When you choose the right word for the right situation, your writing looks polished and professional, but sometimes it’s almost like English is out to get you with all its little pitfalls.

It’s easy to read advice about commonly confused words, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get them right later. Yesterday I started wondering whether seeing the two next to each other and making an active, deliberate choice between them would help people store the information where it can be easily reached the next time the choice needs to be made.

So… I taught myself how to make quizzes embedded in my blog. Here, have a quiz!

You’ll see no preference-based rules like “as” vs. “like” or “that” vs. “which,” because they’re just not worth the worry. In the words of Paul Brians: “Like you care.”

 

[ays_quiz id=’5′]

 

Note: If you’re concerned that I’ll be able to see your answers, don’t be! This quiz doesn’t collect your name or email address, so I only receive anonymous data.

I’m planning to do a series of these with different word pairs, so if you have any trouble with the quiz functionality, let me know!