Difference between revisions of "Practice - practise"
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There is a similar variation with 'advice' or 'advise'. These two are ''not'' homophones, so you can hear which you mean. "The Supervisor '''advi<big>s</big>ed''' his student to change the focus of his Thesis", it may seem obvious to a British mother-tongue speaker of English, is better than "The Supervisor '''<s>advi<big>c</big>ed</s>''' his student to change the focus of his Thesis". The sound of the first [[sibilant]] is self-evidently [[voice (phonetic)|voiced]], like a '-z-', while that of the second is [[unvoiced]]. | There is a similar variation with 'advice' or 'advise'. These two are ''not'' homophones, so you can hear which you mean. "The Supervisor '''advi<big>s</big>ed''' his student to change the focus of his Thesis", it may seem obvious to a British mother-tongue speaker of English, is better than "The Supervisor '''<s>advi<big>c</big>ed</s>''' his student to change the focus of his Thesis". The sound of the first [[sibilant]] is self-evidently [[voice (phonetic)|voiced]], like a '-z-', while that of the second is [[unvoiced]]. | ||
| − | ::''Note'': In American English, | + | ::''Note'': In American English, the pair practice/practise does not exist. The word is usually spelled '''practi<big>c</big>e''', whether noun or verb. |
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| − | + | ||
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| + | ::You may also like to see [[licence - license]] | ||
[[category:homophones]] | [[category:homophones]] | ||
[[category:spelling common errors]] | [[category:spelling common errors]] | ||
[[category:verbs]] | [[category:verbs]] | ||
Revision as of 16:12, 11 October 2008
Practice and practise are two often-confused homophones, closely related in meaning.
- A practice is a noun – something that you do, e.g. “there is a football practice tonightâ€; “I did 5 hours piano practice yesterdayâ€; “my usual practice is to warm up for five minutes firstâ€; “she is in General Practiceâ€. (If you can say “a practice†in your sentence, then it is practice.)
- To practise is a verb – to do something, e.g. “I practised my vocabulary last nightâ€; “he practised his speech in front of a mirror.â€
There is a similar variation with 'advice' or 'advise'. These two are not homophones, so you can hear which you mean. "The Supervisor advised his student to change the focus of his Thesis", it may seem obvious to a British mother-tongue speaker of English, is better than "The Supervisor adviced his student to change the focus of his Thesis". The sound of the first sibilant is self-evidently voiced, like a '-z-', while that of the second is unvoiced.
- Note: In American English, the pair practice/practise does not exist. The word is usually spelled practice, whether noun or verb.
- You may also like to see licence - license
