british-english

name	british-english
description	Use when writing content for British audiences, UK organisations, or when the user requests British English. Triggers include UK spelling corrections, requests for British style, GOV.UK content, or Commonwealth audience writing.

British English

Conventions for writing in British English, as distinct from American English. Follow these rules consistently throughout a document.

Spelling

-ise not -ize

Use -ise endings (the dominant British convention outside Oxford University Press):

organise, realise, recognise, apologise, specialise, summarise, emphasise, authorise, categorise, prioritise, criticise, customise, finalise, minimise, optimise, standardise, sympathise, visualise

Exception: -yse is always British (never -yze): analyse, paralyse, breathalyse, catalyse

-our not -or

colour, favour, honour, humour, labour, behaviour, neighbour, glamour, odour, rigour, valour, flavour, harbour, vapour, savour, endeavour

-re not -er

centre, fibre, theatre, metre, litre, lustre, sombre, sabre, calibre, manoeuvre, spectre, reconnoitre

-ence/-ence not -ense

defence, offence, pretence, licence (noun) / license (verb), practice (noun) / practise (verb)

Remember: noun = c, verb = s. "The doctor's practice. She practises medicine. A driving licence. You are licensed to drive."

-ogue not -og

catalogue, dialogue, monologue, analogue, prologue, epilogue, travelogue

Doubled consonants

British doubles the final consonant before suffixes regardless of stress:

travelled, travelling, traveller, cancelled, cancelling, modelled, modelling, labelled, labelling, counselled, counselling, marvellous, signalling, worshipped, jewellery, fulfilled, skilful, wilful, enrol, instalment

Programme vs program

• programme = broadcast, event, plan, schedule
• program = computer software only

Other British spellings

aluminium, aeroplane, grey, tyre, mould, plough, sulphur, pyjamas, cheque (bank), draught (beer/air), kerb (road edge), storey (of a building), sceptic, artefact, mediaeval (though medieval also accepted), annexe (noun), furore

Punctuation

Quotation marks

• Single quotes for primary quotations: 'like this'
• Double quotes for quotes within quotes: 'He said "hello" and left'

Logical punctuation

Place commas and full stops outside quotation marks unless they are part of the quoted material:

• The minister called the proposal 'absurd'.
• She asked, 'What time is it?' (question mark is part of the quote)
• 'I shall return,' he said. (comma is part of the quoted speech)

Oxford comma

Optional in British English. Generally omit unless needed to prevent ambiguity:

• "red, white and blue" (standard)
• "my parents, the Queen, and the Prime Minister" (needed to avoid implying your parents are the Queen and PM)

Dashes

Use spaced en dashes for parenthetical statements:

• "The policy -- introduced last year -- has been revised." (spaced en dash)

Vocabulary

British	American
boot	trunk
bonnet	hood
windscreen	windshield
lorry	truck
petrol	gas/gasoline
motorway	freeway/highway
pavement	sidewalk
car park	parking lot
number plate	license plate
flat	apartment
ground floor	first floor
first floor	second floor
lift	elevator
torch	flashlight
wardrobe	closet
cooker	stove
bin	trash can
rubbish	garbage/trash
garden	yard
post	mail
postbox	mailbox
postcode	zip code
mobile (phone)	cell phone
maths	math
full stop	period
university	college (casual)
term	semester
head teacher	principal
marks	grades
revision	review (studying)
biscuit	cookie
crisps	potato chips
chips	French fries
aubergine	eggplant
courgette	zucchini
coriander	cilantro
sweets	candy
fizzy drink	soda
takeaway	takeout
queue	line
holiday	vacation

Dates and Times

• Day-Month-Year: 15 March 2026 or 15/03/2026
• No comma between month and year
• 24-hour clock in formal writing: 14:30
• 12-hour clock with lowercase: 2.30pm (note: full stop not colon, no space before am/pm)

Grammar

Collective nouns as plural

When emphasising the individuals in a group, use plural verbs:

• "The government are divided on this issue."
• "The team are playing well."
• "The committee have decided."

Singular is also acceptable when the group acts as a unit: "The company is based in London."

Got not gotten

• "I've got a new car." (possession — standard British)
• "She's got better at it." (become — standard British)
• Never use "gotten" — it's American.

Shall vs will

• Shall for first-person offers and suggestions: "Shall I open the window?" "Shall we go?"
• Will for simple future: "I will be there at three."
• In formal/legal writing, "shall" indicates obligation (though "must" is increasingly preferred).

Past participles — irregular forms preferred

learnt, dreamt, burnt, spoilt, smelt, spelt, knelt, leant (not learned, dreamed, burned, etc. — though both accepted)

Prepositions

• "at the weekend" (not "on the weekend")
• "in hospital" (not "in the hospital")
• "at university" (not "in college")
• "different from" or "different to" (not "different than")
• "fill in a form" (not "fill out")
• "write to someone" (not "write someone")

Present perfect for recent events

• "I've just eaten." (not "I just ate.")
• "Have you seen it?" (not "Did you see it?" — for recent events)

Needn't

"You needn't worry." is standard British alongside "You don't need to worry."

Measurements

Metric is official, but imperial persists in specific contexts:

• Miles for road distances and speed (mph)
• Feet and inches for human height
• Stones and pounds for body weight (1 stone = 14 pounds)
• Pints for beer, cider, and milk
• Celsius for temperature
• Kilograms for other weights
• Litres for fuel (but miles per gallon for economy)
• A4 paper (210 x 297mm), not Letter size

Currency

• Pound sign before the figure: £50, £1,200
• Pence with p: 50p
• No space between symbol and number
• "Per cent" as two words when spelled out; % symbol with no space: 10%

Authoritative Sources

• New Oxford Style Manual (Oxford University Press)
• Guardian and Observer Style Guide
• Cambridge Guide to English Usage
• Fowler's Modern English Usage
• GOV.UK Style Guide