FluencyCraft

past

"Past" is a very common and useful word in English, and it works in several different ways — as a noun, adjective, preposition, and adverb. Here are the most important senses you'll encounter.

1nountime gone by

When you talk about things that happened before now — yesterday, last year, or long ago — you are talking about 'the past'. Think of it as everything that is already finished and behind you in time.

everyday language · Modern, widely used

She doesn't like to talk about her past.

In the past, people traveled by horse instead of by car.

We can learn a lot from the past.

2adjectiveprevious / gone by

When 'past' describes a noun, it means something that happened or existed before now. It is similar to saying 'previous' or 'former'.

everyday language · Modern, widely used

The past few days have been very busy for me.

She is a past champion of the tennis tournament.

He regrets some of his past decisions.

3prepositionbeyond a point in space

When you go 'past' something, you move beyond it — you reach it and then continue further. Imagine walking along a street and going further than the bakery — you walked past the bakery.

everyday language · Modern, widely used

Turn left just past the traffic lights.

She walked past me without saying hello.

The school is just past the park on the right.

4prepositionlater than a time

You can also use 'past' to talk about time, meaning 'after' a specific hour. This is very common when telling the time in English.

everyday language · Modern, widely used

It is ten past three — so the time is 3:10.

It was already past midnight when they arrived home.

Don't stay up past nine o'clock tonight.

5adverbmoving from one side to the other

When 'past' is an adverb, it describes movement — something or someone goes by, moving from one side to the other in front of you. There is no specific destination mentioned, just the movement.

everyday language · Modern, widely used

A red car drove past at high speed.

The children ran past, laughing loudly.

I waved, but she just walked past.

Content generated by AI — may contain inaccuracies