Premise or Premises: Which Word Should You Use?

Premise and premises are similarly spelled and, in the midst of writing or speech, can be interchanged in ways that let them weave in and out of our writing and speech with the glide of a professional skier.

Can you separate one from the other? If not, you’ll gain insight here as we distinguish premise from premises so you can use each word with accurate ease.

The Difference Between Premise and Premises

Let’s start by acknowledging that both premise and premises are both viable words in American English. Either can be correct when used in the right context.

A premise is a foundation for a theory or idea. It’s something that is taken as fact or assertion so that other things bear truth or otherwise logically follow suit. Let’s look at examples of premise being used correctly:

The entire premise of Susan’s argument is flawed because she doesn’t fully understand the situation.

The data from my study supports my premise, which is that some genetic mutations are random.

As you can see, a premise is an idea supporting another idea.

The word premises, on the other hand, refers to a location, typically land with a set of buildings. It can be thought of as a more-formal way of saying “place.” Here are a couple of sentences with premises being used correctly:

Joseph lost his ticket to the event, and security escorted him off the premises.

The company had security cameras installed throughout the premises.

Again, the word premises (with an “-s”) always refers to a place.

One of the easiest ways to learn the distinction between these two words is to hear them spoken out loud. Although premise and premises are nearly identically spelled, they sound different when spoken.

Side Note on Premise vs. Premises

The distinction between premise and premises is clear enough once you understand how the words are used as we are addressing them in this discussion.

Also keep in mind that the plural of the singular premise meaning a theory or idea is premises: The doctor explained the premises behind the varied stages of her research.

In sum:

One theory or idea is a premise.

Two or more theories or ideas are premises.

Premises is also a plural noun referring to a piece of land with a set of buildings.

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