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The Past Has Passed ….
Posted by Editormum on Friday, 24 December 2004 in Definitions | ∞
Emergency beacons in my Inbox — a concerned blogger wants us to clear up the difference between “passed” and “past.” Actually, this one’s really easy, because the two words are completely different parts of speech.
Past is either a noun or adjective. It means “previous times.”
noun: His past is a closed book.
adjective: That time is past. The past two Christmases have been dull.
Passed is the past-tense form of the verb to pass. It means that at some previous time, something got ahead of something else.
The 18-wheeler passed the Geo Metro on the downhill slope.
My son passed all his exams and will be going to Eton.