'Guest' is an invited person or visitor; 'guessed' is the past tense of 'to guess'.
Noun/adjective. A person invited to visit or stay. Also: a special appearance (guest speaker, guest star).
We have a special guest joining us for the keynote presentation today.
The hotel could accommodate up to three hundred guests at the conference.
Be my guest — help yourself to the refreshments.
Verb. Past of 'to guess': to estimate or conclude without complete information. Also: to suppose.
She guessed the answer correctly without having read the brief.
Nobody guessed that the project would be cancelled so abruptly.
I guessed it would rain today, so I brought an umbrella.
Common mistake
"She guessed the answer" is correct, but "she guest the answer" would be wrong. Or "The special guessed at the conference" when meaning the invited speaker (correct: guest).
Trick to remember it
'Guest' has a silent U like 'guide', 'guard', 'guarantee' — the silent U after G marks French-origin words for special or official roles. 'Guessed' is simply guess + ed (past tense) — the silent U of 'guess' carries into 'guessed'.
Quick rule
Is it the invited person or visitor? 'Guest'. Is it the past of to guess? 'Guessed'.
Did you know?
'Guest' and 'host' share the same Proto-Indo-European root *ghosti- (stranger, guest, host) — both roles in the ancient hospitality relationship. This root also gave English 'hostile' (the stranger who became an enemy) and 'ghost' (the mysterious visitor). In Old Germanic, the g in 'gæst' (guest) distinguished the word from similar sounds. The silent U in 'guest' comes from French influence after the Norman Conquest — French preserved the /g/ sound by adding a silent U, which English then kept.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
We had a distinguished _____ speaker from the industry at this morning's breakfast briefing.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Nobody _____ that the acquisition would be announced at the general meeting.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Is it the invited person or visitor? 'Guest'. Is it the past of to guess? 'Guessed'.
"She guessed the answer" is correct, but "she guest the answer" would be wrong. Or "The special guessed at the conference" when meaning the invited speaker (correct: guest).
'Guest' has a silent U like 'guide', 'guard', 'guarantee' — the silent U after G marks French-origin words for special or official roles. 'Guessed' is simply guess + ed (past tense) — the silent U of 'guess' carries into 'guessed'.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy