Note 18 – Passed and Past

For the background to my writing challenge, please read my first blog by clicking the following link – http://wp.me/p1x6Ui-4.  If you would prefer to dive straight into note 18, then please read on…

Passed and Past

The words passed and past sometimes cause confusion.  The Little Red Writing Book by Brandon Royal explains that passed is a verb and past is a noun, adjective or preposition.

Passed (verb – to pass)

“She passed me the bread”

“I passed my exam last Thursday”

Past (as a noun)

Definition in www.oxfordictionaries.com:  the time before the moment of speaking or writing

“In the past, people used to use pound notes”

“I’ve often wondered what it was like to live in the past”

Past (adjective)

Definition in www.oxfordictionaries.com:  gone by in time and no longer existing

“The past tense of pass is passed”

“All past students passed their exams”

Past (preposition)

One definition in www.oxfordictionaries.com:  beyond in time; later than

“It was half past six before I got home”

My thoughts:  When considering what word to choose when writing, if it’s not a verb, I am assuming that it’s going to be spelt like ‘past’.  I will also be doing a further blog on ‘prepositions’ to make that point a bit clearer.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra

This blog: www.mywritingnotes.wordpress.com

My other blog: www.sandramadeira.wordpress.com

My website: www.tipsandluxuries.com

Twitter: @madeirasandra  and  @tipsandluxuries

Reference list

Brandon Royal in The Litle Red Writing Book (2004), USA