Practise or Practice: English Common Mistake

What is the Difference Between Practise and Practice ?

Practise or Practice - The major difference between practise and practice is the usage when it comes to British and American English styles and grammar: verbs and nouns. These two words have basically the same meanings.

 

In American English, the word 'practice' is used both as a noun and verb. Meanwhile, in British English where 'practise' is used for the verbs, while the 'practice' for the nouns. With such a tendency, 'practice' is more often identified as the American variant, while 'practise' is more likely to be known as the British variant.

When Should I Use Practise or Practice ?

Practise

'Practise' is primarily defined as repeatedly engaging in an activity to become proficient at it. As we have mentioned above, Practise is a verb in American English. To make it simple, Practise is the act of doing something.

Examples: 

 
• She practises the piano everyday. 
• My mom practised as a doctor for 20 years. 
• I need to practise my Chinese. 

Practice

'Practice' refers to the repetitive exercise of a skill or activity to develop or maintain expertise in it. Practice is a noun in British English. Practice is the procedure of doing something.

Examples: 

 
• It’s a common practice to tip the waiter.
• I need more practice before I take the IELTS exam. 
• I go to baseball practice every day. 

How Can I Avoid Spelling Mistakes for ‘Practice’ and ‘Practise’ ?

Some students might think the definitions sound quite similar, sometimes it may lead to a confusion in terms of spelling and usage. To differentiate both properly, you can try to make a sentence with ‘ise’ and ‘ice’ , for instance, ‘Mary wants to practise her Chinese this week.’ In this sentence, ‘Practise’ could be substituted with other verbs, such as ‘learn’, and the sentence are understandable and make sence.

Remember to think of the rules which is extremely important for you to differentiate practise and practice are :

 

 The word 'ice ' is a noun. Thus, 'Best Practice', 'Practice Makes Perfect' is a noun.

The only difference between the practice and practise spellings is the ending /s/. You can implement the rule of C vs S spelling to other word pairs, such as Advice vs Advise.

Can I Use 'Practice' and 'Practise' in the Same Sentence ?

Yes ! You can definitely use both in the same sentence. From the perspective of the grammatical usage, using these two words in the same sentence will not causing any English grammatical error. In fact, it helps to elaborate more in the sentence and make it lively and deliver your thoughts.

Here is an example: 'You should practise your dance. Mastery comes with practice.'

Do You Know That ?

When compared with the frequency of its use in the printed media (books, magazines, articles, newspapers, etc.), the word 'practise' was more commonly used around the 1600s. As time goes by into the modern era, the frequency of its use is decreasing. This is different from the word 'practice' which was commonly used in the 1500s, and is coming along with the age advancement. The implication of those data states that the American variant (practice) is used more often than the British (practise). It is not so surprising, seeing the American is somehow simpler to use.