Pastime or pastime ( one word ) means an amusement, sport, hobby, or recreation--something done in one's leisure time--
Baseball is often called America's favorite pastime.
His usual pastime is working in the garden, but he's watching the game on TV today.
Past time or past time ( two words ) means beyond the limits of ( past ) a set hour ( time )--
It's past time for him to be home--he's usually here by six.
It's nine--past time for school to start.
Passed time or passed time means spent or lived through ( passed ) a certain number of minutes, hours, or days ( time )--
While they waited, they passed time talking about their homes.
They passed time playing cards, to keep from being bored.
Now that you know that, you can say--
"He passed time working on his favorite pastime until it was past time for bed."
Note--"times past" means in a long-ago time, perhaps remembered by an old person, perhaps the historical past--
In times past we walked to school for miles, uphill both ways.
"Past times" means the historical past; long ago--
In past times they only had candles to see by at night.
Note # 2--"time's passed" means a certain number of hours, minutes, or days has ( "time's" meaning time has ) gone by or elapsed ( passed )--
Has it been twenty years? The time's passed so quickly!
"Time's past" means a specific amount of time, or time set aside for a purpose, is ( "time's" would be short for time is, or time has ) used up or gone by--
Hand in your papers now, the time's past.
Note # 3--"pastimes" is the plural ( more than one ) of "pastime", meaning a hobby or recreational activity--
Football and baseball are two of America's favorite pastimes.
Words that sound the same when we speak may actually be two different words--which matters when we write them down. Spellcheck cannot help with this--it will show each word and the writer has to choose--to disambiguate them, if you will. I intend to update this daily, with another set of words it is possible to confuse, beginning with the simplest and most important. Questions and comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label past times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label past times. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
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