English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)

Articles and Regional Preference

I got *into a conversation* with my boss (standard; American).
I got *into conversation* with my boss yesterday (standard; British).

My friend has *a backache* (standard; American).
My friend has *backache* (standard; British).

I’ve got *the flu* (standard; American).
I’ve got *flu* (standard, British).

While this may not be a hard and fast rule, it matters if one cares about finesse in language use.
GAB