Britain ( always capitalized ) means England, or, more specifically, the island that contains England, Scotland, and Wales--
England, Scotland, and Wales are called Great Britain.
Arthur was once the king of Britain.
Briton ( always capitalized ) means a British subject; someone who lives in or who comes from England--
Yes, a Briton is a foreigner in the United States, although we speak the same language.
You can tell by his accent that he's a Briton.
Now that you know that, you can say--
"He's a Briton, and sometimes gets homesick for Britain."
Note--"Britons" is the plural ( more than one ) of "Briton", meaning a British subject; someone who lives in or comes from England--
They are Britons; that's why they sound strange.
Note # 2--"Britons" may also mean one of the ancient tribes that once inhabited what is now England--
England was inhabited by several different tribes of people--the Angles, Britons, Picts, and Jutes were there when the Romans came.
Note # 3--"Briton's" is the possessive ( belonging to ) form of "Briton", meaning a Britsh subject or an inhabitant of England--
He has a Canadian's manners, but a Briton's accent; he has lived in both countries.
"Briton's" may also be a contraction of "Briton is"--
This Briton's too homesick to stay much longer.
The possessive form of "Britons" ( more than one ) is "Britons' "--
The Britons' territory now includes all of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Note # 4--"Britain's" is the possessive ( belonging to ) form of "Britain", meaning England--
Elizabeth is Britain's queen.
"Britain's " may also be a contraction of "Britain is "--
Britain's going to discuss that with the United States ambassador.
Words that sound the same when we speak may actually be two different words--which matters when we write them down. Spellcheck cannot help with this--it will show each word and the writer has to choose--to disambiguate them, if you will. I intend to update this daily, with another set of words it is possible to confuse, beginning with the simplest and most important. Questions and comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label Britons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Britons. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
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