Passed and Past

Use 'passed' as an action of going by and 'past' for time or position.

'Passed' and 'past' sound the same. 'Passed' is the past tense of the verb 'pass'. It is an action: 'She passed the ball' or 'We passed the bakery on our walk. ' 'Past' is not an action. It can mean an earlier time, 'In the past, people used candles', or a position beyond something, 'walk past the gate.

' A quick test: if you can change the sentence to 'pass' or 'passes' in the present, the word is 'passed'. Try: 'The bus passed our house. ' Present: 'The bus passes our house. ' Works, so 'passed' is right. Now: 'The bus drove past our house. ' Here 'drove' is the action, and 'past' tells where.

• 1passed = an action (the past tense of pass).
• 2past = an earlier time or beyond a place.
• 3Test: switch to 'passes'. If it works, use passed.