A guide to the differences between UK and US English

According to playwright George Bernard Shaw, the UK and the US are ‘two countries divided by a common language’. We may not need translators to converse, but you can save potential embarrassment or confusion by learning some of the writing differences.

Most UK-English speakers know that ‘colour’ (not ‘color’) and ‘centre’ (not ‘center’) are correct, but should it be ‘benefited’ or ‘benefitted’, ‘travelling’ or ‘traveling’, ‘recognise’ or ‘recognize’? You may not be able to rely on the spell check for the answer.

Our UK and US English guide reveals the main differences between our use of punctuation, grammar, some vocabulary and spelling. Use it to discover what to do when the rules are not clear cut.

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Author: Catie Holdridge

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Catie joined Emphasis with an English literature and creative writing degree and a keen interest in what makes language work. Having researched, written, commissioned and edited dozens of articles for the Emphasis blog, she now knows more about the intricacies of effective professional writing than she ever thought possible.

She produced and co-wrote our online training programme, The Complete Business Writer, and these days oversees all the Emphasis marketing efforts. And she keeps office repartee at a suitably literary level.