{"id":4182,"date":"2021-02-08T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T15:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=4182"},"modified":"2024-08-01T18:28:45","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T23:28:45","slug":"past-or-passed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/past-or-passed\/","title":{"rendered":"Past<\/em> or Passed:<\/em> Which Word Is Correct?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The past<\/em> is many things\u2014but it\u2019s not the same as passed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Passed<\/em>: gone ahead of; approved<\/p>\n

Past<\/em>: a former time; beyond<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you ever find yourself struggling with the grammatical difference between the two, you aren\u2019t alone. They sound identical when spoken aloud and have somewhat related definitions. However, they do have different meanings, and that can help you understand when each word should be used.<\/p>\n

Let’s start with the easy one.<\/p>\n

Passed<\/em> Is a Form of the Verb Pass<\/em><\/h2>\n

Passed<\/em> is simply the past tense<\/a> of the verb pass<\/em> (the form that conveys the action was done earlier). Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

Tim passed<\/em> the football to Jerry.<\/p>\n

Once the road became clear, Sandy pushed on the accelerator and passed<\/em> the slow-moving vehicle.<\/p>\n

When the final grades were released, my friends and I were relieved to see that we had all passed<\/em> the class.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In each sentence, the “pass” action has already taken place.<\/p>\n

Past<\/em> Has Different Meanings<\/h2>\n

The word past<\/em> can mean different things based on its context.<\/p>\n

Past<\/em> is often used as a noun that refers to the time gone by: e.g., You can’t live in the <\/em>past if you want to set your sights on tomorrow<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Another use of past <\/em>is as an adjective meaning “bygone”: e.g., In years <\/em>past we all got together at the lake house for Christmas<\/em>.<\/p>\n

You might also find past<\/em> as an adverb modifying an action in the sense of “so as to pass by or beyond”: e.g., Did you see the rabbit that just ran\u00a0<\/i>past?<\/p>\n

It can serve as a preposition too, as in Keep driving until you reach the pond that’s right <\/em>past the abandoned farm <\/em>(i.e., at the farther side of it).<\/p>\n

Note that each use suggests something that is just beyond in terms of time or space.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Using what you’ve learned in this article, choose the correct word in each sentence below.<\/p>\n

1. Lisa couldn’t believe her sister [passed \/ past] on the opportunity to spend a semester in Paris.<\/p>\n

2. It’s hard to stay focused if you always worry about mistakes made in the [passed \/ past].<\/p>\n

3. Hard work is important, but you shouldn’t push your body [passed \/ past] the point of exhaustion.<\/p>\n

4. Julie was given detention because of the note she [passed \/ past] in class.<\/p>\n

5. I thought I saw Fred outside the stadium, but he kept walking [passed \/ past] me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. Lisa couldn’t believe her sister passed<\/strong> on the opportunity to spend a semester in Paris.<\/p>\n

2. It’s hard to stay focused if you always worry about mistakes made in the past<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

3. Hard work is important, but you shouldn’t push your body past<\/strong> the point of exhaustion.<\/p>\n

4. Julie was given detention because of the note she passed<\/strong> in class.<\/p>\n

5. I thought I saw Fred outside the stadium, but he kept walking past<\/strong> me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Get More Guidelines and Rules for Proper Grammar<\/h2>\n

We offer an array of ways to enhance to your clarity and eloquence when writing in American English. Visit our blog again soon! If you have a thought or a question, simply leave it in the box below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The past is many things\u2014but it\u2019s not the same as passed. Passed: gone ahead of; approved Past: a former time; beyond If you ever find yourself struggling with the grammatical difference between the two, you aren\u2019t alone. They sound identical when spoken aloud and have somewhat related definitions. However, they do have different meanings, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,10,72,33,37,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adjectives-adverbs","category-definitions","category-nouns","category-prepositions","category-spelling","category-verbs"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4182"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4182"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7042,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4182\/revisions\/7042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}