The homophones past and passed are the most perplexing in the English language. Their spellings and meanings, on the other hand, are entirely different. While the term past is used to imply an earlier period, beyond, or something that no longer exists in the present. passed denotes a previous period, beyond, or anything that no longer exists in the present,
Past vs Passed
The main difference between Past and Passed is that the term past has various connotations typically connected to “period before the present-day” or to show movement “from one side to the other side.” The phrase ‘passed’ refers to the past tense of the verb ‘pass,’ which means ‘to pass.’
When talking or writing about the past, you are referring to a time period that has gone or no longer exists. It may also be used to describe a time prior to the current time or to indicate when a specific number of minutes have passed after an hour.
The term ‘passed’ is essentially the past tense of ‘pass,’ which has a variety of meanings in the English language. However, it is generally used to indicate that something has passed, elapsed or ended, or been cleared. To travel beyond someone or object, the term passed might be used.
Comparison Table Between Past and Passed
| Parameters of Comparison | Past | Passed |
| Meaning | We can utilize “past” to describe anything that has already happened, finished, or is no longer happening. | When anything passes, elapses, succeeds, or progresses, we use the word passed. |
| Part of speech | It can be used as Adjective, Noun, Adverb, and Preposition. | The term passed can be used as Verb. |
| Related to | It is related to Time. | It is related to Movement |
| Example 1 | Jane’s experience in marriage was not so good. | More than one hour has passed. |
| Example 2 | We’ll meet on November 29, 2018, at twenty past three. | Diya passed the sheets to me. |
What is Past?
A noun, an adverb, or a preposition can all be used with the word “past.” Its most well-known definition pertains to the passage of time. In noun form, you’d say, “I love when my grandma tells hilarious tales about the past,” as in, “I love when my grandma tells funny stories about the past.” “The past year has been tough,” or “He wouldn’t stop talking about all of his prior successes,” are two instances of how to use “past” as an adjective.
In a grammatical context, “past” can also be used in this way. The term “past tense” is one of the most prevalent grammatical errors. This is wrong; you’re discussing events that occurred in the past, therefore you should use the past tense.
“Past” can relate to both time and direction as a preposition, and it signifies “after” (possibly ironically, given its noun and adjective forms refer to the time that has passed!). For example, at 5:30 p.m., you would say “half-past five,” not “half-past five.” And you’d add something like, “My house is right beyond the library,” while giving someone directions.
Take a look at the following sentences:
He never did that in the past.
The past events shook his life.
What is Passed?
The word “passed” is a verb. It’s a variation of the verb “to pass.” It’s the…past tense form, at the risk of adding to the confusion. “Pass” may relate to a variety of things, and you would say “passed” if any of them happened in the past. “My dog barked as we passed another dog,” says the narrator of the story.
In the context of time, “pass” can also indicate “to go by”: “Time passed slowly while I waited.” It may also refer to giving something to someone else: “After she had eaten some of the potatoes, my mother handed them to me.”
It might refer to getting a good grade on something: “I got my driver’s license yesterday!”. When lawmakers accept a measure, it is said to be “passed.” “This historic bill was recently passed by the House of Representatives.”
I passed the book to my friend.
She passed her intermediate with distinction.
She passed her sister without looking.
She moved past her sister without looking.
The word past is employed as an adverb in the second phrase to support the verb moved. This is because the word past has no meaning as a verb. It must always be combined with another verb.
Main Differences Between Past and Passed
- The word past is a synonym for the word prior. The word passed refers to something that has been moved or sent.
- The word “past” is sometimes used to refer to “history.” passed has a wide range of applications.
- Whereas the word “pass” is frequently used for “before.” whereas, passed might have meant ‘give.’
- Past cannot be used as a verb since it is a noun. The past tense of the verb past is passed.
- Past is also an adverb that requires the presence of a verb. Passed, on the other hand, maybe used as a verb in phrases.
Conclusion
The words Past and the word Passed are different but are frequently mistaken because of their phonetic similarity, despite the fact that there is a significant difference between them. While the word past is a past tense of the verb pass, it is not a past tense of any verb. It is used in a variety of contexts. Past has been used as a noun and then as an adjective. It occurs as an adverb when it is followed by a verb. The word past appears as a preposition in the phrase, “Don’t go past the well.”
The first and most obvious distinction between past and passed is that whereas passed ends with a ‘d’ sound, past finishes with a ‘t’ sound. Furthermore, the word passed is just the past tense of the verb pass, yet past is also a verb form.
References
- https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jog.14546
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13428-013-0434-y