Happy New Year Joseph! 1. People are confronted with difficulties. - Yes - People are attacked/confused by problems 2. People confront difficulties. - Yes - People stand up to/deal with problems 3. Difficulties confront people. - Yes - Problems try to confuse people. 1. People are faced with difficulties. - Same as above 2. People face difficulties. - Same as above 3. Difficulties face people. - Same as above The only REAL difference is that "confront" tends to imply that the action is more aggressive than "face". For example (to illustrate the difference only)- If I confront something, maybe I choose to attack it. If I face it, it is attacking me and I defend myself. They can both be used identically (it depends what you want to express!)

both mean deal with