passed vs past :

passed or past

If you are referring to a period of time before now or a distance, use “past”: “the team performed well in the past,” “the police car drove past the suspect’s house.” If you are referring to the action of passing, however, you need to use “passed“: “when John passed the gravy, he spilled it on his lap,” “the teacher was astonished that none of the students had passed the test.” Remember that no matter however you have ”passed the time” you have never “past the time,” not even in the distant past.

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Definitions

  • n  the time that has elapsed
    forget the past
  • n  a earlier period in someone's life (especially one that they have reason to keep secret)
    reporters dug into the candidate's past
  • n  a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the past
  • a  earlier than the present time; no longer current
    time past
    his youth is past
    this past Thursday
    the past year
  • s  of a person who has held and relinquished a position or office
  • r  so as to pass a given point
    every hour a train goes past
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