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[Biu]

My sister was composing a letter just yesterday, and at the end she wrote "please advise". When she asked me to go through the letter after she was done writing, I asked her shouldn't that be "please advice"?

She said no, she was trying to explain but I couldn't get it very well. Is there anyone who could explain better here?

I'm not a native.

[Ruthk]

Ok, here's the difference;

Advice is a noun while Advise is a verb.
It is an idea or a guidance given
It is articulated with an "s" sound toward the end

While

Advise is a verb, it is an act of giving an idea, viewpoint or opinion. At the end, it's articulated with a "z" sound even though it's not spelt "advize". However the proper way to pronounce it is "advize" while in writing or spelling it is written or spelt as "advise".

Example:
I asked for her advice

I would advise you to go there later today

So your sister was correct with "Please advise"

Hope this helps...

[Jaykap]

@Ruthk almost said it all, but to make it a bit clearer. Look at it this way...

We say please sit and not please seat

Why?

Sit is a verb
Seat is a noun

Same applies here,
Advice is a noun
Advise is a verb.

So you say "please advise".

[NukT]

Let's look at it from the examples below:

My boyfriend advised me to come to the beach with a jacket

I had to follow my boyfriend's advice knowing it's for my own good

You are free to swim in the ocean but I wouldn't advise it

My advice would be to stay at the ocean side and admire the beauty of nature.

You can pluralize "advise" but you can't pluralize "advice", instead you use certain units that can be pluralized e.g pieces of advice or words of advice. You can also say a word of advice.

[Biu]

Thanks guys, I get it now. The "sit and seat" example breaks it really down.