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Past versus Passed, a la Shmoop. They may both start with the same letter...

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...and they may sound like the same word when you say them out loud...

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...but "past" and "passed" are different words with very different uses.

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The word "past"...

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...spelled "p-a-s-t"...

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...is a noun that refers to a long time ago.

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For example, Great-Aunt Lila still wears clothes from the Forties because she lives in the

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past.

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Or, the Civil War was in the past...

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...although there are some folks who may argue this point.

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The word "passed"...

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...spelled "p-a-s-s-e-d"...

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...is a verb that means you're going by something.

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You might say, "I passed by the store on the way to school"...

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...or, "I passed a really creepy guy dressed like Hello Kitty at Comic-Con last weekend."

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Now, given that "past" and "passed" can sound like the same word, how do you know

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which one you should use?

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Think of it this way. What sound do you hear when a car passes you? Whoosssssssh.

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That "sssssssh" sound should remind you of the two "s"'s in the word "passed"...

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...that's "passed" with a "d".

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The word "past" with a "t" only has one "s", and so, sadly, whoossssssshing

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is not an option. And that's it! "Past" with a "t" refers

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to a long time ago...

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...and "passed" with a "d" means you're going by something.

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Now that you know the difference between these two words, all your confusion about this grammar

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rule should be in the "past" with a "t"...

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...along with bell-bottoms and mullets.

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