Precede - proceed

'Proceed and precede can be confused, because in rapid speech they sound similar.

To precede means to go before. It is usually transitive - «a person with a mace precedes the Vice-Chancellor on formal occasions»; «George I preceded George II»; «the meal will be preceded by a reception.»

To proceed means to go on, or go forward. It is intransitive - «We will proceed next week»; «the events of the day proceeded as planned» and «The policemen proceeded on his way» - but can be followed by the preposition with - «we will proceed with Agenda item 12» or «Proceed with your studies.»

There is a also a transitive verb to process, meaning to subject raw materials to a process, or a procedure - an activity that will alter them. Some speakers use the verb to proceed something (transitively) in this sense; but for academic English they should not be imitated.