[Doglover]

does anyone else have a problem with these? I know the noun is past, no problem there, but when it comes to 'going passed' or similar, I'm lost. Can someone rescue me, please? 

 

[jb1111]

The American Heritage Dictionary says you'd use the term "going past". Examples of the verb use are "they passed our home." "Time passed slowly." But the adverbial use is "past" -- "He drove past", "He walked past", are their examples in that case.

The spelling may be different in the UK?

My guess is if you have a dictionary, look up "Pass" and "Past", mine goes into pretty good detail on it. Some dictionaries are more helpful than others.

 

[Doglover]

The American Heritage Dictionary says you'd use the term "going past". Examples of the verb use are "they passed our home." "Time passed slowly." But the adverbial use is "past" -- "He drove past", "He walked past", are their examples in that case.

The spelling may be different in the UK?

My guess is if you have a dictionary, look up "Pass" and "Past", mine goes into pretty good detail on it. Some dictionaries are more helpful than others.

Thanks. Spelling's the same; I've tried putting both in when I'm not sure to see if Word argues about it and usually it doesn't, so I'm just as wise as ever. It's more frustrating when everything else to do with spelling and grammar comes so easily to me.

 

[unkownwriter]

Since both are actual words, Word isn't going to flag it as wrong. It's a tricky word, which I will sometimes get wrong and have to look at it for a bit. If I get too messed up, I'll just rewrite the sentence.

 

[Patty Jansen]

Passed is a verb. If the word you're about to use is not a verb, it should be past.

 

[baldricko]

I like this explanation using trolls (the kind that live under bridges).

'No trolls have passed this way over the past week.'

 

[Doglover]

Passed is a verb. If the word you're about to use is not a verb, it should be past.

That's where I get confused. I don't have a problem with verbs normally, just this one. I can usually here my old English teacher in my ear, but not with this one. Perhaps because she's long since 'passed' on. Or has she 'past' on?

 

[Patty Jansen]

That's where I get confused. I don't have a problem with verbs normally, just this one. I can usually here my old English teacher in my ear, but not with this one. Perhaps because she's long since 'passed' on. Or has she 'past' on?

There is only one verb in the sentence "She passed on." There are no other words that could possibly be a verb. With passed/past you probably have to ignore trying to make any sense of the meaning and simply look at the elements of the sentence. If the word you're dithering over is a verb, it should be "oassed".

 

[jswww]

"She [has] long since past on." In this case, the verb is "has," so you need an adverb here. Thus, "past."

No. :-o

Logged in for the first time in two years for this. Wow.

The verb is "has passed". "Has" is a helping verb or auxiliary verb. The main verb is "passed."

She has long since passed on.

You would never say "She has long since past on." It's wrong.

 

[LDB]

For the most part, with a few exceptions,

Past is time.

Passed is movement.

She passed on because she moved from one world to another.

She passed on in the past because it already happened in a prior time.

 

[Doglover]

I did thank everyone for replies, but my post seems to have vanished.

I looked up the dictionary (Oxford International) and it's a bit clearer, but I do think I might have to look again every time.

 

[Julia2233]

First of all, thanks for the explanation and enlightening! Also, I want to say that it is possible to use Grammarly. Maybe you have already heard about this tool. I use its free version and it automatically corrects the mistakes or suggests better variants. Does anyone else use it? It would be great to find out how great the paid version is.

 

[Doglover]

First of all, thanks for the explanation and enlightening! Also, I want to say that it is possible to use Grammarly. Maybe you have already heard about this tool. I use its free version and it automatically corrects the mistakes or suggests better variants. Does anyone else use it? It would be great to find out how great the paid version is.

I don't think there are any members here who have never heard of Grammarly. It is useful, but it must never be relied upon. I used it once when I was trying it out for a friend, but it wanted to change my 'Your Majesty' to 'You're Majesty' for some strange reason. It is also an American tool, so if you write with British English, you might find hyphens where we wouldn't put them and Oxford commas.

 

[Julia2233]

I don't think there are any members here who have never heard of Grammarly. It is useful, but it must never be relied upon. I used it once when I was trying it out for a friend, but it wanted to change my 'Your Majesty' to 'You're Majesty' for some strange reason. It is also an American tool, so if you write with British English, you might find hyphens where we wouldn't put them and Oxford commas.

I noticed that sometimes it corrects things that don't need to be fixed. But still, I find this tool to be useful. Maybe I should try the premium version.

 

[Becca Mills]

Past is time.

Passed is movement.

Unfortunately, when past is an adverb, it has to do with movement, not time, as in Bob walked past the bar instead of going in.

I can see why past/passed are so easily confused. It doesn't help that they're aural homophones (at least in U.S. English), so people grow up not being able to hear the difference between them in speech.

 

[Doglover]

Unfortunately, when past is an adverb, it has to do with movement, not time, as in Bob walked past the bar instead of going in.

I can see why past/passed are so easily confused. It doesn't help that they're aural homophones (at least in U.S. English), so people grow up not being able to hear the difference between them in speech.

They are in England as well.

There is quite a clear explanation in the Oxford International Dictionary, but not one I will ever be able to keep in my head, so I think I shall have to bookmark that page!