It’s not just for taxis – it’s also needed for good grammar
Originally published over at Taxi Leaks, this provided a chuckle this morning and happens to sit at the intersection of two topics dear to my heart. Uber and Accurate Language. (Slightly edited for better flow and consistency with this blog’s style.)
“licence” is a noun
“license” is a verb
(in British English, the Americans use “license” for both )
Hard to remember UNLESS you think of ” advice ” and ” advise ” , which work exactly the same way but their respective pronunciations give them away.
FYI ” practice ” and ” practise ” also work the same way
SO to choose a random example :
Uber have lost their licence
Uber are no longer licensed
Uber were not deemed fit and proper to hold a licence
TfL’s licensing decision re Uber was the right one
Uber are appealing against the loss of their licence
We all hope that Uber are not relicensed
Hope that helps !
Vaughan Williams.
Who is Vaughan Williams? Producer of the stage play from the movie ‘The Knowledge’