Common Grammar Errors in English: Contrary to what many believe, past and last cannot be used interchangeably. They are used to describe different conditions of an event with regards to a particular period or phase of time.
While talking about past events, many people can be found confused between past and last. Contrary to what many believe, past and last cannot be used interchangeably. They are used to describe different conditions of an event with regard to a particular period or phase of time.
Let’s take a look at the following examples.
- I’ve been waiting for you for the last two hours. (incorrect)
- I’ve been waiting for you for the past two hours. (correct)
But look at the following examples.
- Although he started off really slow, he managed to catch up with the goal in the last three sessions. (not past three sessions)
- Although he bowled quite badly at the beginning of the innings, he managed to pick up five wickets in the last two overs. (not past two overs)
The Explanation
Last: We use last when we want to talk about a period of time which is the final phase of a certain activity or event.
Past: We use past when we want to talk about a period of time that has just gone by recently.
So, if you’re talking about waiting for someone (as shown in the examples above), it’s correct to use the past two hours since you mean the period (two hours) that has just gone by.
You cannot use the last two hours since it’s not a phase of any event. In fact, the only event here is waiting for two hours. In other words, those two hours are the period of time which has just gone by waiting for your friend.
Some more examples…
In his last three years, he wrote two biographies. (described to talk about a person who has passed)
Last Year vs Past Year
Last year means the last calendar year, for example, 2015 (if you’re in 2016).
Past year means the 365 days preceding today. For example, if it was 14th Feb, 2016 today, then the past year would mean the time between 15th Feb, 2015 and 14th Feb, 2016.
For example:
He completed his MBA last year (for example 2015) but he’s been looking for a job for the past year. (for example, from 4th of July, 2015 until 3rd of July, 2016)
This Passed Year vs This Past Year
One of the most incorrectly used phrases in English is “this passed year”. Many users who commit this error believe “passed” has the same meaning as “past”, but that’s incorrect.
Here are some examples of incorrect usage:
- You’re passed your bedtime. (incorrect)
- You’re past your bedtime. (correct)
- The popular actor past away. (incorrect)
- The popular actor passed away. (correct)
- He bought these shoes this passed weekend. (incorrect)
- I bought these shoes this past weekend. (correct)
- He walked passed the danger line. (incorrect)
- He walked past the danger line. (correct)
- The Uber drove passed its destination. (incorrect)
- The Uber drove past its destination. (correct)
- Sam got passed the finish line in record time. (incorrect)
- Sam got past the finish line in record time. (correct)
Explanation
As you can see “Passed” and “Past” both share the same sound and this is probably why “passed” is often incorrectly used.
Grammatically speaking, ‘pass’ is a verb that has a range of meanings depending on the context. Let’s take a look at a few examples below:
- Sandra passed the exam with distinction. (succeed in a test, past tense)
- I’ve passed your notes to your friend. (hand over, present perfect)
- My boss passed by me without giving me a glance. (go past something)
- Sometimes I feel life is passing me by. (leave someone behind)
As you can see in the third example mentioned above, ‘passed’ often can mean to “move past” and indicates the motion of a person or an object.
Similarly, the word “past” has a wide range of meanings including ‘time before the present.
For example:
- She has achieved a lot in the past two years. (adjective)
- There’s no point in looking at your past. (noun)
However, ‘past’ can also be used as an adverb or a preposition as well.
For example:
- He ran past. (beyond, adverb)
- Mike walked past the door. (beyond, preposition)
This is exactly where many get confused and end up saying “passed” when they actually mean “past”.
It can be confusing for many since, in some cases, both variations are possible.
Look at the following examples:
You have passed the bedtime = You are past the bedtime.
However, in natural speech or writing, it sounds awkward to say, “you have passed the bedtime”.
What did we learn?
Whenever you’re confused about whether “he walked past or passed the door”, remember “walk past” as a phrasal verb.
Similarly, don’t say “this passed weekend” when you mean to say “this past weekend”.
Confused about whether she will “get past or passed the finish line”? Apply the same logic as advised in the first example.
I hope this post clarifies your doubts. If you find this post useful, share it with your friends.
is this correct?
he has been telling stories for the last two hours.
Nope! It should be: He’s been telling stories for the past two hours.
No it’s not we have to use ”past” in this statement
Thank you 🙂
Then what about ‘I have been absent from school for the last few days ‘. Would it be ‘the past few days’?
Yes, it should be “the past few days”. However, in order to use “the last few days”, you need to change the context of the sentence. For example, “I was unwell so I couldn’t attend the last few classes”. Here, the speaker is talking about the classes that she couldn’t attend just before the summer break. Please, see the examples in the article for more context. Let us know if you have any more questions. Thanks!
Thank you!
Is it correct ?
Someone, they don’t know, (A)/ broke theirwindow (B)/last night (C)/ no error (D)
The location of
they don't knowsounds out of place to me. Apparently, no errors in B or C. In strict sense, this sentence could be paraphrased better. I’d paraphrase the sentence in the following ways:Option #1: They have no idea who broke their window last night.
Option #2: They don’t know who broke their windows last night.
Given the context of this post,
last nightis absolutely correct. Therefore, I presume the error is inpart Aof your sentence.Hi, In your examples above:
The Uber drove passed its destination.
Correct Usage: The Uber drove past its destination.
My boss passed by me without giving me a glance. (go past something)
Why is “past” used in the Uber sentence but “passed” is used in the boss sentence? I would assume both sentences would use the word “passed” since both imply “go past something”.
Thanks
In the examples above, “past” is an adverb while “pass by” is phrasal verb. Therefore, we should use appropriately. Please, check these out: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/pass-by
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/past_1
While we can use either of these two in our sentences, it requires us to change the construction of the sentence to read grammatically.
For more explanation, please check this out: https://www.quora.com/Which-is-correct-drove-past-or-drove-passed-Why
Hope this helps!
“Passed year” means the year that has passed. So why is it wrong?? Its not necessarily mistaken for “past year”. Two meanings! Am i wrong?
We often use the ‘past participle tense’ of verbs as adjectives,e.g., “Passed year”. However, we cannot use that rule randomly — we should conform to the grammatical correctness.
To cite the aforementioned example, “My boss just passed by me…” doesn’t mean we could also say “Passed boss”.
Hope that makes sense.
Is this correct??
Until the passing of many years to today
No, it doesn’t make any sense to me.
Is it for the “last decade” or “past decade”?
Hi! Is this correct?
Over the last 15 years…
She has achieved a lot in the past two years.
This is one of the examples you have shown above. According to your explanation, “She has achieved a lot in the last two years.” or “She has achieved a lot for the past two years.” seems correct. Aside from this, all the other examples and explanations are super great to help me get out of the confusion. Looking forward to your kind reply.
Hi, is this correct?
for the passed 4 years..
Excellent, really helpful article. I loved it even more by the fact that I thought I wouldn´t be able to find the explanation so quickly. Keep up the good work, and thanks a million.
I read this article and I still need a bit of clarification. My plan is to include every year up to this point:
“ There was a kind of ritual to the harvest, and the weeks leading up to it had changed from passed years.”
So the years have passed, but they also belong to the past. Would either be safe?
In my opinion, “the past years” would be more appropriate. However, you could also use “the years gone by”.
we thank you for the patronage these (passed years) or (past years).
which is correct?
So if it was recently what would be correct:
the past months were great or the last months were great?
isnthere a difference between
“within the last two years”
“within two years”
“within the past two years”
Is it OK to say this: “For the last four years, I’ve been working 18-19 hours a day.” (NY Times)?