There is a large body of newsreaders who insist on using the adjective "decayed" in the place of the noun "decade". I'm alwasy left wanting to know what the decayed object that they are talking about is.

Also very few people realise that if there is 90% of the population left after a natural disaster that it is correct to say that they have been decimated. The assumption seems to be that there would only be 10% left.

As a general rule where a noun and verb have the same spelling the noun has the stress on the first sylable and the verb on the second, eg. "I'm working on a project." "The upper floors project."