'Past' can be an adjective, modifying a person or idea, as in, 'Our past president spoke until past 10 p.m.' In the first sentence, 'past' is an adjective modifying 'president,' while in the second. Change "I passed your house" to "I will pass your house," and you find that passed becomes will pass. 'Passed' can also serve as the simple past tense of the verb 'pass,' as in this example: We passed several children having fun on the playground. Change "I drive past your house" to "I will drive past your house," and you find that past remains the same. If you are describing the action of passing, however, you need to use passed: when John passed the gravy, he spilled it. By putting a sentence in the future tense you can see which you want. If you are referring to a distance or a period of time before now, use past: the police car drove past the suspect’s house (distance) or the team performed well in the past (time). Instead, you need the adjectival form 'past' here. To keep past and passed straight, remember that past always has the same form, while passed is one of the forms of the verb pass. 'Passed' is the past tense form of the verb 'to pass.' Therefore, saying 'the past is passed' is grammatically incorrect, unless you are making a passive construction (the past is passed. If this pair has given you trouble in the past, we recommend you give this article a passing glance from time to time. The kids will both pass out in front of the TV. It's the past tense of the verbal phrase pass out, which we can see clearly in the future tense: See examples, rules, and a pop quiz to test your knowledge. For instance: As I walked past the doughnut shop. Past is a form of the verb pass, while passed is a past tense of the verb pass. Whereas passed is a verb, past is not, so a sentence with past still needs a verb. The kids were both passed out in front of the TV. Learn the difference between past and passed, two words that sound similar but have different meanings and uses. Past (noun) A time before the current moment. If you need a noun, adverb, adjective, or preposition, on the other hand, the term you need will always be past. Consequently, if you need an action word, passed will always be correct. The phrase for when someone has lost consciousness or fallen asleep is passed out: Furthermore, while passed is the past tense of pass, the word past is never a verb. Past remains unchanged, but passed changes to will pass.īoth words appear in idioms as well. To see which word is the one you want, put the same sentences in the future tense and see what happens: The way to keep them straight is to remember that past only ever has that form, but passed is really just a version of the verb pass, so it can take the forms pass, passes, or passing as well. If you pass a park on a drive through town and want to talk about it later you can say either of the following: Shawna, In the sentence I need to run an idea past you, past is a preposition. The words sound identical, though, and they occupy some of the same semantic territory, which can make it really hard to keep them straight. Since 'passed' is just a version of the verb 'pass,' it can take the forms 'pass,' 'passes,' or 'passing' as well.
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