Of course, I was taught English in Britain - and the two nations are divided by a common language, as they say. The Brits have always been sticklers about matters of trivia, so I'm not surprised that it's not such a big deal here. Any country that encourages the use of a word like 'codswallop' (voted Britain's favorite word last year) can't be taken seriously. Frankly, I'm always shocked to hear Picard (Shakespearean actor that Patrick Stewart is) split an infinitive at the beginning of each episode.
I can completely appreciate the difference in English grammar from American to British. Even in college, I had to write differently for my British lit. professors than I did my American lit. ones. One set was clearly more traditional in terms of form requirements than the other. American English grammar is in a constant state of flux. Frankly, I find it more than a little annoying. I had to buy a new St. Martin's annually just to make sure I was teaching the most accurate grammar info that was out there.
Have you seen the version of 'A Christmas Carol' with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge? Not Shakespeare, admittedly, but it reveals something of the range of emotions that Stewart can evoke.
