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TOEIC Link Part 5: counsel versus council

Counsel and council sound almost the same but do different jobs: counsel is advice or a verb meaning to advise (and a legal adviser), while council is a group of people who meet to decide or govern. Part 5 tests whether the blank names advice or a governing body.

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TOEIC Link Part 5: counsel versus council

Counsel and council are pronounced almost identically, yet they carry different meanings and different parts of speech. Counsel is a noun meaning advice, a verb meaning to advise, and, in legal contexts, a noun for a lawyer or legal adviser. Council is a noun meaning a group of people who meet to advise, decide, or govern. Part 5 drops one into a sentence where the sound gives nothing away, so it checks whether the blank names advice (or the act of advising) or a body of people. For the wider set of look-alike traps, start with the commonly confused word pairs master index.

The core rule: advice versus a body of people

  • counsel = advice, to advise, or a legal adviser (noun or verb). The lawyer offered sound counsel on the contract. / HR will counsel staff on the new policy. / Both parties brought outside counsel to the hearing. It answers what advice? or which action of advising? Link counsel to advise and guidance: it is something given or an act performed, and it is often singular and uncountable.
  • council = a group that meets to decide or govern (noun). The city council approved the budget. / She sits on the advisory council. It answers which group? — a body of members. Link council to committee and board: it is a collection of people, and it takes members, meetings, and votes.

The middle letters carry the clue: council contains -cil, and a council is a group that meets in a council chamber; counsel contains -sel, and to counsel is to advise, the way a counselor does. If the blank names advice or the act of advising, it is counsel; if it names a governing or advisory body, it is council.

Why Part 5 likes this pair

Because the two words sound nearly the same, only meaning and grammar separate them. If the blank names advice, an act of advising, or a legal adviser, you need counsel. If the blank names a group of people who meet to decide, you need council.

The consultant will __ the board on regulatory risk before the vote.

A word describing the act of advising needs counsel.

The zoning __ will hold a public hearing next Tuesday.

A word naming a governing body needs council.

Spotting the clue

Decide whether the blank is an advice / advising word or a group-of-people word:

  • Does the blank name advice given, the act of advising, or a lawyer? → choose counsel (wise counsel, counsel the client, defense counsel).
  • Does the blank name a body of members who meet and decide? → choose council (the town council, a student council, the security council).

A quick test: can you replace the blank with advice or advise and keep the meaning, as in sound advice? Then it is counsel. Can you replace it with committee or board, as in the town committee? Then it is council. Watch the fixed phrases: counsel appears in legal counsel, keep your own counsel, and wise counsel, while council appears in city council, council member, advisory council, and council meeting. Because this pair mixes an abstract noun with a collective noun, it sits alongside the other traps in the sound-alike verb pairs study guide.

Common Part 5 patterns

  • Anything about advice or advising wants counsel: seek legal counsel, counsel employees, offer counsel, keep one's own counsel.
  • Anything about a lawyer wants counsel: outside counsel, general counsel, defense counsel.
  • Anything about a governing or advisory body wants council: the city council, a council member, the advisory council, a council meeting.

If the blank names advice, the act of advising, or a legal adviser, choose counsel. If it names a group of people who meet to decide, choose council.

Quick recap

  • Counsel = advice, to advise, or a legal adviser (noun or verb) — it is given or performed.
  • Council = a group of people who meet to decide or govern (noun) — it has members and meetings.
  • Part 5 test: swap in advice or advise → counsel; swap in committee or board → council (and every council meets in its -cil chamber).

Sort the advice from the assembly and this near-homophone stops costing you Part 5 points. Keep working through the commonly confused word pairs master index to lock in the rest.