Learn how to use the verb "Pass"
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| Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Know Your Verbs. My name is Alisha. And in this lesson, we're going to talk about the verb "pass." Let's get started. |
| Okay. The basic definition of the verb "pass" is to move beyond someone or something. Examples, "Let's pass this car." "I passed you on campus earlier." |
| So, let's talk about the conjugations of this verb. |
| Present, "pass," "passes." |
| Past, "passed." |
| Past participle, "passed." |
| Progressive, "passing." |
| Okay. So, now, let's talk about some additional meanings for this verb. The first additional meaning is to decline something. So, for example, let's imagine a conversation between two people. A, "Want some cake?" B, "I'll pass." |
| The second example, "I'm going to pass on drinks tonight." Okay. So, in both of these example situations, we see someone declining. They use the expression, "I'll pass," or, "I'm going to pass." So, "to pass" means like to refuse or to decline something. It's kind of gentle, but it's just quick also. So, it's very clear, but rather gentle, too, like, "Ah, do you want to go for drinks?" "Hmm, I'll pass," or, "I'm going to pass on that for tonight." Something like that is very quick and easy to understand, but also a casual no, in other words. |
| Okay. Let's go to the second meaning for this verb. The second meaning is to go beyond an amount or to go beyond a specific day. Some examples of this, "Our channel passed one million subscribers this year." "Don't eat that. I think the expiration date is passed." So, in both of these example sentences, we see that some amount or some date has been moved beyond. So, in the first example sentence, "Our channel passed one million subscribers this year," it means our channel went beyond one million subscribers. So, there was some goal or some point, one million in this case, and we went above that or beyond that. |
| In the second example sentence, it's a date, specifically, the expiration date for a product or you might know like the best buy date. It's sometimes different, but the expiration date is like the last day that the product can be eaten or the last safe day to consume the product. So, "The expiration date has passed," means that the product is beyond that date. So, in both of these examples, we're seeing some amount or some specific day, and then we're talking about going beyond that. So, this is another meaning of the verb "pass." |
| The third meaning is to be successful, as in a test or an application, something like that. Examples of this, "I passed the test." "If the house passes inspection, we can move in next week." So, both of these are referring to successfully completing something or like successfully, like achieving something. So, in the first example, "I passed the test," it means I finished the test and I had an acceptable score. But we use "pass." It's much easier to explain with "pass." In the second example sentence about a house inspection, the situation is if we pass the inspection, So, meaning, if the house is inspected and it's considered acceptable, we can move in next week. So, this means like there's some kind of check, some kind of grading, or inspection, or examination. And if that's okay, great. We're successful. So, this is another meaning of "pass." |
| The fourth meaning is to give something. This is usually within the range of our bodies. So, some examples of this, "Can you pass me the salt?" "She passed him $100." So, in both of these examples, we're kind of imagining situations where people are pretty close to each other. So, "Can you pass me the salt?" is a request. Like maybe you're sitting at the same table with someone and you can reach them with your arm, or you can reach pretty close to them, anyway. In the second example sentence, "She passed him $100." It's like they must be pretty close. They're probably pretty close. There was some object they could pass, So, they could give to the other person within arm's reach, within a distance of their arms. So, "pass" can just mean to give something. Like this motion, usually, it's like passing something. It's kind of this image. |
| So, those are a few additional meanings of the verb "pass." Let's go on to some variations now. The first one is "to pass something off as something else." So, this expression means to make something seem like something else or to pretend that something is something else. This sounds like quite a long expression, but let's look at some examples of how it's used. "He tried to pass off his dog as a wolf." "The criminal was trying to pass off $1 bills as $100 bills." So, in both of these examples, we see someone is pretending object A is object B. In the first example sentence, there's a guy who's trying to pretend his dog, A, is a wolf. So, it's not really a wolf. He's pretending. It's just a dog. |
| In the second example sentence, "A criminal is trying to pass off," is pretending that $1 bills are $100 bills. So, trying to pass off means like maybe they're making some kind of effort to persuade people that, "Oh, object A really is object B." But in many cases, it's pretty easy to see it's not really object B. So, to pass something off as something else. |
| Okay. Let's go on to the second variation for this verb. The second variation is the expression "to pass out." This expression means to fall asleep, but it means to fall asleep because you're extremely tired, you're sick or you're drunk, usually. It's not quite, A, usual. It's not like the typical fall asleep kind of gently, calmly. "Pass out" is like you're just so tired, or it's like you have no control, or it's just--it's like a strong kind of rough version of falling asleep. It's passing out. So, examples of this, "I almost passed out on the bus." "One of my coworkers passed out at her desk today." |
| Yeah. So, as we talked about, these are both examples of situations where it's kind of like a rough way to fall asleep, like, "Almost passed out on the bus," like the image is I was so tired, I was sitting on the bus and I just almost completely fell asleep. I didn't plan to, really. In the second example, a coworker passed out at their desk is like someone was so tired, they're sleeping at their desk. So, it's kind of a rough image of falling asleep. |
| The third variation for this verb is "to pass up." This means to not take advantage of a chance or an opportunity. So, means like to let something go, to let an opportunity go. Examples, "You passed up a raise? Why?" "For some reason, he passed up a full scholarship." Okay. So, both of these are examples of situations that seem to present a big chance or a big opportunity, but we're using the expression "passed up." In the first example, we saw "passed up a raise." "You passed up a raise? Why?" Like, why would you not take the raise? So, why would you let go the chance for a raise? So, you have the chance to earn more money. A raise means more money. You have the chance to earn more money. Why would you let it go? That's the speaker's question here. You said no, you declined or refused. Why? |
| In the second example sentence, "He passed up a full scholarship." The expression "full scholarship" means your college or your university tuition, the money you pay to take classes at university. A full scholarship means everything is paid for. You get free university education, essentially. So, in the sentence, "He passed up a full scholarship." The speaker is probably confused, like, why would he decline such an opportunity? That's a huge opportunity, free education, free money, essentially. Why would you do that? So, to pass up is to let an opportunity go. |
| So, those are a few, hopefully, new ways that you can use the verb "pass." Of course, there are other ways to use this verb. If you know about them, if you have any questions or other comments, please feel free to let us know in the comment section of this video. Thanks very much for watching this episode of Know Your Verbs and we'll see you again soon. Bye-bye! |
| Present, pass, passes. Past, passed. Oh, that's confusing. Would I start again? I guess not. I'll just start this whole thing again because I interrupted myself with my weird... |
| Okay. You've seen "Lord of the Rings?" |
| Female: I have, but I'm not a lot -- |
| Alisha: Gandalf's very famous line, the, "You shall not pass," when he's protecting the group from the Balrog? Oh, no. |
| Female: I have seen them all, but I think I've only seen them all once. |
| Alisha: Oh, wow! |
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