Examples

Example 1

How Donna walks past the principal in that "F@$% You" t-shirt without receiving detention is beyond me.

Remember one paragraph ago when we told you that past is a multipurpose word? In this case, past is a preposition with principal as its object. And Donna is a girl with questionable fashion sense.

Example 2

Siobhan was feeling good about her pace during the second half of the 5K when a mom pushing a stroller zoomed past her.

In this sentence, past is acting as an adverb, and Siobhan better pick up the pace if she doesn't want to let Supermom beat her to the finish line.

Example 3

The little girl in the Cinderella dress was sad that her week at Disney World passed so quickly.

We bet after seven days of long lines and central Floridian humidity, her parents jumped for joy when it was over. This sentence calls for a verb in the blank, so that means passed is the word we're looking for.