Advice or Advise | Difference, Meaning & Examples
Advice is a noun that refers to an opinion or suggestion that is given. It’s pronounced with an ‘s’ sound at the end.
Advise is a verb that refers to the act of giving an opinion or suggestion. It’s pronounced with a ‘z’ sound at the end (though it is never spelled ‘advize’).
If you advise someone, you are giving them advice. Someone who advises you is an adviser or advisor.
| Examples: ‘Advice’ in a sentence | Examples: ‘Advise’ in a sentence |
|---|---|
| It took a lot of courage to finally ask for her advice. | I would advise you to buy a raincoat before you travel to Ireland. |
| You always give advice, even when no one asks for it. | If you’re unsure of which citation style to follow, your supervisor can advise you. |
Please advise or please advice?
Please advise is commonly used as the closing to an email, as a general request for a response to a question or problem. ‘Please advice’ is incorrect – you need the verb here, not the noun. ‘Please advise’ can also be used in a sentence to make a more specific request.
Can you pluralise ‘advice’?
‘Advice’ is an uncountable noun, which means you can’t say ‘an advice’ or refer to multiple ‘advices’. Instead, it’s common to use expressions like ‘a word of advice’, or ‘two pieces of advice’.
- She gave me two pieces of sound advice.
- She gave me sound advice.
- She gave me sound advices.
Worksheet: Advise or advice
Test your knowledge of the difference between ‘advice’ and ‘advise’ by using our practice worksheet below. Fill in either ‘advice’ or ‘advise’ in each sentence.
- The architect ______ the builders against putting a wall there.
- Sometimes just listening is more important than offering ______.
- She gave me a word of ______ based on her experience.
- Please ______.
- Please ______ me on current travel restrictions.
- The architect advised/advises the builders against putting a wall there.
- Here, the verb ‘advise’, which means ‘give an opinion or suggestion’, is used. The past simple form of this verb is ‘advised’. The present form ‘advises’ would also fit here.
- Sometimes just listening is more important than offering advice.
- As you’re referring to the opinion or suggestion offered (not the act of offering it), the noun ‘advice’ is used.
- She gave me a word of advice, based on her experience.
- As ‘advice’ is an uncountable noun, it’s common to use an expression like ‘a word of advice’ to refer to a single instance of it.
- Please advise.
- ‘Please advise’ is commonly used to ask for a response at the end of an email.
- Please advise me on current travel restrictions.
- Here, the phrase ‘please advise’ takes a direct object: ‘me’.
Other interesting language articles
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Ryan, E. (2022, November 28). Advice or Advise | Difference, Meaning & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 11 November 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/frequently-confused-words/advice-or-advise/
