Sometimes I marvel that anyone can learn English at all! We have so many words that sound alike but are spelled differently or that are spelled the same but have different meanings. I think one could write a whole book in this subject. But I’ll try to hit some of the highlights and the most commonly misused ones. As an editor, one mistake I come across fairly often is passed/past . Passed is used when a car is going around another. When that car has passed far enough by the second car, it is past . OR My grandparents lived in the past . Another is farther/further . This is a difficult one. FARther refers to distance. How much farther is it to the beach? FURther refers to additional time, amount or other abstract matters (I don’t want to discuss this any further . OR …to further (advance) a cause.) Then there is rein/reign . Rein is what you use to control your horse. Reign is what kings do. Try to remember the difference by thinking of “Reign” as a bigger word. A king’s powe...