Writing Questions #writetip

Jessica from Southport asked: If someone has read my book or a piece of my writing, and given me a written quotation, can I use it on publicity material?

Yes, you can use quotes from a review on your website, blog or any other promotional material. If you have received a written review prior to publication, then you could include excerpts from it on the book cover when it is published.

Liza from Brighton sent in this plea for help: No matter how hard I try, I just cannot get to grips with when I should use passed and when I should use past. Is there an easy way to remember?

This is something that many writers have difficulty getting right. The way I deal with it is to determine whether the context requires a verb or another part of speech. If you decide the sentence needs a verb, then you can only use ‘passed’ (apart from this exception, to be past it, which is colloquial usage, meaning old or no longer of use).

They passed the time by sleeping.

The ball passed over their heads.

I passed the house on my way to the bank.

Remember this: if you use any form of the verb ‘to have’ then it will always be followed by ‘passed’ and NEVER by ‘past’.

I have passed my exams.

He has passed his driving test.

For all other parts of speech you should use past.

As an adjective: I’ve been waiting for news for the past week. (‘Week’ is a noun and ‘past’ is an adjective modifying the noun.)

As a noun: It happened in the past. (‘The past’ is a noun.)

As an adverb: He hurried past. (The verb is ‘hurried’ and ‘past’ in this sentence is an adverb.)

As a preposition: He hurried past the house. (Because there is an object [the house] after ‘past’, it is a preposition and not an adverb, but the effect is the same and knowing the parts of speech doesn’t change the fact that you use ‘past’.)

If you have a writing-related question, please feel free to ask. Obviously, some things I won't know, but I will always try to find the answer for you.

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