Unit 7.1

Words with alternative spelling

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Introduction

Words with alternative spelling are words that you can spell in two ways depending on where they are said: words are spelt differently in British and American English.

Form

These are the main type of words in British English (BR) that change when spelling them into American English (AM):

  • BR: Nouns ending in -tre ⇒ AM: Nouns ending in -ter
  • BR: Nouns ending in -ence ⇒ AM: Nouns ending in -ense
  • BR: Verbs ending in -ise ⇒ AM: Verbs ending in -ize
  • BR: Nouns ending in -our ⇒ AM: Nouns ending in -or
  • BR: Technical words still written as their originals in Latin that have double vowels: ‘ae’ or ‘oe’ ⇒ AM: Technical words in Latin without double vowels, just ‘e’
  • BR: Infinitives that double the last consonant to create other verb forms when they finish in: consonant + vowel + L ⇒ AM: Infinitive forms creating other verb forms maintaining just one ‘l’

Example

  • BR: -tre / AM: -ter
    • Br. centre, Am. center
    • Br. theatre, Am. theater
    • Br. metre, Am. meter
  • BR: -ence / AM: -ense
    • Br. licence, Am. license
    • Br. defence, Am. defense
    • Br. pretence, Am pretense
  • BR: –ise / AM: –ize
    • Br. organise, Am. organize
    • Br. customise, Am. customize
    • Br. realise, Am. realize
  • BR: –our / AM: –or
    • Br. honour, Am. honor
    • Br. colour, Am. color
    • Br. humour Am. humor
  • Technical words ⇒ BR: –ae- and –oe- / AM: -e- 
    • Br. leukaemia, Am. leukemia
    • Br. maneouvre, Am. maneuver
    • Br. paediatric, Am. pediatric
  • Infinitives to form other verb forms ⇒ BR: -ll- / AM: -l-
    • Br. cancelled, Am. canceled
    • Br. marvellous, Am. marvelous
    • Br. traveller, Am. traveler

Use

The words with alternative spelling in English will be used according to the place where one is speaking, either in America or in Britain.

Related

At A1  level you can take a look at these:

At B1 level you can take a look at these:

At B2 level you can take a look at these:

Exercises

External link to Words with alternative spelling exercises (1213).



More exercises

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