Mark Twain said, "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug."

Spell-check is really handy, but doesn’t let us know we’ve used an incorrect word. Sometimes we think we know what a word means, but we don’t and use the wrong one. A typo can cause us to leave in a wrong word; and sometimes we misuse words because others do.

Here are some of the more common mix-ups that happen, and spell-check misses, along with examples of how to use them.

ACCEPT, EXCEPT: I will accept all of your gifts except the elephant.

AFFECT, EFFECT: How you affect people is evident by the effect you have on them.

AMONG, BETWEEN: If the vote were among three people, we wouldn’t have this tie between the two of us.

ANXIOUS, EAGER: I wish you were eager to skydive instead of anxious.

BAD, BADLY: Anne played the piano badly which was too bad since she intended to play well.

DESERT, DESSERT: As the heat of the desert caused Jason to hallucinate, he imagined a cool sorbet dessert yards ahead of him.

EARTH, EARTH: Darker earth grows the best vegetables on Earth.

FARTHER, FURTHER: George didn’t realize that his health had failed further until he walked farther than he had in a while.

FOREWORD, FORWARD: Many authors use a Foreword to move readers’ enthusiasm forward.

IRREGARDLESS, REGARDLESS: Regardless of what you’ve heard or read irregardless is not a word.

IT’S, ITS: It’s okay for your dog to wag its tail; just get it away from my delicate crystal.

LEAD, LED: Tom wanted to lead those who wished to be led.

PASSED, PAST: When John passed by Amy, reflecting on their past caused her to swoon.

THAN, THEN: I’d rather leave then than risk missing the flight.

YOUR, YOU’RE: If your mother catches you doing that, you’re going to be in big trouble.

Let spell-check make the initial run-through of anything you write. Your program probably has a grammar check that can help you as well. The best way to go over what you’ve written is to print it out and read from the copy. If you can put it aside for a day, that’s even better; you always see more when you take a break from looking at what you’ve put into print. Most writers get at least one proofreader to go through a document or manuscript before they move it towards publication or distribution since another person can do what spell-check can’t. As you probably know, it’s just too easy to miss glitches after you’ve looked at what you’ve written…and looked at it, and looked at it.