What is the Difference Between Premise and Premises

The main difference between premise and premises is that premise refers to a statement or proposition upon which an argument is built, whereas premises refers to land and buildings owned by someone.

Although the terms premise and premises appear to be singular and plural forms of the same word, they often tend to have different meanings. Premise (singular form) refers to a component in an argument. Although the term premises is also the plural form of premise (part of an argument), the term premises usually refer to land and buildings. Therefore, it is necessary to use these two words carefully to avoid confusion.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Premise 
     – Definition, Characteristics, Usage
2. What is Premises
     – Definition, Characteristics, Usage
3. What is the Difference Between Premise and Premises
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Premise, Premises

What is a Premise

A premise is a statement in an argument that supports the conclusion. In other words, it is a proposition upon which an argument is based, or it may be from which a conclusion is drawn. The term premise originates from Medieval Latin, meaning “things mentioned before.”

There can be one or many premises in an argument. In the field of logic and philosophy, an argument is made up of premises and conclusions; in fact, they are the building blocks of an argument. Moreover, an argument has only one conclusion and one or more premises.

Let’s look at some examples:

Argument 1

Premise 1: Those over eighteen years can vote.

Premise 2: Anna is over eighteen.

Conclusion: Therefore, Anna can vote.

Argument 2

Premise 1: All whales are mammals.

Premise 2: The killer whale is a type of whale.

Conclusion: Therefore, the killer whale is a mammal.

Furthermore, the validity of an argument actually depends on the accuracy and truth of the premise or premises.

What is Premises

Premises usually refers to land and buildings owned by someone. In the context of real estate, premises refer to land and developments on it, including buildings, stores, or other designated structures. Although this word is in the plural form, it can refer to a single construction. Moreover, there is no actual singular form for this word.

Let’s look at some example sentences to understand how we can use this word in everyday language.

The company is relocating to new premises.

Alcohol is forbidden on these premises.

The police removed the protestors from the premises.

We haven’t found new premises suitable for the business.

The food is made on the premises.

Furthermore, it is also important to note that the plural of premise (part of an argument) is also premises. Thus, you have to identify the difference between premise and premises from the context; whether it refers to a proposition in an argument or a property.

Difference Between Premise and Premises

Definition

Premise refers to a statement or proposition in an argument. But, premises refers to a house or building, together with its land and outbuildings, occupied by a business.

Context

We mainly use the term premise in logic and philosophy, but the term premises in the context of real estate.

Singular vs Plural

The term premise has both singular and plural forms(premises), but we always use the term premises (land and buildings) in the plural form.

Conclusion

The main difference between premise and premises is that premise refers to a statement or proposition upon which an argument is built whereas premises refers to land and buildings owned by someone. Also, the term premise has both singular and plural forms (premises), whereas the term premises (land and buildings) is always used in the plural form. Therefore, we have to identify the difference between premise and premises from the context, i.e. whether it refers to a proposition in an argument or a property.

Reference:

1. “Premise.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Nov. 2019, Available here.
2. Nordquist, Richard. “What Are the Premises of an Argument?” ThoughtCo, 30 May 2019, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Eulercircles” By User:Maltewoest at Wikibooks – also Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “2412145” (CC0) via Pixabay