past/pɑːst $ pæst/

a. happening in an earlier time

n.

➊ [the ~] an earlier time

➋ a person's life before the present time

prep.

➊ up to and beyond (sth/sb)

➋ later than (a particular time)

ad. to and beyond a certain point or time

a. [常置于名词前] 过去的，昔日的：I knew from past experience that this was the best choice. 根据以往的经验，我知道这是最好的选择。

◇He's been busy over the past few weeks. 过去的几周里，他很忙。

◇the past tense of a verb 动词的过去式

n.

➊ [the ~] [S] 过去，昔日：He earned a lot of money in the past. 他过去挣了很多钱。

➋ [C] 往事：He never talked about his past. 他从未谈起他的过去。

prep.

➊ 过…；从…旁走过：They walked past me. 他们从我身边走过。

➋ 晚于，在…之后：It's half past three. 3点半了。

ad. 从旁边过；过去：We saw a car drive past. 我们看见一辆车从旁边开过。

◇Several weeks went past before we heard from her. 好几个星期过去了，我们才收到她的来信。

音组-ast/-ɑːst/

cast; fast; last; past; vast

常犯错误

✗ at forty past six

✓ at six forty 在6点40分

✓ at twenty to seven 在7点差20分

✓ at twenty past seven 在7点20分

[✌past前的分钟数不能超过30]

用法in the past可指 “刚过去一段时间里”，强调“到现在”，要与现在完成时连用；还可指“在过去某段时间里”，与现在分开，与一般过去时连用。in the past ten years之类的短语表达的含义与in the past的第一种意思相同，所以一般和现在完成时连用。

辨析passed; past