Grammar 101: Advice vs. Advise

The main difference between advice vs advise is that “advise” (with an S) is a verb, which means to recommend, or to give information to someone. On the other hand, “advice” (with a C) is a noun: an opinion or recommendation offered as a guide to action. Read below how you can use them in a sentence. 

Because “advice” (/ədˈvʌɪs/) and “advise” (/ədˈvʌɪz/) are words that sound alike or similar, they are often confused. Now, some tips on telling them apart.

Advice vs. Advise: the difference 

Advice 

• Is a noun: to give counsel to; offer an opinion or suggestion as worth following. When spoken, it rhymes with 'ice' [s].

Advise 

• Is a verb: an opinion or recommendation offered as a guide to action, conduct, etc. When spoken, it rhymes with 'realise' [z].

Advice vs. Advise: the definitions 

Advice 

• An opinion that someone offers you about what you should do or how you should act in a particular situation. It is an uncountable noun so we often use 'piece' to say 'a piece of advice'.

Advise 

• The act of giving someone advice (recommending, advising, counselling).

Advice vs. Advise: the synonyms 

Advice 

• Information, consultation, guidance, instruction, encouragement, suggestion, tip. 

Advise 

• Counsel, recommend, caution, direct, encourage, instruct, preach, urge. 

Advice vs. Advise: in a sentence 

Advice 

• It is best to get legal advice from your lawyer before you take any legal action. 

• The blog gives good advice for first home buyers. 

• My guidance counsellor gave me great advice when I was trying to decide if I should further my education after high school. 

• We bought the house on our real estate manager’s advice. 

Advise 

• Mary advised me to stop taking the medicine, as it does more harm than good. 

• Please advise her to stop smoking, as she refuses to listen to me. 

• My teacher advised us to revise our subjects regularly. 

• I advise my customers to sample the cookies before they buy them. 

Reference: Cambridge Dictionary 

Misspelled words often find their way into our world. So, that’s making it increasingly tough to know what is right and wrong. Let’s admit it, speaking can be deceiving, especially if it’s in a language that is not your mother tongue. That got us thinking and we decided to start our own “pronunciation” series and list the 50 most commonly mispronounced words. The list provides a good start to help you articulate and enunciate words correctly and may be a useful tool for your IELTS Speaking test.

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