4/25/07

practise doesn't make you perfect

practice does.

this has got to rank as one of the most frequent spelling mistakes of all time. i learnt long ago, thanks to norman lewis, that practice is the noun form while practise is the verb. the english language is strange, truly, but while we're using it, we might as well use it right!

3 comments:

amrith said...

wow, you learn something new every day. also, it turns out this is one of those british/american things. only british english makes the distinction between the two forms.

at least this explains why i've seen both spellings so often. this is one of those words where i've always had trouble remembering which is the right spelling (a la 8&20's comment on 'the mahabharata'). hopefully i'll get it right from now on :)

8&20 said...

amrith - thanks for the info. i tend to stay blissfully ignorant of all "americanisms" of english.

there are other examples as well - of verb and noun being spelt/pronounced differently.

Nikhil said...

i totally knew this one - and i agree that its one of the most common mistakes. another is affect vs. effect....