Advice is a noun: an opinion about what someone should do. Advise is the verb: to give that opinion. They are easy to tell apart when spoken: advice ends with an s sound, like nice, while advise ends with a z sound, like size. Both are stressed on the second syllable. In formal texts, advise often means to recommend.
advice or advise — can you pick the right one?
Pick a word and write a sentence — we'll check right away that it fits the meaning and explain any mistakes.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
some / a piece of advice; give advice on + topic; advise + person + to + verb; advise against + -ing
- My tutor gave me some useful advice on how to plan my essays.
- The doctor advised me to take a few days off work.
- Our guide advised against swimming after dark because of the strong currents.
What changed
First versionCan you give me an advice about my CV?
RevisionCan you give me some advice about my CV?
It is tempting to treat advice as something you can count, one tip at a time. But in English advice is uncountable, like information or news, so it never takes an and has no plural form advices. For a single tip, say some advice or a piece of advice.
In notices, advise means that something is recommended: Passengers are advised to arrive two hours early. To tell someone not to do something, use advise against: I'd advise against booking the cheapest hotel. And to ask for advice, you can say: Can I ask your advice?
Your turn
My older sister always gives me good ___ about money.
Show the answer
advice — Your sister gives you something, and good comes before the gap, so you need a noun: advice. Advise is a verb and cannot follow good.
Describe a useful piece of advice you got before a job interview, an exam or a trip. Say who gave it to you and report the advice itself with advise + person + to + verb.
Before my first job interview, my friend advised me to research the company, and it was the best advice I got.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.