Here’s something we were talking about recently in my Facebook group for English learners.

Is it:

* practise or practice?

* advise or advice?

* license or licence?

* devise or device?

* prophesy or prophecy?

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Or are they both correct?

If so, what’s the difference?

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Answers:

In BRITISH ENGLISH, the rule is the same for all of these words.

Use C for a noun and S for a verb.

He is practising the piano. (verb)

Practice makes perfect! (noun)

What would you advise me to do? (verb)

Can you give me some advice?  (noun)

This restaurant is licensed to sell alcohol. (Verb - usually passive)

Do you have a driving licence? (noun)

They devised a clever plan. (verb)

Please turn off all electronic devices. (noun)

He prophesied that David would become king. (verb)

The prophecy was fulfilled when David became king. (noun)

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Note that “practice” and “practise” are pronounced the same way.

“Licence” and “license” also sound the same.

But in the other pairs of words, the pronunciation is different.

Rather than me trying to explain the pronunciation, look up the words in a good dictionary and you can hear the British and American pronunciation.

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In AMERICAN ENGLISH, if they sound the same, they are spelt the same too.

It’s always “practice” with a C, whether it’s a noun or a verb.

It’s always “license” with an S, whether it’s a noun or a verb.

But the other words are the same as in British English: S for a verb and C for a noun.