h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Lets see if beeline lens him one

Groan...

I've got something you could take for that pain. But you have to follow me to the Island. Follow one of the links from my page to find it.

Time to try and revive this thread, and see how many more times we can repeat the correct use of the words 'practice' and practise'.

In the years that have intervened since this thread was created I've come across a useful bit of "advice"
With words like practise and practice which sound the same you can work out which is which by substituting the word advice or advise. (Um. Don't know if these are pronounced differently in the US but they are in the UK.)
Advice is the noun and Advise is the verb.
You advise someone but you give advice.
A doctor practises medicine. A doctor has a medical practice.
Geddit?

Well done.

I will revive as many old and dead threads as I can. D'you remember the photic sneezing one?

Photic sneezing? Doesn't ring a bell... yet! You raise 'em and I'll write to them - if I have anything cogent to say!

Found it http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/F16028?thread=12873 There are no posts by you, which is probably why you don't remember it. Now, there was one about tea knocking around here somewhere..........

Rojo,

"Time to try and revive this thread.."

That's 'time to try TO revive this thread..'

You can't try AND do something but you can try TO do it.

F

That's the ticket keep posting we may get it back on its feet again.
*holding electric paddles in hand*
Charging! Stand back!

A bit more patience and it could have had a full five year hibernation.

Owww! Easy with those paddles, dammit.

F

Sorry Fathom!
Charging to 240
Stand clear!

Perhaps "Time to try reviving this thread" would have been better. Anyway, we need to PRACTISE getting the words 'practice' and 'practise' back in the thread, so hear goes:

While 'Try TO' is arguably the more grammatically correct, in PRACTICE the more colloquial 'try AND' is in more common use.

Or something.

That's quite true but then there are a lot of colloquialisms in verbal usage in practice that you would not wish to practise in writing.

(I don't think it's breathing on its own yet.)

F

Oh fer heaven's sake!

'Practice' is a noun. 'Practise' is a verb, though in American English they often use 'practise' as the noun as well. Same pronunciation with an 's' sound for the 's'.

Advice (with the 'c' pronounced as an 's') is a noun. Advise (with the 's' pronounced as a 'z') is a verb.

Have I helped?

az

The verb 'to try' is actually a bit tricky and often confuses people.

Basically:

To talk about making an experiment - doing something to see what will happen we use try + 'ing'.

example:
I tried sending her flowers but she still wouldn't speak to me.


To talk about making an effort to do something difficult we can use either try + 'ing' or try + infinitive.

examples:
I tried to change the wheel but I couldn't.
I tried changing the wheel but I couldn't.


We use 'try and...' in the same way as 'be sure to'.

example:
Try and eat something, you'll feel better if you do.




az

So in fact, trying *to* revive this thread is correct. To try *and* revive it is not.

az

Smartypants

Anyway: "We use 'try and...' in the same way as 'be sure to'."

We may do; but it's still wrong.


However I can sympathise with: "I tried sending her flowers but she still wouldn't speak to me."

Because that happens to me all the time.


F

On the other hand, you never send me flowers yet I still talk to you!




az

Meanwhile, am not attempting to be a smartypants - it's my job, fer f**k's sake.

az