Word Choice – Advice or Advise

A BizWritingTip reader wrote: “A colleague and I are trying to decide what is the appropriate use of the words advice and advise.

When signing off on an email, that required a response, my colleague used the term “Please advise” to which he got a grammar error (green squiggly line).

Could you please clarify this for us?

BizWritingTip response:

Advice is a noun and means “words offered as an opinion or recommendation.”

Correct Example

Because of her experience, the manager will give you good advice.

Advise is a verb meaning “to give advice to.” It is usually followed by of or a that phrase.

Correct

She advised him that the project needed funding.

She advised him of the need for additional funding.

In your case, although the statement is an abrupt short form, grammatically it is correct: Please advise.

You will, however, get a green wavy line. A green wavy line indicates a possible grammar error. The program has looked for another word (e.g. of, or that) after advise. It can’t find it, so it is wondering if you meant to type the noun advice.

In my experience, writers often make a change in their document because they see the green line. They don’t stop to think. On several occasions, I have seen writers change a correct expression to a wrong one.

Grammar checks are not perfect. Writers must still rely on their own knowledge for the final edit.