“Past” vs. “passed”, explained
Both past and passed have to do with movement or time. Semantically they’re not totally dissimilar; it’s easy to see why these two words are readily confused with each other! Let’s get past the confusion, and clear up any questions you have on this pair of homophones.
Is it “I walked past” or “passed”?
| Word | Sentence examples |
|---|---|
| past |
The past month has been really busy at work.
In the past, people traveled by horse and carriage. She enjoys learning about events from the past. |
| passed |
Three students in the class passed with distinction.
She hasn’t passed her driving test yet. I had no idea whether I’d passed or failed. |
Past is an extremely versatile word: it can function in sentences as an adjective, a preposition, a noun, or an adverb, though its meaning differs depending on the context.
As an adjective, past refers to a previous time or to something that was done at an earlier time than now:
| Usage | Example Sentences |
|---|---|
| Adjective |
She was good at her job because of her past experience.
He’s struggled with his weight in the past. This had to do with a past relationship. |
As a preposition, past means “beyond (a particular place)”, or on the other side of something/someone. As in:
| Usage | Example Sentences |
|---|---|
| Preposition |
We live in the house just past the church.
He walked straight past us! I walked past them without saying hello. |
| She’s past the stage of playing with toys. |
| These flowers are past their time. |
| Unemployment is now past the 3 million mark. |
This one’s easier: as a noun, past references an earlier period or time:
| I went there often in the past. |
| He had hurt her many times in the past. |
| She had learned from her mistakes of the past. |
These sentence examples are a bit emotionally intense, but you get the point—they speak of a previous time—from the past (not passed!)
Just in case all of that that wasn’t enough already, let’s toss in the adverb usage, for good measure. Like I said, past also appears as an adverb, and it’s used to either describe the passing of time or moving from one spot to another. By the way, that’s the difference between ‘walked past‘ and ‘walked passed‘. Here are some examples:
| She smiled at me as she walked past. |
| I called out to him as he ran past. |
Past, as an adverb, describing the past of time:
| A week went past and nothing had changed. |
| The next two hours seem to whizz past. |
Synonyms of passed
| Word / Meaning | Synonyms |
|---|---|
| passed (as in “gone”) | elapsed, gone, left, missing, moved, deceased |
| passed (as in “approved”) | recognized, affirmed, endorsed, permitted, allowed |
| past | previous, prior, over, gone-by, before, before present, earlier |
“passed” uses the verb tense “ed”—think: “I passed the test” uses an action, therefore needs the extra “ed” like other past tense verbs.
Check out other commonly confused words!
Practice questions: Past or passed?
We walked ______ the library on our way home.
She ______ the final exam with flying colors.
In the ______, people used typewriters instead of computers.
The parade ______ right in front of our house.
Let’s not dwell on the ______; focus on the future!
FAQs
Is ‘past’ a verb?
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What part of speech is ‘passed’?
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When do you use ‘past’ as a noun?
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When is ‘past’ used as preposition?
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Is it ‘walked past’ or ‘passed’?
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Sources
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Past, Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, accessed on Oct 2, 2023.
Yash, D. "How to Use Past or Passed? (Word Choice, Examples)." Grammarflex, Aug 24, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/past-or-passed/.
