British English editing for Yanks

[Brian G Turner]

That's not correct. I read that sentence as saying that you walked into an empty room and sat at the table. Nobody else was involved.

We'd say this if someone seated you: "I walked into an empty room, and then suddenly a ghost appeared and sat me at the table."

I think the confusion is with "we were seated at the table." That could mean two things - a waitress seated you, or you just "were seated there" - as in, you hadn't immediately sat down; you'd been sitting for a period of time.

Yep, you're completely right. I got that confused - tinkerdan got it right:

I might read the British author::

He was sat at the table.

And what they would, in all likelihood, mean is that he was sitting at the table already and continuing to do so; but in my twisted American English I would immediately picture someone taking him to the table and forcing him to sit or perhaps just leading him there to sit.

In British English - certainly colloquially - it's common to perceive "was sat" as nothing more than past tense. Whereas in American English "was sat" strictly implies a third party acting upon the person sitting.

More of an explanation for this here:
BBC Learning English | Ask about English

 

[Ray McCarthy]

He was sat at the table.

I'd never use a phrase like that, it sounds odd.
He was sitting at the table.
He was seated at the table.
He sat at the table.

"was sat" sounds odd to me.

 

[sinister42]

This is definitely a BA vs EA thing - Yanks say "He was standing there drinking a beer" and you Brits would say "He was stood there drinking a lager." But Yanks might also say "He stood there drinking a beer," but it has a different meaning, kind of, maybe, or it doesn't.

An American sequence of events: "He was standing there drinking a beer. Suddenly, a monster appeared and ate his head." vs. "He stood there drinking his beer, contemplating the futility of existence." But then this also works: "He stood there drinking his beer. Suddenly, a monster appeared and ate his head." That sounds a little awkward. "He was standing there drinking his beer, contemplating the futility of existence" also works.

I don't know what my point is anymore.

Something else I've remarked on between BE and AE - we pluralize things differently:

BE: "Sport" vs AE: "Sports"
BE: "Maths" vs AE: "Math"

BE: "BP are paying a fine" - "Manchester United are doing well in the FA cup"
AE: "BP is paying a fine" - "Manchester United is doing well" but then "The Buccaneers are winning whatever it is that they'd win"

There are other examples.

 

[Kylara]

Maths isn't a plural though, it's a shortening of mathematics. The AE math is wrong on so many levels, the main one being you don't say mathematic.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

you Brits would say "He was stood there drinking a lager."

No, I don't think so.
"He was standing there drinking lager" (or Beer or Ale or Stout etc, not everyone drinks lager actually.)
Or "He stood there drinking <insert beverage>

Never "was stood"
You might knock over a beer or a lager

"He stood there drinking a lager" might suggest he's nursing the same one all night.

 

[HareBrain]

Never "was stood"

I say "was stood", "was sat" etc, and so do a lot of people I know.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

so do a lot of people I know

Probably a regional thing then?
Where is the girl with the spring when you need her?

My Granny used an interesting version of the Historic present when recounting conversations. But I never talked like her.

 

[Ursa major]

"BP are paying a fine" - "Manchester United are doing well in the FA cup"

Purely in a personal capacity, I think the first of those is not correct (which doesn't mean that I haven't ever said such a thing...). BP, the company, is paying a fine; the people who are part of the organisation are not paying a fine (although some, as a consequence, may lose out in terms of bonuses or, even, their jobs).

The second statement is correct** because the focus of that way of putting is on the players in the cup matches.


** - As is saying "Manchester United is doing well in the FA cup" because this focuses on the organisation. (Unlike with the BP example, both the club and the players, are doing well.)

 

[TheDustyZebra]

@The Judge needs to weigh in on this matter.

 

[The Judge]

It's not regional, it's bad grammar, ignorance and in the case of some people, sheer wilfulness.

I say "was stood", "was sat" etc, and so do a lot of people I know.

That's only because I'm not with you 100% of the time to beat it out of your speech in the same way I slap it out of your writing.

STOP DOING IT -- IT'S WRONG!

 

[Brian G Turner]

These look like good reference sites:

Spelling:

British and American spelling - Oxford Dictionaries

Terms:

British and American terms - Oxford Dictionaries (US)

Great links.

Here's a further question. How mixed is regional slang? For example, do you hear Londoners saying 'summat' and how widespread is 'innit'?

In Northern slang:

innit = isn't it (often used at the end of a sentence, ie "It's a bomb, innit?"
summat = something


I few notes for converting my British to American English from posts in this thread (avoiding obvious ones):

accomodation - accomodations
homely - homey
peg - clothespin
sledge - sled
waistcoat - vest
vest - undershirt

a member of staff - a member of the staff

towards/forwards/backwards - toward/forward/backward

prise - pry

whinge - whine/complain

 

[Dulahan]

As a guy from New Jersey I always laugh about the unnecessary U's yous use.


It does go both ways, I will occasionally listen to a radio play on Radio 4 (via an international radio station App on the phone) and I am always catching the Brits saying weird stuff as "Americans". A lot of the times the accent is vaguely american and then one of them says "Bin Lorry" instead of "Garbage Truck" which throws everything is out the window.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Well if you want a terrible American accent from a Brit, you can find no better an example than Idris Elba's captain in Prometheus! It's just horrible! (And I never knew why Finn had to speak with an American accent in TFA. I met him when he was young when I'd just started working with inner city kids, and he spoke London Street. Check out his voice in Attack the Block. That's what he really sounds like. altho I suspect most Americans will need a street slang subtitle for that film)

pH

 

[Dulahan]

@Phyrebrat I love Elba but YES, it was TERRIBLE! Actually, Star Wars is a good example of another thread we had talking about how they like giving British Accents to Villains. The Empire was nothing but British accents while Luke Skywalker was an 'awe shucks' Midwestern farm boy.

You know who NAILS an American Accent? Chiwetel Ejiofor. The movie Four Brothers has him as the main antagonist, a gangster named Victor Sweet. It was my first exposure to him and I would have bet money he is was Detroit.

(Strong Language!)

 

[Phyrebrat]

Chiwetel is outstanding. I love him. Even in 2012

pH

 

[ErikB]

To my mind spelling as well as certain catch phrases, words, and turn of expression seem more indicative of a UK/BE author.

Grey vs. gray. Colour vs. color. Etc.

Words certainly describe things differently between BE and AE. For example in the UK a plate of biscuits is what in the US would be a plate of cookies. Biscuits being a baked bread roll in America. Just as what an American would call a "bag of chips" a Brit might refer to as a "bag of crisps."

And sometimes its in those expressions or phrases that are more readily associated with the UK as opposed to American expressions.

BE;
Off with you. What's he on about? Did you get settled into your flat? I've had a bad day and just want to get pissed!

AE;
Go on now. What's up with him? Did you get moved in to your apartment? I've had a bad day and just want to get drunk!

I think combinations of these things are dead giveaways that an author might well be of UK origin, though who knows when some clever sod is just having a go at you?

 

[Phyrebrat]

Okay, so I have been writing about spinneys in my WIP but my Americanised setting doesn't recognise it.

Do Americans have another word for spinney? It's usually a little collection of trees, often standing on top of a small tump or hill. Imagine ten cress stems growing from the top of an egg for a visual...

Okay, perhaps not. Maybe a picture is better...

Thanks.

pH

 

[J-Sun]

That sounds pretty precise. I might call it a "copse" but that doesn't require a hill. Maybe there's an equally precise term that I don't know - I'm not a big vegetation guy.

Speaking of, is "tump" itself particularly English? - that's new to me but I'm not a big terrain guy, either.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I would agree with copse, and that it doesn't require a hill, so it's not as precise. Possibly thicket, with the same proviso. I don't think we have a name for one of those that is specifically on top of a hill.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Aha copse... I always thought that was a man-managed collection of trees. Also, the hill is an optional extra...

I shall have to check 'tump's' provenance but I think it's a barrow or a boil, like Donald...

pH