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Kadie
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 Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:29 pm Post subject: Passed or Past? |
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I'm constantly getting confused with this one, which is weird since i'm usually pretty good with these types of things.
Which is the correct one to use in this sentence:
Which is where I’d stayed for the passed/past two hours.
Please help.
Kadie x |
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JFW1415
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| Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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I'd use 'past.'
Isn't 'passed' or 'I passed the test,' 'she passed on,' 'he passed me the butter?' And 'past' is for time related subjects?
Or it could be British/American spelling, *Shrugs*
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Teague
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| Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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Past = time.
Passed = past tense of "pass"
That should help. 
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Gahks
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| Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2008 10:49 pm Post subject: |
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As Saint Razorblade correctly says, "pass" is the past tense or the past participle of the verb "to pass":
Having passed the shop, he approached the school.
Time passed slowly.
"Past", on the other hand, implies "previous", "having existed/occurred at an earlier time", "no longer occurring", or "time elapsed":
He has helped us very much this past year. (i.e. "This previous year")
In the past, servants were commonplace.
His past history is unknown.
Prince Charles is a past student of Cheam School. (i.e. He used to be a student, but is no longer one.)
"Past" can also function as a preposition:
Past the river lay the castle.
He is past the point of no return.
It is half past two.
Or as an adverb:
As he ran past, he could see the forest.
(Incidentally, as Answers.com says, "past" derives from the Middle English past participle of "passen," meaning "to pass.")
Hope this helps.
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Kadie
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 2:33 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the help everyone.
So am i right in thinking that 'past' is the right word to use in the example in the first post?
I just get confused, because in the example it's talking about time, but it's about time that has 'passed'.
Grr.
Kadie x |
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Flemzo
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:43 am Post subject: |
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hah, all these answers and nothing was helpful.
try replacing the word with a different word, so for "passed" we'll put "overtook", and for "past" we'll put "previous"
so "Which is where I’d stayed for the passed/past two hours." becomes "Which is where I’d stayed for the overtook/previous two hours."
Which one makes more sense? I would guess "Which is where I'd stayed for the previous two hours", in which case you'd use "past".
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Kadie
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:33 am Post subject: |
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Lol, yeah.
I've completely reworded it so it doesn't matter anymore, but i'm bound to get confused again in the future.
Kadie x |
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