Do you speak British or American English?

Maybe English is not your first language. Or maybe it is. If it is not, you are probably speaking some kind of mix between British English (BE) and American English (AE). Even if English is your first language, you might have picked up something from the other side of the sea.

This test will determine whether your English is mostly British or mostly American. It will also determine how good your English knowledge is apart from differences between BE and AE.

Some questions have one suggested answer which is right in BE and another one which is right in AE and the other suggested answers (if there are more than two) are wrong in both BE and AE. Other questions have one suggested answer which is right in both BE and AE and the other suggested answers are always wrong.

If you want, you can do this test once, and just answer what you think is right, or you can do it twice, and try to give the right answers for BE the first time, and try to give the right answers for AE the second time.

The right answers will be added to this site one day.





1. When you say “dark,” do you say R?

A. Yes.

B. No, it is mute.



2. When you say “All dark castles,” you say A three times. Two of the times you pronounce A the same way but once you pronounce it differently. Which A is different from the other two?

A. The A in “all.”

B. The A in “dark.”

C. The A in “castles.”



3. What is “blue”?

A. A color.

B. A colour.

C. A coulor.

D. A coulour.

E. An color.

F. An colour.

G. An coulor.

H. An coulour.



4. What is “A plant or plant part valued for its medicinal, savoury, or aromatic qualities?”

A. A herb.

B. An herb.



5. What can you say if you want people to know you are a carpenter?

A. “I work like a carpenter.”

B. “I work as a carpenter.”



6. What is chocolate?

A. A kind of sweets.

B. A kind of candy.



7. What do you ask for when you have eaten at a restaurant?

A. The check.

B. The bill.



8. What can you have in your windows?

A. Blinds.

B. Window shades.



9. When you say “writer,” how do you pronounce the t?

A. With a t-sound.

B. With a d-sound.



10. If you have failed with something because you have a fever, what can you say to explain this?

A. “My failure depended on my fever.”

B. “My failure was due to my fever.”



11. When you say “new,” do you have a j-sound in it?

A. Yes.

B. No.



12. Is it mostly women who use purses?

A. Yes.

B. No. Both sexes need purses.



13. If you take a few days off, and go to a resort, what do you call it?

A. Holiday.

B. Vacation.

C. One can call it “holiday” or “vacation.”



14. What can you use to be able to see tv?

A. A satellite dish.

B. A parabolic aerial.



15. Do people scream with joy or out of joy?

A. With joy.

B. Out of joy.



16. What do you use to drive a car?

A. Benzene.

B. Petrol.

C. Gasoline.



17. If you want to come to the 20th floor in a building, and you do not want to walk, what do you use?

A. The lift.

B. The elevator.



18. What can you eat with hamburgers?

A. Chips.

B. French fries.



19. What do you do if you blame someone?

A. Criticize him or her.

B. Criticise him or her.



20. Which of the following sentences is correct?

A. “I told we should have waited.”

B. “I told him we should have waited.”

C. “I told to him we should have waited.”



21. How do you pronounce the word “advertisement?”

A. Pronounce the A like the A in “bad,” pronounce the I like the I in “big,” and stress the A and the I.

B. Pronounce the A like the A in “bad,” pronounce the I like the I in “big,” and stress the first E.

C. Pronounce the A like the A in “bad,” pronounce the I like the Y in “fly,” and stress the A and the I.

D. Pronounce the A like the U in “murder,” pronounce the I like the Y in “fly,” and stress the first E.

E. Pronounce the A like the U in “murder,” pronounce the I like the I in “big,” and stress the A and the I.

F. Pronounce the A like the U in “murder,” pronounce the I like the I in “big,” and stress the first E.

G. Pronounce the A like the U in “murder,” pronounce the I like the Y in “fly,” and stress the A and the I.

H. Pronounce the A like the U in “murder,” pronounce the I like the Y in “fly,” and stress the first E.



22. How do you pronounce the U in “hurry?”

A. Like the U in “duck.”

B. Like the U in “murder.”



23. When you say “lieutenant,” do you have an f-sound in it?

A. Yes.

B. No.



24. When you say “leaflet,” do you say F?

A. Yes.

B. No, it is mute.



25. When you say “busy,” how do you pronounce the s?

A. With an s-sound.

B. With a z-sound.



26. What do you use when you are in a forest and want to call someone?

A. A cell phone.

B. A mobile phone.



27. Does this rhyme?:

“Translator,

you are a traitor!”

A. Yes.

B. No.



28. Does this rhyme?:

“Five little soldier boys were going in for law.

One got in chancery and then there were four.”

A. Yes.

B. No.



29. Does this rhyme?:

“Work smarter,

not harder.”

A. Yes.

B. No.



30. Does this rhyme?:

“The first book was thick,

the second book was black.”

A. Yes.

B. No.



31. Does this rhyme?:

“I am excited.

I can not hide it.”

A. Yes.

B. No.



32. How do you pronounce the A in patronise?

A. Like the A in “take.”

B. Like the A in “back.”



33. What is the difference between “teach” and “learn?”

A. The same as between “do” and “make.”

B. The same as between “lend” and “borrow.”



34. What do you usually find in a modern class room?

A. A whiteboard.

B. A chalkboard.



35. How much is 400,000 ppm?

A. 40 per cent.

B. 40 percent.



36. Which of the following sentences is grammatically wrong?

A. I dig a good well.

B. I dig a well good.

C. I dig a well well.



37. If your son is born 010203, in which month is he born?

A. January.

B. February.

C. March.



38. What is the plural of “program?”

A. Programs.

B. Programmes.



39. Which of the following sentences is correct?

A. “I wish he was a girl.”

B. “I wish he were a girl.”



40. What can you see at a cinema?

A. Films.

B. Movies.



41. How do you pronounce the I in “anti?”

A. Like the Y in “fly.”

B. Like the I in “big.”



42. Which of the following sentences is correct?

A. “I live in sunny California.”

B. “I live in the sunny California.”



43. Do you pronounce “which” exactly the same way as you pronounce “witch?”

A. Yes.

B. No.



44. Do you pronounce “Shaw” exactly the same way as you pronounce “sure?”

A. Yes.

B. No.



45. If you find a text written in a language you do not understand, and you ask a guy to translate for you, and he does, what do you do?

A. Let him translate it.

B. Have him translate it.

C. Make him translate it.



46. If there are only 5 persons in New York right now, what could you say?

A. There are few people in New York right now.

B. There are little people in New York right now.