Passed vs. Past

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Understanding the difference between commonly confused words will help you avoid making errors in English usage. Let’s examine the difference between the following:

passed

Passed is the past form of the verb pass, meaning to move in a specified direction, to go beyond or across, to elapse or go by, to be transferred, to succeed on a test, or to approve a law.

George passed by several full parking lots before he found one with some available spots.
Congratulations! You passed all your courses.

past

Past can be an adjective, adverb, preposition, or noun, but never a verb. It means gone by in time, belonging to a former time, or beyond in time or position.

The parking lot George used was just past the gas station.
Old photos from the past.

Photo credits:

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Photo 2: Image by congerdesign from Pixabay