Practice or Practise?
What Is the Difference between "Practice" and "Practise"?
"Practice" and "practise" are easy to confuse if you're following UK writing conventions. ("Practise" is not used in the US.)For American English:
- Use "practice" for everything.
For British English:
Examples with "Practice" and "Practise"
These examples show how "practice" and "practise" are used in the UK and US:- Practice makes perfect. () () (Here, "practice" is a noun.)
- Shall I practice my handwriting? () ()
- Shall I practise my handwriting? () () (These two examples feature verbs.)
This infographic shows how "practice" and "practise" are used in the UK and US.
More about "Practice" and "Practise"
A Video Summary
Here is a short video summarizing the difference between "practice" and "practise." video lessonSome Help for Brits
Tricks To Spot "Practice" and "Practise"
If you're following UK writing conventions and you're unsure how to identify nouns and verbs, you can use the substitution tricks below.Example Sentences with "Practice" and "Practise"
Here, for the Brits, are some examples with "practice" and "practise."Example 1:
- You need more practice. (Here, "practice" is a noun.)
- You need more preparation. (This sounds okay. Therefore, "practice" is correct. NB: "Preparation" and "practice" are both nouns.)
- You should practise more. (Here, "practice" is a verb.)
- You should prepare more. (This sounds okay. Therefore, "practise" is correct. NB: "Prepare" and "practise" are both verbs.)
- They practice in the office for 10 weeks before being sent into the real world.
- They prepare in the office for 10 weeks before being sent into the real world. (You haven't used "preparation," so "practice" must be wrong. It should be "practise" because "prepare" sounds okay.)
- Keep practising that stroke until the whistle blast.
- Keep preparing that stroke until the whistle blast. (This sounds okay. Therefore, "practising" is correct. NB: "Preparing" and "practising" are both formed from verbs.)
A Wrong Example from a Magazine
As this came from a British publication, it should say "practises" not "practices."(And, yeah, it's not his best side!)
"Practicing" and "Practiced" Do Not Exist in British English
In the UK, there should be no confusion with "practising" or "practised" as these are words formed from the verb "to practise." In other words, for Brits, the words "practicing" and "practiced" do not exist. Look at this example:- I must keep practicing that accent. () ()
The Differences between British English and American English
Watch a video showing 10 big differences between British English (BrE) and American English (AmE). video lessonAre you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos.
Learning Resources
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