Impeding, Impending, Imposing – Why are they so similar?!
Today I want to talk about the difference between 3 very similar words: impeding, impending, and imposing. This time, it wasn’t a question from a student, but a problem that *I* had when trying to write a message to a friend! Even as a native English speaker, I couldn’t remember the difference between these words without using a dictionary (don’t laugh at me 😉 So, here it is for your quick reference:
im·pede
imˈpēd/
verb
gerund or present participle: impeding
- delay or prevent (someone or something) by obstructing them; hinder.
“All of this daydreaming is impeding my progress.”
im·pend
imˈpend/
verb
gerund or present participle: impending
- be about to happen.
“Our moving date is impending.”
im·pose
[im-pohz]
- to obtrude or thrust (oneself, one’s company, etc.) upon others.
“I don’t want to impose on your family.”
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