Commonly Confused Words

Practice / Practise.

In many parts of the English speaking world (UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, and South Africa) “practice” is the noun, “practise” the verb. However, in the U.S.A the spelling “practice” is more often used for both the noun and the verb.

I need to practise my English.

I have piano practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For / Since.

We often use for and since when talking about time.

For indicates a period, from start to end:

I studied English for 5 years. (You are not studying English anymore.)

We watched TV for 2 hours. (You are not watching TV now.)

Since indicates a point in time and refers from that point up to now:

I have worked in an office since I left school. (You still work in an office.)

It has been raining since 9 am.  (It is still raining.)