| PASSED, PASTPassed is the past tense of pass. Past | | | | contract is to protect you against unfair |
| means a time that has gone. "Time passed and we all | | | | dismissal."QUIET, QUITEQuiet means without noise; |
| forgot the incident." "In times past it was the custom | | | | quite when used in fiction usually means moderately, |
| for women to wear hats in church."PEACE, | | | | but can also mean totally or entirely. Use of the |
| PIECEPeace means the absence of war (or even | | | | wrong word here could, of course, simply be a typing |
| noise); piece is a portion of something.PEAK, PEEK, | | | | error that went unnoticed in the proof-reading |
| PIQUEPique means to excite or irritate; peek means | | | | stages!RAIN, REIGN, REINRain is the water that |
| to peep or snoop; peak as a noun means the summit | | | | comes down from clouds; reign means to rule; rein is |
| or tip, and as a verb means to climax. So, you pique | | | | a strap, usually leather, for controlling an animal, |
| someone's curiosity; you don't peek or peak it. If | | | | especially a horse.RAISE, RAZEThese two are exact |
| someone annoys you, you become piqued rather | | | | opposites. Raise means to lift or build up and raze |
| than peeked or peaked.PLAIN, PLANEPlain means | | | | means to pull down: "We will raise the reputation of |
| obvious, also unadorned or lacking in good looks; | | | | our village to new heights." "He instructed his army to |
| plane is a carpenter's tool or an abbreviation of | | | | raze the village to the ground."REALITY, |
| aeroplane.PATIENCE, PATIENTSPatience means | | | | REALTYReality is real life; realty is real |
| forbearance; patients are people under medical | | | | estate.REFERENCE, REVERENCEI don't know if this |
| care.POUR, POREYou pour sauces, gravies, etc, over | | | | confusion is common. I didn't even realise the words |
| your dinner, while pore means to study | | | | COULD be confused until I saw one wrongly used in |
| something--so, "pore over the book", not "pour over | | | | something written by ... a writer! Maybe it was just a |
| the book", which reads as though you might be | | | | typing error. Reference is something referred to, |
| damaging the book with an unnamed liquid | | | | reverence means respect.RESIDENCE, |
| substance!PRESENCE, PRESENTSPresence means | | | | RESIDENTSResidence is a house; residents are the |
| being near at hand; presents are gifts.PRINCIPAL, | | | | people who live there.RESPECTFULLY, |
| PRINCIPLEPrincipal means chief or main, also the | | | | RESPECTIVELYRespectfully means politely; |
| amount borrowed in a loan; principle means | | | | respectively means in the order stated."The |
| regulations or ideals. "The principal reason for the | | | | containers stood in a row and were numbered 1, 3, |
| company's failure was lack of money." (or) "The new | | | | 2, 5 and 4 respectively" means they were standing in |
| principal is making a real difference to our school." | | | | this order rather than numerical order.RIGHT, RITE, |
| "We are paying both principal and interest each | | | | WRITERight means correct; rite is a ceremony, |
| month on our mortgage." "She is completely without | | | | usually religious; write means to make words.ROAD, |
| principles and would steal from her own mother." | | | | RODERoad is a long surface for cars and other |
| "The principle of a clause like this in your employment | | | | vehicles; rode is the past tense of ride. |