Grammar
B1–B2
6 min read
Updated 10 June 2026
Quick answer: Passed is always a verb — it is the past tense or past participle of pass: She passed the exam; time has passed. Past is everything else — an adjective (the past few days), a noun (in the past), an adverb (drove past), or a preposition (walked past the shop). Grammar test: if you can replace the word with went by or moved beyond, use passed; otherwise use past.
Comparison Table
| Word | Part of Speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|
| passed | verb (past tense / past participle of pass) | went by; moved beyond; succeeded in; transferred | He passed the ball to his teammate. |
| past | adjective / noun / adverb / preposition | gone by; time before now; beyond in position | In the past, things were different. |
Using Passed (Verb)
Passed is the past tense and past participle of the verb pass. The key rule: passed is always a verb. There must be a subject performing the action.
She passed her driving test on the first attempt.
Two hours have passed since we arrived.
He passed me in the corridor without saying hello.
The bill was passed by Parliament last week.
Using Past (Multiple Roles)
Past is used in four different grammatical roles:
Past as an Adjective
The past few months have been challenging.
Her past experience makes her ideal for this role.
Past as a Noun
We can learn from the past.
She prefers not to talk about her past.
Past as an Adverb
A police car drove past at speed.
The children ran past laughing.
Past as a Preposition
Turn left just past the supermarket.
It is half past three.
The Grammar Test
The quickest way to choose between passed and past: try replacing the word with a form of the verb "go". If it works (went by, gone, going), use passed. If it does not work, use past.
"She passed/past the exam" — replace: "She went through the exam" — works, so use passed.
"The passed/past few weeks" — replace: "The went few weeks" — does NOT work, so use past.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1 — Using passed as an adjective
✗ During the passed year, sales improved.
✓ During the past year, sales improved.
Mistake 2 — Using past as a verb
✗ She past the test with flying colours.
✓ She passed the test with flying colours.
Mistake 3 — Confusing "half past" and "half passed"
✗ It is half passed two.
✓ It is half past two. (preposition)
Mini-Quiz
Test your understanding with an interactive exercise:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between passed and past?
Passed is always a verb — the past tense or past participle of pass: "She passed her exam"; "Three days have passed." Past is not a verb — it functions as an adjective (past events), a noun (in the past), an adverb (drove past), or a preposition (past the shop; half past three). The key test: if you can replace the word with "went by" or another verb form, use passed. If not, use past.
Is "the past few days" or "the passed few days"?
The correct phrase is "the past few days" — past here is an adjective meaning recently gone by. Passed cannot function as an adjective. The quick test: can you replace "past" with a verb form like "gone"? "The gone few days" — that does not work, so use past. Any time you see "the past [noun]" (the past week, the past month, the past year), it must be spelled past.
Is it "half past" or "half passed"?
The correct expression for telling time is "half past" — for example, "half past three" means 3:30. Here, past is a preposition meaning beyond or after a point in time. There is no verb in this phrase, so passed (a verb form) is incorrect. Similarly: "quarter past six" (6:15), "twenty past eight" (8:20). In American English, the equivalent is often "half three" or "three thirty" rather than "half past three."
How can I tell if I should use passed or past?
Apply the grammar test: passed is always a verb. Ask yourself: is there a subject performing an action in my sentence? Can I replace the word with "went by," "moved beyond," or another active verb form? If yes to either, use passed. If the word is modifying a noun (the past month), naming a concept (a thing of the past), describing movement without a verb (ran past), or showing position (past the gate), use past. When in doubt, check if passed could be replaced with "went" — if yes, use passed.
Can past be used as an adverb?
Yes — past is used as an adverb when it modifies a verb without a following object: "The bus drove past"; "She walked past without stopping"; "Years went past." As an adverb, past means "beyond this point" and is not followed by a noun object. Compare: "She walked past the shop" (preposition — followed by the noun "the shop") vs "She walked past" (adverb — no object). Both are correct uses of past, not passed.
What are the main uses of the verb pass?
The verb pass has many meanings: to go by (the car passed me), to succeed in (passed the test), to hand something to someone (pass me the salt), to spend time (pass the time), to move beyond a point (passed the checkpoint), to approve formally (the law was passed), to die (she passed away), and to transfer (the title passed to her son). In all these uses, the past tense is always passed — never past.
What does "pass away" mean?
Pass away is a euphemism for dying — a polite, gentle way of saying someone has died: "Her grandfather passed away last year." The past tense is passed away (verb form), never "past away." This phrasal verb treats death as a transition or passing beyond. It is appropriate in most formal and informal contexts and is preferred over blunter expressions like "died" in condolence letters or sensitive conversations.
Is "past tense" spelled with passed or past?
The grammatical term is "past tense" — spelled past. Here, past is an adjective describing the type of tense (a tense that refers to past time). You would never write "passed tense" — that would be a spelling error. Similarly: past perfect, past continuous, past participle — all use past (the adjective) because these are names for grammatical concepts, not verb forms. Only when talking about an action performed by a subject do you use passed.
What is "a blast from the past"?
A blast from the past is an informal idiom meaning something (a song, photo, person, or memory) that suddenly reminds you of a time long ago: "Seeing my old school friend was a real blast from the past." Here past is a noun meaning the time gone by. It is always spelled past in this expression — there is no verb in the phrase, so passed would be wrong. The expression conveys a sudden, surprising return of old memories or experiences.
In the sentence "time has passed," is passed a past participle?
Yes — in "time has passed," passed is the past participle of pass, used with the auxiliary verb has to form the present perfect tense. The sentence means time has gone by. The structure is: subject (time) + auxiliary (has) + past participle (passed). This is always spelled passed, not past. Compare: "time passed quickly" (past simple, also passed) vs "in the past" (past as a noun — no verb). Both the past simple and past participle of pass are spelled passed.