A few advice

[lo2]

Here today when chatting this one slipped out, not sure if it is correct. I am inclined to think it is not correct, but what do you say:

"Can I give you a few advice?"

Should it have been: (and by the way how come it sounds better with "have" than "has"?)

"Can I give you a few pieces of advice?"

 

[Richard1]

Hi,

The normal expression is, 'Can I give you a little advice?'.

Regards

 

[SoothingDave]

Or "some advice."

 

[vgv8]

"a few advice?"

Doesn't "a few" mean plural (advices)?

 

[Barb_D]

Advice is not countable.

Yes, a few [nouns] would be plural, but (outside of accounting functions), there is no plural word advices.

 

[vgv8]

Advice is not countable.

Yes, a few [nouns] would be plural, but (outside of accounting functions), there is no plural word advices.

I have also read that it is not countable but what does it mean that internet search gives millions of "advices" (even in topics)?
They are all incorrect?

 

[Barb_D]

If they are correct, they relate somehow to the financial world. The others ("let me give you a few advices") are wrong.

It's a very, very common ESL learner mistake, so I'm not surprised you found many examples of the incorrect form.

 

[Nightmare85]

***Neither a teacher nor a native speaker.***

Can I give you some (pieces of) advice?
This is how I would say it.

Cheers!

 

[Tdol]

It's not actually that common even on the web. Google has 326 million for advice and 7.7 million for advices. Even with typing errors, deviant use, non-native use, creative use, accountancy, names, etc, about 98% of usage is advice. One risk with Google is finding something that looks like a big number, like this when it is in fact not very big. It's one problem of taking figures in isolation.

("Advices accounting" gets 544,000 results)

The ANC has 23,152 vs 19, and the BNC 10,315 vs 6.

 

[apex2000]

Never take any search, on Google or elsewhere, as correct in every way.

I would say: can I give you a bit of advice, or, you really need to take some advice (on that).

 

[Rover_KE]

Or 'some words of advice.'

Avoid 'advices', except in that very specialised usage explained above.

Rover