practice vs practise

[sunflower68]

My son's teacher gave him spellings this week. One word cropped up as 'practise'.
I know there are two ways of spelling it ( I use a c not an s) but which should mainly be used?? :{

[Buenchico]

This is similar to 'licence' and 'license'; it depends upon whether the word is used as a noun or a verb. In both cases, the 'c' form is correct for a noun, while the 's' form is used for a verb.

So, these are all correct (because a noun is used):
Target practice
Sharp practice
General practice
Practice makes perfect
(Similarly: TV licence, wedding licence, etc.)

However, these are also correct (because a verb is in use):
Practise what you preach
Practise the piano
(Similarly: "to license an event").

All of the above refers to British English.

US English uses the 'c' form of 'practice' for both noun and verb. (Perversely, Americans use the 's' form of 'license' for both noun and verb).

Chris

[kelbillug]

Us Americans also spell organise like organize and realise like realize. For someone like me who moved to the UK from the States...it's very bizarre to re-learn how to spell things! But I try to do as the British do, and use your spellings.

[sunflower68]

Thankyou both. I shamefacedly admit to getting these wrong.

[Muzz]

The way that I remember this is -
both words (practice and practise) sound the same, whether it is a noun or a verb.

So, think of 'advice' and 'advise'.

To give someone advice is a noun (compare to practice),
and to advise someone is a verb (compare to practise).
Hope this helps!

[dranoelikkin]

You might also like to check Webster's Dictionary which wll give the American spelling of many words.

Another thought is to check your spellchecker on MS Word which will tend to favour the American spelling particularly if you have not chosen UK English instead of the default U.S English when installing your MS Office.
Hope this is a little help on quite an interesting subject!
The interesting thing is whether the American spelling is acceptable in Britain as an alternate way of spelling a word!

[dranoelikkin]

just thought of something............isnt the description
"AMerican or U.S English" an oxymoron?

[XxHeatherxX]

Useful little test.

http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/practic e_lessons.htm