The words "advice" and "advise" can sometimes be confused. They have different meanings and are different parts of speech, but there is a relationship between their usage. There's also just one letter different in their spelling, so it's easy to see how using the wrong one in your writing can be a common mistake. How can you easily tell the difference between advice and advise?
What's the Difference Between Advice and Advise?
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Defining Advice and Advise
The word advice is a noun. It means an opinion or recommendation that is offered as a course of action. Advice is pronounced with an ending sounding like "ice."
The word advise is used as a verb. It means to offer an opinion or suggestion, or formally provide information. Advise is pronounced with an ending sounding like "ize."
Using Advice and Advise in a Sentence
As these similarly meaning words are different parts of speech, the easiest way to tell the difference is to see some examples of advice and advise used in sentences:
Advice
As a noun, the word advice does not perform any action in the sentence. As a non-countable noun, you'll often see it after the word "some" or a possessive pronoun like "my:"
- You've done this before, please give me your advice.
- I need your advice on which car to buy.
- Her father gave them sound financial advice.
- She took my interview advice on board and got the job.
- Always get home improvement advice from an expert.
- What advice do you have for the first day of college?
- She always gives me advice on my relationships.
- My mom's advice was to always follow your dreams.
- He knows nothing about fashion, I never ask for his advice.
- Let me give you some advice, stay away from the edge of the cliff.
Advise
Advise is a verb, therefore, you will find it with the subject of the sentence performing the action of advising:
- I have to go to court and I need you to advise me in this matter.
- Please advise me on what to do when filling in this application.
- The teacher will advise the students of the risks before going on the field trip.
- I advise you to leave the bar before a fight breaks out.
- She had to advise the new staff on school safety procedures.
- If this is wrong, please advise me on the correct way to do it.
- I will advise the customer that the bill is past due.
- The young couple asked the realtor to advise them on which house to buy.
- If you ask, the boss will advise you on the best way to get it done.
- The doctor strongly advised him to quit smoking.
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Remembering Proper Usage
When the issue of advice vs. advise comes up a quick and easy tip to remember is that advise means to give advice. Some other tips to keep in mind regarding advice and advise are:
- Advice is the information or an opinion that you give or receive.
- Advise is what you do when you instruct or notify.
- If you need guidance, ask someone for advice on a matter.
- If you can give guidance, advise someone on a matter.
End the Confusion
Once you know which part of speech you need to use in a sentence, deciding on the correct word is quite simple. End the confusion by remembering that you always use advice as a noun and advise as a verb.