convince and persuade;example

[jiang]

Dear teachers,
First, I get confused about the usages of the words "convince" and "persuade".

The following are from Longman Dictionary:

convince: 1. to make someone feel certain that something is true. ( e.g.to convince sb ( that); to convince sb of sth.)
2. to persuade someone to do something. ( e.g. to convince sb to do sth.)

persuade: 1. to make someone decide to do something, especially by repeatedly asking them or telling them reasons why they should do it. ( e.g. persuade sb to do sth)
2. to make someone believe something or feel sure about something; CONVINCE. ( e.g.persuade sb ( that );persuade sb of sth)
It seems the two words are interchangeable. The only difference to me is that the latter indicate repeated actions.

The following are multiple choices:
1. The management tried to ____the workers that is was not a good idea to go on a strike.
a. convince b. persuade
The answer is "a". Why "b" is not correct?
2. Tom was finally ___________ of the need to practice more.
a. convinced b. persuaded
The answer is "a". Why "b" is not correct?
3. He tried to ______his son to follow his advice, but his efforts wre in vain.
a. convince b. persuade
The answer is "b". Why "a" isn't correct?

My second question is the phrase "take sth. for (an) example":
Take my sister for example, she is an excellent singer.
My question is: should I change "example" to "examples" if there are several nouns?
For example, is the sentence "Take my sister, my brother for examples they are excellent singers" correct?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Casiopea]

"convince" means to firmly persuade, whatever that adds to the distinction, though. Try looking at it this way, you can persuade someone to do something, but that doesn't necessarily mean they believe doing it is within their best interest. To "convince" is to cause someone to believe it's in their best interest. I trust that distinction will help you gain a better understanding of 1. through 3.

Try, as examples.

Take these two things as examples of . . . .
As examples, please consider these, . . . .

[jiang]

Dear Casiopea,
Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Best wishes,

Jiang

Originally Posted by Casiopea

"convince" means to firmly persuade, whatever that adds to the distinction, though. Try looking at it this way, you can persuade someone to do something, but that doesn't necessarily mean they believe doing it is within their best interest. To "convince" is to cause someone to believe it's in their best interest. I trust that distinction will help you gain a better understanding of 1. through 3.

Try, as examples.

Take these two things as examples of . . . .
As examples, please consider these, . . . .