Advice vs Advise: pronunciation, meaning, examples, related words.

2
20401

giving advice

Have you ever gotten the two words ADVISE and ADVICE confused? Since they only differ by one letter and have similar meanings, knowing how to tell them apart can be tricky. But not to worry – the difference between them is quite simple.


PRONUNCIATION

To start, ADVISE and ADVICE are not pronounced the same way. If you see an S, pronounce it like the voiced [z] sound, as in BUZZ or LIES. If you see a C, on the other hand, pronounce it like the unvoiced [s] sound, as in BUS or LICE.


PARTS OF SPEECH

In addition, ADVICE is a noun, while ADVISE is a verb. For example, you could advise someone to do something, or you could give them advice. ADVICE means a suggestion, a recommendation, or guidance to do something specific.

If you’re friend is struggling in a relationship, maybe they could benefit from some relationship advice. To ADVISE somebody means to give them ADVICE. Perhaps your friend might appreciate it if you ADVISED them to take a certain course of action.

I gave him my word of ADVICE, not that he’s going to listen to me. (ADVICE = noun)

Driving under the influence certainly isn’t ADVISED, for obvious reasons. (ADVISE = verb)

Could I have some ADVICE about what to wear tonight? (ADVICE = noun)

My mother always tries to ADVISE me on things she knows nothing about. (ADVISE = verb)


ADVICE

Now that we’ve seen examples of each word, let’s look into them in more detail, starting with the word ADVICE.

There are certain verbs that you can use with ADVICE. For example, you can GIVE advice to someone else, RECEIVE advice from someone in return, or HAVE advice about something in general. If you want to do what the advice tells you to do, you can LISTEN TO or FOLLOW such advice.

  • Don’t listen to Maddie. She tends to GIVE very bad ADVICE.
  • There’s a difference between RECEIVING advice and actually FOLLOWING it.
  • Do you ever LISTEN to my advice?
  • I thought I had good ADVICE to give him, but it turns out I’m clueless about his situation.

The two prepositions mainly used with ADVICE are ON and ABOUT. These point to the topic that the advice pertains to. Meanwhile, you can use the preposition OF if you want to say whom the advice came from.

  • How does Jason have any ADVICE ABOUT love? He’s never been in a relationship!
  • I think I need some ADVICE ON how to study better for my classes. (Notice that you can follow this phrase with an indirect question. In this case, it begins with the word HOW.)

While you can use the word ADVICE by itself, it’s also common to use the phrase A WORD OF ADVICE, or A PIECE OF ADVICE. Both are used more or less interchangeably.

  • My friend gave me a decent PIECE OF ADVICE a while ago about life: If you’re not happy, it’s not worth it.
  • Any last WORD OF ADVICE before I head off for my interview?
  • A WORD OF ADVICE: If he brings up marriage, run.

Certain compound words can also be formed with the word ADVICE in order to indicate advice about a certain subject. Here are some common ones:

Relationship advice: I’m in desperate need of some RELATIONSHIP ADVICE right now. 

Life advice: If you could give your past self one word of LIFE ADVICE, what would it be?

Career advice: Shane told me he sometimes likes to go to a psychic for CAREER ADVICE.

Legal advice: If I end up going to court, I’m going to need some major LEGAL ADVICE.

Spiritual advice: A pastor may be good for SPIRITUAL ADVICE, but I would draw the line there.


ADVISE

Let’s move on to ADVISE, which is the verb form of ADVICE. You can either advise someone TO DO something, or advise them NOT TO DO something. The formula for this looks like this:

TO ADVISE + person + (NOT) TO DO…

I ADVISE you TO RESEARCH the position before you apply for it.

My coach ADVISED me NOT TO STRETCH before warming up.

What would you ADVISE me TO DO in this situation?

Alternatively, you could follow the word ADVISE with a subordinate clause beginning with the word THAT.

  • The mayor ADVISES THAT everyone stay indoors during the huge snowstorm this weekend.
  • I remember the teacher ADVISED THAT we read the textbook before coming into class.
  • Normally, I would ADVISE THAT you show up to work even when sick, but maybe you should stay home.

It’s also possible to indicate that people in general ADVISE something without naming who specifically is giving the advice. For this, it’s best to use the passive voice (i.e., TO BE + ADVISED)

  • It’s generally ADVISED not to drink while you’re on antibiotics.
  • This brand seems to be ADVISED especially for kids.
  • Is it ADVISED to show up to an interview in business casual?

If you want to indicate the general subject of the advice rather than what the advice is specifically, you can use ADVISE with the prepositions ON or ABOUT.

  • My counselor ADVISED me ON which majors were best suited for me.
    • As opposed to: My counselor advised me to become a biology major.
  • I feel like I’ve never been well ADVISED ABOUT anything related to money.
    • As opposed to: I feel like I’ve never been advised to save more and spend less.
  • Her parents have ADVISED her ABOUT picking boyfriends since she came out of the womb.

Finally, you can use the phrase ADVISE OF. However, this has more of a meaning of informing someone of something rather than giving them advice about something.

  • If you’re not sure what to do with your life, I can ADVISE you OF your choices, but I can’t make a decision for you.
  • He ADVISED her OF how long the flight would be to Asia, but she appeared undeterred.
  • My boss will ADVISE me OF the procedures for tasks twice before getting impatient.

RELATED WORDS

There are several words that are related to ADVICE and ADVISE. For example, an ADVISER (also spelled ADVISOR) is someone whose job it is to give people advice, especially in a school or college setting.

Meanwhile, an ADVISORY is a report or announcement detailing certain advice a person or group of people. The word ADVISORY can also be an adjective to describe something that pertains to advice.

A: I’m not sure what classes I should take next semester.
B: Really? Have you talked to your ADVISER about it?

  • Tonight, we’re holding an ADVISORY session for anyone looking for career advice.
  • There was a recent ADVISORY in the news not to travel to countries affected by the Zika virus.

More for you:
20 Keywords for Giving Advice and Making Suggestions
How to Speak English Fluently? 2 Unusual Tips – MyEnglishTeacher.eu
How to Learn English? 3 Unbelievable Advice You Can Implement


Subscribe
Notify of
guest
2 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Dinora Gazieva
Dinora Gazieva
Guest
5 years ago

It was really helpfull for me

Anastasia Koltai
Reply to  Dinora Gazieva
5 years ago

Thank you. Did you like the explanations or the examples more?