Advice or Advise: Understanding the Correct Usage

Advice and Advise — See the Difference

These two words look almost the same, but they do different jobs in a sentence. Look at these examples:

His advice helped me a lot. (noun — the thing he gave me)
He advised me to wait. (verb — the action he did)
Can you give me some advice? (noun — asking for the thing)
I would advise you to be careful. (verb — the action of helping)

Did you see the pattern? When you talk about the thing (the suggestion itself), use advice. When you talk about the action (giving the suggestion), use advise.

When to Use Advice and When to Use Advise

Use “advice” when you talk about the thing someone gives you:

• I need some advice about my job.
• Her advice was very helpful.
• The best advice I ever got was to be patient.

Use “advise” when someone does the action of helping:

• The teacher advised us to read every day.
• I would advise you to save your money.
• She advises people on health problems.

Easy way to remember: Look at the ending. Advice has “ice” in it — and ice is a thing (a noun). Advise ends with “-ise” — like “exercise” or “surprise” (doing words).

They also sound different. “Advice” ends with an “s” sound (like “ice”). “Advise” ends with a “z” sound (like “eyes”). Say them out loud — you will hear it.

Real-Life Examples With Advice and Advise

Here are sentences you might hear or use in everyday English:

• My mum always gives me good advice. (the suggestions she shares)
• The doctor advised her to drink more water. (the action the doctor did)
• Can I ask you for some advice? (asking for the thing)
• I would advise against eating that. (telling someone not to do it)
• His advice on cooking saved me so much time. (the suggestions about cooking)

You are doing great. Now let us look at the mistakes many learners make.

Three Mistakes to Avoid With Advice and Advise

Even advanced learners mix up advice and advise sometimes — so if you get confused, you are not alone.

How to remember: If you can replace the word with “help” or “a suggestion” (a thing), use advice. If you can replace it with “suggest” or “recommend” (an action), use advise.

You cannot say “advices” — the word “advice” does not have a plural form. Say “some advice”, “a lot of advice”, or “a piece of advice” instead.

Other word pairs like this: practice (noun) / practise (verb), licence (noun) / license (verb), device (noun) / devise (verb).

Test Yourself: Advice or Advise?

Choose the correct answer for each sentence. Click Check to see if you are right.

Keep Going — You Are Building Something

You just learned the difference between advice and advise. That is one more confusing word pair you will never mix up again.

English has many word pairs like this — words that look similar but mean different things. For example, do you know the difference between ensure, insure, and assure? They all seem to mean “make sure” — but each one is used in a different situation. Can you guess when to use each one?

Next lesson: Ensure, Insure, and Assure: Understanding the Differences

Source

Advice vs. Advise: How to Use Each — Merriam-Webster