Pass by means to walk or drive past something without stopping. The second meaning is figurative: pass somebody by means to go past without touching them. People say it about life, a chance or a trend: I feel life is passing me by.
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pass by + place/person; (people/cars) pass by; pass somebody by
- We passed by the old stadium on our way to the airport.
- A group of tourists passed by, taking photos of the bridge.
- She was so busy with work that she felt life was passing her by.
What changed
First versionYesterday I walked passed your house, but the lights were off.
RevisionYesterday I walked past your house, but the lights were off.
Passed and past sound the same, so people mix them up. Passed is the past tense of pass: I passed your house, I passed by your house. Past means “by, beyond” and comes after another verb of movement: walked past, drove past. The first version already has a verb, walked, so it needs past.
Pass by means to go past and not go in. If you did go inside, that's stop by or drop in: I passed by the café means you went past it; I stopped by the café means you went in.
Your turn
The bus ___ the museum without stopping, so we had to walk back from the next stop.
Show the answer
passed by — The bus went past the museum without stopping: passed by. Stopped by means “called in, visited briefly”, which contradicts the words without stopping.
Describe a place you often walk or drive past. Say when this happens and whether you have ever gone inside.
I pass by a small Italian café every morning on my way to the office, but I have never actually gone inside.
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