Some of the problems faced by the learner of English arise from differences between British and American usage – and there are of course other varieties of English such as Australian and South African. I am British, and so therefore my advice and what I practise are based on British usage.
The last sentence above shows what I mean. In American usage, “practise” is commonly used in cases where British usage would be “practice”, but in British English both forms are used.
So what is the difference? Basically, the “-ice” ending indicates a noun, whereas “-ise” is used for a verb. I can advise you (verb) to take my advice (noun), which is to practise (verb) your English practice (noun). Think of “ice” as being a thing (i.e. a noun), so a word ending in “ice” will also be a noun.
But beware! This rule only applies in the very few cases where both word forms exist – I cannot actually think of any apart from the two mentioned above, can you? It is not the case that a word ending in “-ice” is always a noun (“entice” is a verb), and the “-ise” ending is also used in British English for some nouns, such as “exercise”, which can be either a noun or a verb – “keep exercising at those exercises!”
Feel free to offer a comment, perhaps to suggest a point that I could include in a future post. This post is the result of just such a comment.
If you would like my help in more general terms, such as to proofread/edit your longer pieces of English text, please visit my website at www.welfordwrites.co.uk
