What does past mean?
Word: Past
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Past means the time before now. As a preposition or adverb, past means going beyond something, as in walk past the gate.
Synonyms: history, former times
Antonyms: present
Sounds like: passed (went by, or succeeded in a test; the past tense of pass)
How do you spell past?
Syllables: past
Tricky part: Past is often confused with passed, the past tense of pass. They sound the same but do different jobs in a sentence. On its own, past rhymes with fast and last and is spelt the same way.
Watch out for: paast, passt
Memory tip: Passed is something you did (we passed the test). Past is a time or a position (in the past, run past the shop). If there is already a verb doing the action, write past.
Idioms and Phrases
- a thing of the past: Something that no longer happens or exists. Example: "With online forms, long queues at the bank are becoming a thing of the past."
Past in a sentence
Example 1: In the past, people sent messages by pigeon.
Example 2: Our grandparents love telling stories about the past.
Example 3: We drove past the school on our way home.
Fun Fact
Past started out as a spelling of passed, the past participle of pass. Over the centuries the two spellings were given separate jobs.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word past as it is used in the sentence:
In the past, letters took weeks to reach our village.
a) winter
b) evening
c) future
d) holidays
Show answer
c) future. The future is the time still to come, the opposite of the past.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
We walked past the old temple and stopped at a small stall selling roasted peanuts and cold coconut watter.
a) peanuts
b) past
c) temple
d) watter
Show answer
d) watter. Water has a single t.
Spell-o-Spell
Find the correctly spelt word in the list and choose its meaning.
1. presant 2. past 3. yesterdey 4. histery
a) the time that has gone by
b) the day before today
c) the time happening now
d) the study of events long ago
Show answer
a) the time that has gone by. Present ends in ent, history has an o and yesterday ends in ay; only past is correct as written.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which phrase is about the past?
a) tomorrow morning
b) in a few years
c) next summer
d) in the olden days
Show answer
d) in the olden days
2. Which sentence uses past correctly?
a) She past the exam easily.
b) It is half past four.
c) He past me the salt.
d) Time has past quickly.
Show answer
b) It is half past four.
