<![CDATA[Some clarifications needed on certain words]]>Can some English experts enlightened me on the following English words and their usage, please?


These are words commonly seen in forums.

Advise Needed
Shouldn't it be Advice Needed instead? I have always thought of advise as a verb. Or is this another British English vs American English? :?


At a lost

Thought it should be \"At a loss\" ?



TIA! πŸ˜„

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/topic/5213/some-clarifications-needed-on-certain-wordsRSS for NodeSun, 27 Sep 2026 17:19:35 GMTWed, 26 Aug 2009 15:20:26 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:19:07 GMT]]>[quote] checked with a friend who moved to USA and she has worked in a US MNC for many years, even in Singapore. She confirmed that she has always been using \"advise\" instead of \"advice\" all these years though she never realised the difference between the American and British versions.
[/quote]Nah... I was in the dark all this while. But I simply don't understand why my notebook simply rejects the word advise. Now that I know, I'll stick to the proper term.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54661https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54661Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:19:07 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:16:26 GMT]]>I found this on the web.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

Thought it is useful to check out the differences.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54660https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54660Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:16:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:43:30 GMT]]>

3Boys:


Bath can both be a noun and a verb.
Yup, it's correct but I think it's only applicable in British English.

Look http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bath

From BBC English Dictionary -

When you bath a child or other person, you wash them in a bath.

Eg. She will show you how to bath the baby.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54332https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54332Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:43:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:38:49 GMT]]>

EN:
Hello Chamonix


I'm not an expert but here's the answer to your questions.

Advise versus Advice

It's the British English vs American English again. British English uses advise while American English uses advice.
Hi En,
Advise is a verb and advice is a noun. Used in both British and American Eng.
Eg: I would advise him to follow his teacher's advice.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54307https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54307Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:38:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:46:45 GMT]]>

3Boys:
Bath can both be a noun and a verb. \"I am going to bath\" is grammatically correct and has the same meaning as \"I am going to bathe\".

I beg to differ.

I only see \"I am going to bath\" as correct if:
1. I am going to Bath (place name).
2. I am going to a bath (public bathhouse).

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54282https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54282Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:46:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:43:16 GMT]]>

acforfamily:
Hi experts,

how about \"Bath\" vs \"Bathe\". I have seen on TV's subtitles quite a few times
\"going to bath now\"
I thought it should be \"going to take a bath now\" or \"going to bathe now\"
Bath can both be a noun and a verb. \"I am going to bath\" is grammatically correct and has the same meaning as \"I am going to bathe\".

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54251https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54251Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:43:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:02:44 GMT]]>Hi all,


Thanks for sharing.

I tried looking up 2 dictionaries, unfortunately both are British version.

For BE, advice is a noun while advise is a verb. Therefore,

They want advice on how to do it. (right)
They want advise on how to do it. (wrong)

He had written to the King to advise him of the judge's concerns. (right)
He had written to the King to advice him of the judge's concerns. (wrong)

Tried searching on the internet dictionaries, and all entries suggest the same as BE version.

Perhaps the confusion has come about because of practice vs practise?

In BE, practice is a noun while practise is a verb.

But in AE, practice is used both as a noun and a verb (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/practise).

Hope this helps. πŸ˜„

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54240https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54240Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:02:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:39:57 GMT]]>

EN:
[quote]I'm not familiar with the first case. Guess I'll check with friends/relatives in USA first.

I work with US MNC. Orientation needs to sit for English class. I remember the trainer touch on advise / advice, hence my reply. My laptop is set by IT to use American English. It will not recognize advise & will self correct it as advice. But.... there's always room for improvement. Everyday is a learning experience. So with Sashimi answer, it sets me thinking, is the company trainer not teaching the right stuff?[/quote]I checked with a friend who moved to USA and she has worked in a US MNC for many years, even in Singapore. She confirmed that she has always been using \"advise\" instead of \"advice\" all these years though she never realised the difference between the American and British versions.

Strange, how come it doesn't concur with EN's explanation? :?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54197https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54197Fri, 28 Aug 2009 01:39:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:14:23 GMT]]>

acforfamily:
I thought it should be \"going to take a bath now\" or \"going to bathe now\"

you are right...bath is the noun and bathe is the verb so it should be \"going to bathe now\"...mebbe it was a typo. Saw that once and DD1 spotted it and guffaws followed!!! πŸ˜›

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54045https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54045Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:14:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:12:01 GMT]]>Hi experts,

how about "Bath" vs "Bathe". I have seen on TV’s subtitles quite a few times
"going to bath now"
I thought it should be "going to take a bath now" or "going to bathe now"

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54044https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54044Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:12:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:04:11 GMT]]>Andaiz! You and EN cud be colleagues

for all you know! :shock:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54039https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54039Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:04:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:59:46 GMT]]>

EN:

I work with US MNC.
me too!
EN:
My laptop is set by IT to use American English. It will not recognize advise & will self correct it as advice. But.... there's always room for improvement. Everyday is a learning experience. So with Sashimi answer, it sets me thinking, is the company trainer not teaching the right stuff?
For advice and advise, I concur with Sashimi, it's a noun and verb thingy.

However, there are other US vs UK English
e.g., prioritise vs prioritize ;
standardise vs standardize;

that's just the spelling...pronounciation confuses me tremendously too:
- route (pronounced \"RAU-T\" vs \"ROOT\") ;
- processes (pronounced \"PRO-CESS-SEAS\" vs \"PRO-SES-CERS\")


Then there's this date thingy MMDDYY vs DDMMYY that we grew up with (previous UK territory mah!) :stupid:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54037https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54037Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:59:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:06:11 GMT]]>[quote]I'm not familiar with the first case. Guess I'll check with friends/relatives in USA first. [/quote]
I work with US MNC. Orientation needs to sit for English class. I remember the trainer touch on advise / advice, hence my reply. My laptop is set by IT to use American English. It will not recognize advise & will self correct it as advice. But.... there's always room for improvement. Everyday is a learning experience. So with Sashimi answer, it sets me thinking, is the company trainer not teaching the right stuff?


As for \"at a loss for words\" Shashimi is correct. I was a business student, so when I see the word loss, I always think of dollars and cent. keke.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54023https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54023Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:06:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:16:49 GMT]]>Advice = the actual advice given. I.e. it's a noun.


\"I offer you my advice.\" = \"I offer to advise you.\"

Advise = the act of giving advice. I.e. it's a verb.

\"I'm at a loss for words\" = don't know what to say, in a state of helplessness.

I'm pretty sure there is no such phrase as \"at a lost\" - I'm afraid that's a Singlish corruption of \"at a loss\"! πŸ™‚

But yes \"at a loss\" can also refer to negative profit, eg. \"I sold my car at a loss (of $15000).\"

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54005https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/54005Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:16:49 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:03:06 GMT]]>

EN:
Hello Chamonix


I'm not an expert but here's the answer to your questions.

Advise versus Advice

It's the British English vs American English again. British English uses advise while American English uses advice.

As for using lost and loss, it depends on the context of the sentence constructed.

At a lost - missing, not knowing, not used to one's advantage
At a loss - the antonym (opposite) of profit
I'm not familiar with the first case. Guess I'll check with friends/relatives in USA first.

As for the second case, for both, it should be \"at a loss\". Never heard of \"at a lost\". (Loss = noun; Lost = Verb/Adjective)

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/53996https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/53996Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:03:06 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:01:09 GMT]]>I go with 3Boys on this. πŸ™‚

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/53995https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/53995Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:01:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:14:21 GMT]]>Hello Chamonix


I’m not an expert but here’s the answer to your questions.

Advise versus Advice

It’s the British English vs American English again. British English uses advise while American English uses advice.

As for using lost and loss, it depends on the context of the sentence constructed.

At a lost - missing, not knowing, not used to one’s advantage
At a loss - the antonym (opposite) of profit

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/53959https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/53959Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:14:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:29:24 GMT]]>

3Boys:
[

Btw, its enlighten, not enlightened. πŸ˜‰

Not expert hor, just did my homework as a kid......
:oops: Thanks for pointing out πŸ™‚

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/53951https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/53951Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:29:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Some clarifications needed on certain words on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:23:38 GMT]]>

chamonix:
Can some English experts enlightened me on the following English words and their usage, please?


These are words commonly seen in forums.

Advise Needed
Shouldn't it be Advice Needed instead? I have always thought advise as a verb. Or is this another British English vs American English? :?


At a lost

Thought it should be \"At a loss\" ?


TIA! πŸ˜„
Yes and yes.

Btw, its enlighten, not enlightened. πŸ˜‰

Not expert hor, just did my homework as a kid......

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/53947https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/53947Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:23:38 GMT