As they say, English is a funny language and we could not agree any less when it comes to confusions such as the one between ‘licence’ and ‘license’. You must be wondering what difference can a single ‘c’ and ‘s’ make?
Well, if you are a grammar fanatic, the wrong usage here might give you a heart-attack. For others, it is just a simple confusion between one ‘licence’, which is a noun and another ‘license’, which is a verb.
Have a look at these examples:
1) Who are you to licence me to run?
2) I do not have a driving license.
3) I am licensed to sell anything I want.
4) I have a driving licence.
In the first case, the correct word is license.
In the second case, the correct word is licence.
Third and fourth sentences are correct.
To clear the confusion, you need to know the theoretical difference between Noun and Verb, as in this case one word is former and other the latter.
Noun: It is that part of speech, which refers to person, place, and thing and in this case an act in itself (licence is an act by which someone is authorised).
Verb: it is that part of speech, which indicates action. So, going by the definition, license here is the action by which an act (licence is given) takes place. You can classify the verbs into transitive and intransitive.
Hoping the difference is clearer and moving further, you can practice the examples given below:
1) You will need a __________to do this.
2) It is my call if I want to be _______________.
3) My ________will expire in few days.
4) I cannot ____________ you.
5) Please ___________ me to do this.
6) She does not have a ___________
7) I _________ you to rest.
Answers:
1) Licence
2) Licensed
3) Licence
4) License
5) License
6) Licence
7) License
P.s:
UK convention: Licence is a noun. To license is a verb.
US convention: Use license for both.
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