Meaning & use
go past
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To move beside and beyond a place or person without stopping there.
Grammar: No object after the verb itself; the place or person comes after 'past': go past the school.
Patterns
- go past something
- go past someone
- go past on something
Turn left at the church and go past the bank on your right.
We went past your house yesterday, but you weren't home.
The bus goes past the hospital before it reaches the station.
verbintransitive
To pass by a person or place while walking, driving, or riding.
Grammar: Often used with 'while' or 'when' to say what you were doing at the moment of passing.
Patterns
- go past while doing something
- go past someone doing something
She went past me while I was waiting for the light to change.
I saw him go past on his bike this morning.
verbintransitive
Of time, to come to an end or move beyond a particular point.
Grammar: Used about hours, days, or dates; 'past' here means 'beyond' a time.
Patterns
- time goes past
- go past a time
Another hour went past and still no one called.
We must finish before we go past the deadline.
Word forms
| third person singular | goes past |
|---|---|
| past tense | went past |
| past participle | gone past |
| -ing form | going past |
Common combinations
- go past the house
- If you go past the house, you'll see the sign.
- go past the school
- The road goes past the school and then turns right.
- go past quickly
- The train went past quickly and we couldn't read the number.
- go past unnoticed
- He tried to go past unnoticed, but I saw him.
- go past the limit
- The car went past the speed limit on the highway.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pass
- More general and often transitive: you pass a place or pass someone, while 'go past' stresses the movement itself.
- pass by
- Very close in meaning, but 'pass by' often suggests you were nearby and did not stop, not just that you moved beyond something.
- go by
- Can mean the same in American English, though it is more common for time ('time went by') than for places.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: go past or passed? go past or go passed?
go past vs passed
'Passed' is the past tense of the verb 'pass' (he passed the house), while 'past' is the word used after 'go' here (he went past the house).
go past vs go passed
This is a common spelling mistake. After 'go', use 'past', not 'passed'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'go past' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Go past' is followed directly by the place: go past the park. Option 1 wrongly adds 'to', option 2 puts the place before 'past', and option 3 uses the wrong form of the verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “go past”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.