# EN: advice / piece of advice - uncountable / countable noun



## alfa59

*Advice* is a countable noun but doesn't take 's' in/at the plural form; therefore, you can say: how much advice did you get from your boss. it's like: how much piece of advice did you get?
I would say "how many advices did you get?"
 Am I right?
I am so confused
Thanks for replying to me,
Agnes


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## ascoltate

No, "advice" is a non-count noun.
How much advice did you get? (=How *many* piece*s* of advice did you get?")
otherwise, we'd have to use another word (e.g., "How many suggestions did you get from your boss?")...


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## DearPrudence

Bonjour

Non, je dirais que "advice" est uncountable, comme "news" ("No news is bad news. A piece of news")
Donc je dirais :
*"How much advice did you get from your boss?"*
(comme si on disait :
"How much snow fell yesterday?")
Or:
*"How many pieces of advice did you get?"*
mais je ne sais pas si l'on dirait vraiment ça.

Attendons plus de précisions de vrais spécialistes


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## marget

I'm not certain that I would quantify pieces of advice, but I would definitely say "I go an interesting piece of advice yesterday." I guess that's how we differentiate between advice in general and a specific piece/bit of advice.


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## tchoupi

I have a problem with the use of this uncountable noun.
For example to say : un conseil : we have to say " a piece of advice"
To say demander conseil : we say " to seek advice or to ask for advice " but can we put the noun in the plural for example to ask for some advices"?
Thank you for helping me


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## Enquiring Mind

No, it's not used in the plural at all.   Except for one instance I can think of: one of the standard texts for Quakers is called "Advice*s* and Queries". But it's archaic.  I'll stick my neck out and say you won't find "advices" in today's English.

Cf: "Advices & Queries is a collection of reminders into the insights of  Quakers. It's not a book of instructions nor dogma, but as the title  suggests, advice and questions.  You can get the Advices & Queries  booklet for free."   Note that when explaining what it is, the writer reverts to the singular "advice".


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## johnblacksox

I also have never heard of "advices".


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## Glasguensis

You cannot say "an advice" or "several advices". It is uncountable, so it can't be plural. You ask for advice, you receive advice, you receive a piece of advice, you receive several pieces of advice, you receive some advice.


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## C. E. Whitehead

Hi, o.k. perhaps one might say "I got an interesting piece of advice yesterday" but in my dialect I would say "I got an interesting bit of advice" (which means I got advice in one specific instance -- so you all are right; this is one way to quantify "advice" which is otherwise not countable -- unlike the French "conseille" and exactly like the English word "news" -- although "news" ends in "s" [thus we can say "I read an interesting bit of news" too]) 



marget said:


> I'm not certain that I would quantify pieces of advice, but I would definitely say "I go an interesting piece of advice yesterday." I guess that's how we differentiate between advice in general and a specific piece/bit of advice.


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## Keith Bradford

Unfortunately, there are people who do try to put advice into the plural, as a Google search will reveal. But since these are people who also use expressions like : 

Your Inspirational Life-Business Synergy e-Coach!​ 
the recommendation is clear - _do not imitate_!


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## johnblacksox

Keith Bradford said:


> Unfortunately, there are people who do try to put advice into the plural, as a Google search will reveal. But since these are people who also use expressions like :
> 
> Your Inspirational Life-Business Synergy e-Coach!​
> the recommendation is clear - _do not imitate_!


 
Funny!! 

Yeah, in modern business-speak, I'm sure they would make advice a verb, like "advicing". Like "incenting" and "off-shoring", horrifying true examples.


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## Treasure307

Could you say this advice though? or do you have to say this piece of advice? meaning "ce conseil" of course!


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## Maître Capello

Les deux se disent.


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## Treasure307

Thank you! 
What about "ces conseils"? Would you say "these advice"? For example in the sentence: "Follow ?these advice? to succeed." or these pieces of advice ?


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## The Broken Rib Inn

I wouldn't say "these advice", but "these pieces of advice"


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## Tochka

Enquiring Mind said:


> Cf: "Advices & Queries is a collection of reminders into the insights of  Quakers. It's not a book of instructions nor dogma, but as the title  suggests, advice and questions.  You can get the Advices & Queries  booklet for free."   Note that when explaining what it is, the writer reverts to the singular "advice".


Excellent example, Friend. 



C. E. Whitehead said:


> Hi, o.k. perhaps one might say "I got an interesting piece of advice yesterday" but in my dialect I would say "I got an interesting bit of advice" (which means I got advice in one specific instance -- so you all are right; this is one way to quantify "advice" which is otherwise not countable -- unlike the French "conseille" and exactly like the English word "news" -- although "news" ends in "s" [thus we can say "I read an interesting bit of news" too])


Afraid I differ with you here.  I consider a "bit" to be parallel in usage to a "piece" -- they're both means of dividing up something otherwise uncountable so that it can be counted.  You wouldn't say you'll have a "bit" of toothpicks or marbles or any countable items, but you might need a bit of cloth or have a bit of pie (meaning a piece of an uncounted whole).



Treasure307 said:


> Could you say this advice though? or do you have to say this piece of advice? meaning "ce conseil" of course!


If you're talking about the overall advice, yes, you'd say "this advice".  
Je ne sais pas si ce qui suit et tout à fait correct, mais il me semble qu' on peut voir "advice" (uncounted) comme "le conseil" et "a piece of advice" comme "un conseil."


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## Enquiring Mind

Treasure307 said:


> (...) What about "ces conseils"? Would you say "these advice"?  For example in the sentence: "Follow ?these advice? to succeed." or these pieces of advice ?



Follow this advice to succeed, follow these tips to succeed.
Un conseil, des conseils - advice

Can you give me any advice on how to get from the Gare du Nord to the Gare d'Austerlitz?
Thank you for your advice, it was very helpful.
Let me give you some/a piece of advice: never put your head inside a lion's mouth.


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## Ashed

I find it disturbing that all the posts here (except Enquiring Mind's example) seem unsubstantiated. The OED records _advice_ as a count noun, but does qualify this by adding that this usage is ‘Now chiefly Caribbean and South Asian’. However, it gives examples from a variety of sources from the fifteenth century onwards.


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## jann

Ashed said:


> I find it disturbing that all the posts here (except Enquiring Mind's example) seem unsubstantiated.  [...]


I can't say I really object to native English speakers failing to add links or examples to substantiate the statement that _advice_, as they know and use the term, is uncountable...  especially when everyone is apparently in agreement on this point. 

But if you want a source, the Cambridge Dictionaries website says it's uncountable.  There are examples on the site, if you're interested.


> _Advice _is a noun and means a suggestion about what someone should do. It is uncountable: [...]
> If we want to use _advice _in a countable way, then we use the phrase _a piece of advice_: [...]
> source



As for the OED, as you say, it does mention the regional count usage, but it's only fair to explain the breakdown of the entry, which implies that the primary usage in the rest of the English-speaking word is indeed non-count.  


> *1. *[...] _Obsolete_
> 
> *2a.* Opinion given or offered as to what action to take; counsel; recommendation.
> _Now the main sense._
> 
> * 2b.*  As a count noun.
> (a) A piece of advice (sense  2a). Now chiefly _Caribbean_ and _S. Asian_.
> (b) In the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers): a  short homily or piece of advice, concerning either the conduct of  Friends as Christians or the running of the Society. Now freq. in  Advices and Queries
> 
> *3. *[...] _Obsolete_
> etc.



Bottom line for students of English:  unless you live in the Caribbean or in Southeast Asia, you would be well-advised to treat "advice" as a non-count noun, unlike French _conseil(s)_.


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