Here’s a quick tip for a Monday morning.
There’s a simple way to remember whether to use practice or practise in a sentence.
As n (for the noun) comes before v (for verb) in the alphabet, so c comes before s, so if you need the noun form, use c, and if you want a verb, use s.
Examples:
It is his practice to rise early. (noun, a person place or thing)
She will practise for two hours on weekdays. (verb, an action word)
And, if you need an adjective, go with the noun form.
Example:
The cricket team headed for the practice nets. (adjective, a descriptor)
The same rule applies when using licence or license.
Example:
I have to renew my licence. (noun)
The state will license the facility to serve alcohol. (verb)
However, with defence, Australians and British English users differ from the Americans. We only use that one spelling, while US writers seem to have chosen to opt for the opposite, defense.
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I like the American spelling — practice and license. It doesn’t matter what part of speech you’re looking at, the spelling is the same.
Thanks for your comment, Laura. The difference is important if you have to follow style for a certain audience/publisher. If you get to dictate your own style, it’s totally up to you! There are a whole host of English words that are spelled differently, depending on which country you are in. You can catch up with some of these at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences) and Karen Bond’s webpage (http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/BritishCanadianAmerican.htm) Happy writing. Trina