Misuse of past for passed. Don't say: I past by your house yesterday.  Say: I passed by your house yesterday. Past isn't a verb. The past tense and past participle of the verb to pass is passed. Note: We can use past as a noun, Don't think of the past: an adjective. The past week was warm: a preposition, We walked past the church: an adverb Misuse of loose for lose. Don't say: Be careful not to loose your money.  Say: Be careful not to lose your money. Lose (with one o) is the common verb meaning not to be able to find . Loose (with double 0) is an adjective meaning u n fastened , free ' The horse was loose in The field. Misuse of after for afterwards, etc. Don't say: After we went home for dinner.  Say: Afterwards we went home for dinner. After is a preposition and we must use it with an object. Afterwards, then, after that are adverbs of time and we can use them alone.