There are tricky word pairs which can easily trip you up in your writing. Take 'past' and 'passed', for example. Do you know the difference? Here are a few tips to help you differentiate between the two and use them correctly...

1. What’s the difference?
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2. PAST (noun) = elapsed time; the time before
the present
Old Mr. Johnson seems stuck in the past.
She is still quite ashamed of her past.
It is important that we learn from the past.
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3. PAST (adj.) = bygone; just gone; former
She still revels in past successes.
We’ve been through a lot in the past few weeks.
The past president will host the event.
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4. PAST (adv.) = onwards; beyond
I waved at her but she just walked past.
We didn’t catch him – he must have slipped past.
The soldiers saluted him as they marched past.
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5. PAST (prep.) = beyond time, place, limit
We’ll break at a quarter past eleven.
Her house is half mile up the road, past the school.
I’m way past angry now – I’m livid!
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6. PASSED (verb) = past tense & past
participle of ‘to pass’
Gina passed all her exams this term.
These gold cuff links have passed from father
to son for generations.
He was passed over for a promotion.
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7. thewritersaide.net
If the word can be replaced by ‘history’,
‘previous’, ‘by’ or ‘beyond’, use ‘ ’.
It is important that we learn from history.
The previous president will host the event.
We didn’t catch him – he must have slipped by.
I’m way beyond angry now – I’m livid!

8. thewritersaide.net
If the word denotes an action (a verb, active or
passive), or is used in phrasal verbs, use
‘ ’.
Action: Gina passed all her exams this term.
Phrasal Verbs: passed off, passed up,
passed for, passed away,
passed over, passed out

9. : 4 letters = 4 parts of speech i.e.
noun, adjective,
adverb, preposition
: ‘ ’ = verb ending
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