What’s The Difference Between Past and Passed?

 

Got an editing question? Author Katie O’Sullivan has an answer!

If you have a question for Katie you can email her at katie.osullivan@yahoo.com

 

One of our CWO readers writes:

What’s the difference between past and passed? I think the book I just started used the wrong one and I can’t move on. What do you think?

Well, “past” versus “passed” can be tricky.

PAST relates to location in time or space, and can be used as a noun, adjective, preposition or adverb.

PASSED is from the verb “to pass,” and can be transitive (with a subject and object) or intransitive (with no object).

Writers can get confused between the two words because it can be tricky, as I said.

One easy way to tell which word is appropriate is to rewrite the sentence in the present tense, as though describing something currently happening.

If you re-write it in the present tense and your sentence sounds like: She and Karen pass the hot dog stand on their way to the beach, or They are passing the hot dog stand as they walk to the beach …then you want to use the verb passed, which is the past participle of the verb.

BUT, if you write it in the present tense and your sentence sounds like: She and Karen walked past the hot dog stand… THEN you can go ahead and use the word past, because your verb is “walked.” Past is there in that sentence to specify location.

As a reader, it’s going to be hard to determine what the author meant when writing. In my humble opinion, anything that makes the reader stop and focus on your word choices instead of your storyline is a bad thing.

If you have any question in your mind about the sentence you’ve just written, and whether you’re using past or passed correctly, REWRITE THE SENTENCE.

Mailbag2

CWO Mail Bag

KatieBio

Katie O’Sullivan lives on Cape Cod, drinking way too much coffee and inventing new excuses not to dust.

Living next to the Atlantic influences everything she writes, from her YA series about mermaids to her contemporary romances for The Wild Rose Press.

A recovering English major, she earned her degree at Colgate University and now writes romance and adventure for young adults, and something steamier for the young at heart.

Visit Katie’s Website Follow her Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Amazon Author Page

 

Print Friendly
Share This