“advice” and “advise” often confuse English students because they look very similar.
What is the difference between “advice” and “advise”? Find the answer in this lesson.
advice
“advice” is a noun. It is a thing or idea. It is not a verb. It is not an action.
Pronunciation: /ədˈvaɪs/ (the second syllable contains an “s” sound)
“advice” means a suggestion about what someone should do.
Examples:
I don’t know what to do. I need some advice.
My teacher gave me some advice for the exam.
“advice” is an uncountable noun in English. This is very important because it determines how we use it in a sentence.
I have another lesson about countable and uncountable nouns, but here is a quick summary of the characteristics of uncountable nouns:
We cannot count uncountable nouns.
Uncountable nouns are not separate objects or things.
Uncountable nouns only have a singular form.
We do not use “a” or “an” before an uncountable noun.
Examples:
I need an advice. 
I need some advices.
I need some advice. 
It is possible to make a countable sentence with the unit word “piece”:
He gave me 3 pieces of advice.
He gave me a piece of advice.
Here is the form of a common structure with “advice”:
to give / offer someone some advice
Examples:
I gave Jane some advice.
He offered Mark some advice for his job.
advise
“advise” is a verb. A verb is an action. “advise” is not a noun.
Pronunciation: /ədˈvaɪz/ (the second syllable contains a “z” sound. The pronunciation is different to “advice”. I suggest you watch and listen to the YouTube video at the end of this lesson to hear the difference.)
“advise” has 2 meanings:
advise – Meaning 1
Meaning: “to give advice” or “to make a suggestion to someone.”
The most common form is: advise someone + infinitive
Examples:
Mark advised Jane to go to New York.
The doctor advised me to rest.
I advised Mark to wash the car.
We also have the simpler form without a direct object:
advise + ing form
Example:
I advised washing the car.
(In this example, since there is no direct object, we are not specifying the person that we are advising. We would use this structure if it is obvious from the context or maybe not important.)
advise – Meaning 2
Meaning: “to inform somebody about something” or “to notify somebody about something” This second use is quite formal. We often see it in official announcements or in written English.
This meaning has 3 possible structures:
advise someone of something
Example:
The company has advised its customers of the price changes.
advise someone about something
Example:
The passengers have been advised about the delay.
advise someone that + clause
Example:
The customer advised me that he was going to be late.
Other English lessons
Countable and uncountable nouns | English grammar
How to express change in English
FOR and DURING – English prepositions
The present continuous tense in English
IELTS online course and writing corrections
Video lesson
I advise you to watch and listen to this lesson in order to hear the difference in pronunciation between the two words:
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