to go to the hospital to see you. You go to your boss and tell him your mom is in the hospital, and just that phrase expresses seriousness and urgency. If you become "in hospital" in the way that you become "in college", it sounds as though you've moved in, permanently, and it loses that urgency and stress. Americans will say "she's in hospice", but "in a nursing home." So it's a little scattered, who knows.
And yet there are some totally random exceptions. Such as 'I am in New York City' and 'I am on Long Island.' It's a regional thing, but it's a randomly odd one.
We also say I’m going to the house, but I’m going home. I’m going to church or school which doesn’t need the article either. I’m going to college verses I’m going to a university after high school is weird.
@@masterofallgoonsit’s the island part of that phrase or name that makes it different. You can be on an island, or say stranded on an island. The word in imply there is a perimeter (physical or imagined) or some boundary. So you’re in that city because you could presumably at some point take one step and be out of the city. But you’re either on or off of an island. Because it’s a spot that can be occupied in a vast space. Like your feet being on the floor.
@@tammywilliams-ankcorn9533one is an object (house), the other is a concept (home). Church and school are concepts. That why some old people or we used to say “schoolhouse” or even “church house”. The house part has fallen away because it’s unnecessary because we’re referring to a place to learn or worship. Not the building itself.
I find language and cultural differences fascinating so keep up the great work Lawrence!
Having English as a second language, I have always been wondering about this. Thank you. It is greatly appreciated.
As a college English lecturer in Japan, I try to point out differences between various English countries. To me, this video was absolute gold!
I was wondering if you can tell me why Americans pronounce so many Japanese words with added Rs, in particular vehicle manufacturers such as Honda (Hornda), Yamaha (Yarmahar), Kawasaki (Kawasarki), Mazda (Marzda), Toyota (Toyotar), Nissan (Neesarn) etc?
I found Japanese loved the topic of American and British English, but given the two versions are mutually intelligible, they should concentrate on being able to string a sentence together in any form of English.
@@B-A-LThat's definitely not an American thing...
Hi Laurence, I'm a new subscriber and I throughly enjoy watching your videos ❤😊
Totally off-topic - but I hope you're doing well after the bad weather that barrelled through the greater Chicago area recently. I know you've spoken in the past about the extremes you've encountered in the US, weather (specifically winter) being a big one. I'm curious to hear your take on severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Being a lifelong Midwesterner, I'm used to the tornado sirens. I have so many memories as a kid of sitting under the basement stairs with the family, flashlights, and radio waiting for the severe weather to pass ...
As a Philadelphian born and bred who lived in Yorkshire for 8 years and now Ireland for 9 years, I find this very interesting. I, too have taken on the propensity to occasionally speak as if I was in a Jane Austen novel as well. New subscriber here.
I'm an American English teacher and this has been one of my favorite videos of yours.
When I had English Grammar in school, that was back in 7th and 8th grades. I used to get straight A's in it, but it was so long ago, I've forgotten all the terms for things that you mentioned in this video. I always thought "in hospital" sounded strange. But once you pointed out that we say "in prison" or "in school", then I realized it's not that strange after all.
I had English Grammar at about the same age. I remember diagramming sentences, and using a school-owned copy of English Grammar and Composition. Although I highly doubt I could still diagram a sentence, I must have absorbed all of the grammar rules and regs, as I'm fairly confident, but picky, when composing - down to actually punctuating texts! (I did have to check to see if "diagramming" has a double m!) That being said, I could never identify and name all the "parts" that Laurence does!
In school did you have to diagram sentences? We did in 8th and 9th grade, and my teacher made us do it so much that I still remember how. I've never needed to diagram a sentence after I was out of school,however once I did list it as a skill on a job application. It had nothing to do with the job I was applying for.
Lol, I got a C+ in 8th grade English bc I missed project due dates for reading novels in class 😅
But I can still diagram a sentence like nobody's business
@@LindaC616 Was just arguing with my wife about this..."I am unemployed." Diagram that sentence! Is it even a sentence? Correct grammar?
@@b.w.9244 I would say "I" is the subject, "am" is the verb, and "unemployed" is an adjective modifying the subject "I." If you don't think "unemployed" qualifies as an adjective because it's too "verby," substitute "I am retired," and it would be the same sentence structure.
"Diagram" sentences?? During English Language (as opposed to English Literature) classes at school in England and Wales in the 1960s, analysing sentence structure and grammar was called "parsing".
I always enjoyed those lessons as they appealed to my scientific leanings and later made it easier to learn other languages.
@INOD-2 but sadly, not the same meaning
I think with "I was sitting" vs "I was sat" is kind of a difference between describing an action vs describing a state.
US American here: "I was sitting" or "I was seated" would be what we would use in my area of the South. We wouldn't use "I was sat" at all. "Sitting" describes the action and "seated" describes the state. An example using "seated" that folks would recognize around here: "I was seated at the dinner table with my family for our Thanksgiving Day meal." If I were to use the word "sat", then it would go thusly: "I sat at the dinner table with my family for our Thanksgiving Day meal." Alternatively, I could use "I was sitting" in the place of "I sat". The implication of "I was sat" is that somebody else physically put you into that place.
Well, here in the UK, at least in most of it, "I am sat", would result in groans from most people as being a sign of poor grammar. That's not to say people don't say it; it's just that it is considered incorrect and very sloppy grammar.
@@laurie7689 "I was sat" could also imply I was instructed to sit. e.g. I was sat down and scolded for my behavior.
@@beckoningjinx1119 That would follow under the category of being put in your place.
@@laurie7689 You said, "The implication of 'I was sat' is that somebody else physically put you into that place." I was just extending your explanation to those who were told to sit instead of just those "physically put" somewhere. It's just added nuance to a niche saying.
Laurence, I can't QUITE agree with your anatomisation of "shall" and "will." There are still an aging minority of us who were taught English grammar and usage by teachers who were themselves taught grammar, usage, and pedagogy sometime in the first quarter of the twentieth century. As one of that dwindling group, in Year 8 I had hammered into me that "shall" must be used only in the first person, with "will" reserved for the second and third persons. Thus: I _shall_ go into the village tomorrow, but my wife _will_ go to the shops on Saturday.
Love it! I’m an American and my boyfriend is a Geordie…we’ve playfully argued for ages about the proper use of so many words! Always fun 😂 thanks for the enlightenment and history as well! 💗
Fun Lawrence! Regarding yard and garden: conceptually....a yard is an area abutting a building. It may or may not include a garden. We think of a garden as being the planted area which may or may not include the yard. The grassy part is the lawn. The planted part is the garden. Altogether it forms the yard. :O)
Reminds me of English class in high school. I remember why my career was as a carpenter! I’ve been watching some documentaries about English gangs in London. I like these types of shows about historical crimes and such. I was watching one the other day when they interviewed some old gangsters and just folks around then, and I couldn’t understand what they were saying? Neither could the closed captioning!!
I started reading British books as a child. I had no idea there was a difference until my teacher started complaining. I still blend all these years later. I once had a grammar quiz and avoided reading anything British until I had passed the test.
It's funny, I always think of UK English as the definitive version (the clue is in the word "English") so it seems bizarre to lose marks for being too correct!
@@Phiyedough would it be sort of like how Mexican spanish is slightly different from the spanish in Spain?
Or French Canadian from continental French. 🤔
@@PhiyedoughI used to have to show my dictionary to the teachers if I used UK spelling. To this day my spelling is a blend, but Word catches it. American English spellings are intentional. They wanted to separate completely from the UK. We don’t consider UK English as definitive. Some may even be insulted to think so.
As a military kid I lived in England for 4 years. I often don't register the difference the how words are spoken or spelt unless someone points it out.
Most of these things I learned in grade school aka grammar school on through junior high school. I paid attention so I know most of these but have forgotten how to diagram a sentence. But there are many more people that didn't pay attention or care about how they spoke. I suspect that comes from not using proper grammar at home. The same goes for curse words. Where you hear them all the time, you are more likely to use them rather than find another word maybe more descriptive? All you have to do is go to any small town and just listen to the locals talk. You will know exactly what I'm talking about. Carry on.
In Britain, a grammar school is something you attend if you pass certain tests at the age of 11. Most counties no longer have them, preferring the comprehensive school system instead, but a few do. Edit: actually it's not Britain, it's England, as the Scots have their own education system. I'm not sure if there are any grammar schools in Wales or Northern Ireland.
But fuck is such a good multipurpose word!
@@CyberNut930 Is that why some people scatter it throughout every single sentence in every single conversation? Regardless of where they are, or who they are with? Is it indicative of laziness, carelessness, lack of manners, ignorance...?
My maternal grandmother was raised in New England and often used shant which I found quaint - heard it here for the first time in ages 😊
Thanks for the remembrance. I'm from NYC and I'll never forget that day.
You actually got the pronunciation of ukulele right the first time! It's like ooo-coo-lé-lé
Still waiting desperately for your Hawai'i place names video 😊
Maybe in Hawai'ian. In regular 'Murican, it's YOU-kuh-LAY-lee.
Me too! I would really love to see that series start up again.
@@bigscarysteve You really only need the accent on the third syllable.
@@SWLinPHX The primary stress is on the third syllable, but there's a secondary stress on the first syllable.
You'd need something intermediate between lower-case letters and upper-case letters to represent a lower degree of stress in this scheme.
@@omp199 Yes, but the difference is barely discernible in speech, if at all. You need only pick the major stressed syllable for them to pronounce it correctly, especially for conveying in general discourse such as here in UA-cam comments. If they pronounce it "you-kuh-LAY-lee" then they are pronouncing correctly and they understand. Actually, that is more accurate than "YOU-kuh-LAY-lee" as then they are trying to stress both equally and it would NOT sound right -- especially non-English speakers unfamiliar with certain words.
As a dual citizen, my Ma being English, I had such a hard time growing up. I remember when I was about 13 and I was talking about a pram and my American friend had no idea what that was but I couldn’t think of the American word so I said “ perambular? A baby push cart?” My whole life was filled with these struggles😹 Don’t get me started on trying to learn how to pronounce “H” the American way.
Btw- my Ma also speaks a type of Yorkshire/Jörvik English which apparently uses many Viking words/phrases which is super helpful 😹
Pram which comes from Perambulator. Thr US term, I believe, is a baby carriage BUT stroller (in both varieties) is becoming more common.
H? How do the Americans say it? I thought they said it the proper way ("aitch").
@@capitalb5889 yes that’s how Americans say “H.” Every time coming back stateside though I would forget how they say it, and no one could understand what I was saying 😹
@@sanchoodell6789 yep. Once I said baby push cart, my friend understood what I was trying to convey 🫣 lol! So silly.
@@dash-x that's how I say H too - I might be disowned if I said "haitch".
I would say your videos make me miss my late Nana, who was English, but TBH she was from East Anglia and my grandfather was from Alabama, so her accent was WEIRD by the time I was old enough to have memories of her and only got weirder.
I live in East Anglia, living in Suffolk but born in Norfolk. One really odd feature of the dialect is the ‘third person zero’, where he/ she/ it doesn’t add an s or es. So people would say he go, she say, it seem. This may have arisen because the area attracted a lot of Netherlandish people in Tudor times, including some of my ancestors. Flemish and French speakers, subjects of the king of Spain, fled their lands because he was persecuting Protestants, including baptists. East Anglia was the nearest safe place and there was already plentiful trade.
I can’t get enough of these examples! You rock Laurence! ❣️
Thank you for highlighting the underestimated importance of the word 'get' in the English language. It may be a small chap but has more uses than a trip to B&Q
More years ago than I care to remember, my (US)) high school English teacher drilled into us that American English has three present tenses: present simple (I go), present continuous (I am going), and present emphatic (I do go)... and the context of the activity (duration, ongoing, etc.) determined the correct one to use.
i never learned emphatic. there is only one way to ask "do you like chocolate?" does that mean every question in english is an emphatic question?
- To ask a question with “I go”, you can use the auxiliary verb “do” to form the question. For example, “Do I go to the store?”.
- To ask a question with “I am going”, you can invert the subject and auxiliary verb “am” to form the question. For example, “Am I going to the store?”.
- To ask a question with “I do go”, you can use the auxiliary verb “do” to form the question. For example, “Do I go to the store often?”
The first is a Yes/No question (as you could go once or a thousand times - if Yes is the answer). The third assumes that you have gone at least once, but seeks to draw out more information about the frequency and whether you still go to the store.
Present perfect?
2:52 So, not sports but sport, and not math but maths.. understandable have a good day
Reading British mysteries, I frequently come across some phrases that apparently didn't go through American editing. One that came up a few times is that instead of saying "She woke up", it will say "She waked". Some of those books are quite old so I wasn't sure if it was just the way they spoke way back then (30's- 50's), or just a British thing.
As an American fan of British mysteries , favorites being fr. " The Golden Age of Mystery " , I have also noticed & enjoy the differences in words & phrases . 📚 💙
I'm a native speaker of British English born in 1975, and I don't recall ever hearing "she waked". So if it was once a British thing, I think it must have gone extinct - or only survives in a dialect somewhere - before the 1970s. Or it might have been a dialect thing all along. It might be interesting to look up where the author spent their childhood.
I've definitely seen both of those, but I can't trace a pattern. I read a lotfrom both countries, so it doesn't prove much. I think I usually say "woke" and "woken" rather than "waked" and "waked".
This is a very interesting video. There’s nothing better than a good old lesson in grammar. 😊 Thank you Lawrence for taking us back to school.
Love the grammar lessons so much - just watched the “our” in spelling Glamour video - awesome
As an ESL teacher, I’ve noticed how confusing it is to students when grammatical terminology from The UK is different from the terminology we is in The US. So I try to give examples rather than use labels and terminology. I also noticed, some words commonly used in British English like ‘shall’ or ‘needn’t’ are used less frequently or are becoming obsolete. They may be used in legal writings or things like that because those things hold to a previous iteration rather than evolve with common usage.
Legal English is a whole other animal of its own. I do legal transcription, and just last night I got to find out that "chose in action" is a specific legal term and its plural is "choses in action."
I do know that initially to be a lawyer in the post-Old English world you had to speak English, French (Norman), and Latin, and legal English is still a mish-mash of terms from all three.
Here a fun one.
My great grandma used to collect miniature pitchers when she traveled. On her first time in the UK she attempted to find one by asking a worker in the shop. The worker took her over to the Kodak picture section, which was not what she was expecting. After some back and forth she described what she was looking for and the worker said, "Oh, you mean a jug!"
Many decades later my sister was in her high school musical production of Peter Pan. (There were 2 casts that splitting the performances and my sister was one of the Peters.) One of Peter's lines is (to Tinkerbell) "Do come out of that jug." The director didn't know what a jug was and my mom told him a jug was just a pitcher.
To me, a pitcher and a jug are different. A "pitcher" is more like a large mug with a spout, while a jug is more like a bottle that's gotten extremely fat.
I see the same difference, i buy a jug of orange juice (closed larger bottle) but i would make a pitcher of OJ (container with spout. cap optional for freshness)
I worked in public libraries in the USA--Ohio, in particular--long enough to see and experience many technological changes. One was the changes in the ways people paid for photocopies or--later--printing from online sources. Toward the end of my time there, around 2005, we had adopted a self-serve setup for both. Library customers no longer inserted coins in a slot or lied about the number of pages they should be accountable for. Instead, they used a library debit card. The machine that was involved with those dispensed new cards or added value to what someone already had. Thus arose a difficulty. the electronic device directly involved was manufactured somewhere in Europe but bought from a Canadian source. The instructions said "If you have not got a card, follow the instructions in Part B." That attracted the stereotypical OMETs and their kind; That stands for Old Maid English Teachers--a type that actually exists, so don't come down on me in a landslide of objections. they were merciless and overwhelmingly smug. It did little good to point out that the device was more about "getting" than "having". I appealed to a couple of grammarians who supported the Brit usage, but the clamor erupted time to time for years.
And some people do not believe words are strong!
I think the library I go to in SE Wisconsin still has a photocopier where you
insert coins in a slot. I know I used it at least once in either 2020 or 2021.
I would say "If you don't have a card....". UK age 83. I also say shouldn't and shan't
thanks for all the info! i'm an american writing a cornish character for a story and watching your videos has been very helpful :D
Thanks, Lawrence! you're the second best uk export, after brown sauce. You're channel is delightful
I didn't know collective nouns are plural in England, "the jury is out" was the phrase used to show it as singular
I would say the jury are out, I grew up in London, now live in Australia.
My English, I would say "the jury's out" , so I guess it would be plural.
@@richardd1329 That is "jury is" which would be singular.
They're not plural per se. Very often (I would hazard to guess usually) you can use either form. Choosing either one doesn't change the substantive meaning of the phrase, but the choice can colour the perception of the thing in question.
"The government are a shambles" - brings to mind the collective group of individual politicians who actually form the government;
"The government is a shambles" - emphasises the concept of the government as monolithic institution.
Having said that there are occasions where one form or the other is so standard that the other one feels ungrammatical. The two examples that spring immediately to mind are sports teams as mentioned in the video and also music bands, both of which sound very wrong to British ears when North American speakers use the "is" form ("Manchester United is playing Liverpool", "Radiohead is headlining the festival"). They habitually take the "are" form for most British folk ("Manchester United are playing Liverpool", "Radiohead are headlining the festival").
I've long been fascinated as to where this division originated. English is a Germanic language with plenty of Latin influence, yet neither German nor Romance languages equate collective and plural nouns. It's sometimes amusing to watch football/soccer matches which pair announcers from different backgrounds, until the American starts mimicking the British one. Ugh! I'm never happy to hear the British version, but I happily accept they do things their way.
As an American editor, I have been waiting for standing and sitting. 😂 I actually thought someone made a mistake in their manuscript. 'I was sat' really threw me but I noticed it was a recurring theme. Let’s just say the author wasn't very happy with me. She told me it was a dialect thing and she wasn’t going to change it. I'm happy to know I was right. I told her to use it in dialogue and not narrative to be safe. She nicely told me to sod off! 😂 I am also a historical fiction writer and use 'shall and mayhap' a lot.
Oddly enough, there is a correct way to use "was sat" or "was stood" in "American" English: "The statue was stood back on it's base", would be one rendition. Or, using sat, "The statue was sat back on its bench", or whatever.
And I think that's why it sounds so odd and incorrect to United States people to use the British style is that there _is_ a proper place to use that version, but not like the British are using it.
I get a mental picture of a person standing stiffly and being picked up by someone else and placed in the yard or on the chair. Really makes me chuckle.
@@staceyschmidt3149, yes but this wasn’t the case. And she was using American English to gain a USA audience. And writing in present tense. However, I freaking loved the story. It was brilliant.
Wow, I have never encountered "mayhap" before. I suppose that reveals how much historical fiction I consume.
@@allendracabal0819, back then it was common and used instead of perhaps.
@@ladylisaromance8129 Thanks. And, yes, if your British author was specifically writing for an American audience, you were right to try to alter her words. I read the American versions of some of the Harry Potter books (published by Scholastic), and was surprised to see some expressions that slipped through, such as "taking the mickey".
Thank you for a most educational video. You have cleared up a great many things that have been weighing on my mind to the point I’ve been losing sleep. Again, much thanks.
Well said sir .
I keep hearing this from people over the pond. It's like they can't determine the difference between ground and floor or roof and ceiling. For instance, when your indoors it's a floor and a ceiling and when your outside it's the ground and the roof. This one gets me all the time. Where you born in a barn comes to mind when I hear that.