Many times, people misuse words by choosing a word that looks or sounds similar to the word they intend to use. Often times, people mishear words or just listen instead of reading words, and then use those words in the wrong context. But even accomplished writers make mistakes when they use the wrong word, intending to use a different word, but when their brain searches for the desired word, it comes up with one so close that the author places it on the page, and then later. When correcting, the author’s eye may miss the wrong word because the brain mentally substitutes the correct word in its place, fooling the eye.

Below are seven sets of sentences with words that are often misused or accidentally used, but not corrected during review due to their similarities. For each example below, see if you can determine which sentence is correct.

Example 1

1. I was rewarded with high cholesterol as a result of my eating habits.
2. I was rewarded with high cholesterol as a result of my eating habits.

The correct answer is 2. An award is something that is given to you as a result of an achievement, such as an Oscar or an award for achievement. A bounty is perhaps better known as something that is given to you for handing over to a wanted criminal “dead or alive”, so the meaning is close, but if you think about it as a result of your actions, then you earn a “bounty”. Generally, a “prize” is something physical like a trophy, or at least tangible, while a “reward” can be the result of an action you took such as eating junk food, which resulted in high cholesterol.

Example 2

1. Today he has helped to cure polio.
2. Today he is credited with curing polio.

The correct answer is 2. To contribute is to give something. To be “attributed” to something is to acknowledge that you are connected to it. Another example would be: “I contributed the book to the library” in the sense of giving or donating the book. Whereas, “The authorship of the book is attributed to the Greek poet Homer” means that the credit / acknowledgment for writing the book goes to Homer.

Example 3

1. Once the impact has passed.
2. Once the shock has subsided.

The correct answer is 2. Subside means decrease or decrease. To reside is to live in a place or to be located somewhere. Here’s a sentence that would use both words: “The floods abated around the city where they resided. In this case, people live in a city (reside) where the flood water has risen but is now going down (decreased).”

Example 4

1. He passed me on the road.
2. He passed me on the road.
3. It is time for the movie to start.
4. Time has passed for the movie to begin.

The correct sentences are 1 and 3. “Past” refers to time, while “passing” is going beyond something. The confusion arises because “past” is also the past tense of “past.” If you are not sure which one to use, remember that “pass” is always a verb. “Past” is the past tense of the verb, or it is a noun in the sense that it is the “past”, the opposite of the future. In sentence 4 above, because the verb is “is”, “past” describes the tense as an adjective; therefore, “past” as a verb cannot be used to describe anything because it is not an adjective. If you’re still not sure which word to use, try substituting “beyond” or “earlier.” If any of those words worked for you, then “past” would be correct in that sentence, but maybe it would be better to use “beyond” or “previous” instead. For example, “The previous winner of the contest was Joe” would allow “previous” to be replaced, or “I passed in front of him” would allow “beyond” to replace it, but could not say “He past me on the highway . “

Example 5

1. Everyone was invited except Maria.
2. All were invited to accept Maria.

The correct sentence is 1. “Except” means “to make an exception” and could simply be replaced by “but”. By comparison, “accept” is a verb and actually means the opposite of “except”. “Except” means to exclude, whereas if you “accept” something, it would include it. As a verb, you can use “accept” to say “I accepted the job offer”, but there is no word “excepted” that you can use in this situation.

Example 6

1. I don’t think the prophecy is true.
2. I don’t think the prophecy is true.

The correct sentence is 1. I rarely see “prophecy” used at all, and as a result, I see “prophecy” used incorrectly frequently. “Prophecy” is a noun. It is the prediction that someone has made about the future. “Prophesy” is a verb and it is the act of making a prophecy, a prediction. Here are a couple of sentences that use both words; note that because “prophesy” is a verb, it has more than one form: “The prophet prophesied a prophecy. He will prophesy another prophecy tomorrow, or so he prophesied he would.”

Example 7

1. As the police detective hit the criminal with questions, the criminal became frustrated.
2. As the police detective hit the criminal with questions, the criminal became frustrated.
3. As the police detective hit the criminal with questions, the criminal became nervous.

Here sentence 3 is correct, and note that the word “flustrated” does not exist, but I have seen it in print several times. People misunderstand, mishear, or confuse “nervous” and “frustrated” and have combined it into a new word. It’s a clever new word, as a person can feel “nervous” and “frustrated,” but those are two separate feelings. In the example above, the offender must feel “nervous”, which means that they are nervous and have difficulty answering questions due to their nervousness. You might be frustrated if the detective didn’t listen or believe you, or you might be frustrated just being brought in for questioning, but in any case, nervous is probably the best word here.

A basic rule of thumb to remember is that whenever two words sound close to each other, it is always best to ask someone else to review your work because it is too close to your material and your brain can play tricks on you. In some cases, you may also find that you have been using a word incorrectly for a long time, so you will want to look up the words in the dictionary to make sure you are sure of their meanings and definitions. It is never too late to learn more about the English language, and there is nothing to be ashamed of in asking another writer you can trust to review your work and give you suggestions.