Word Choice Past vs. Passed

Word Choice Past vs. Passed Word Choice: Past vs. Passed The words â€Å"past† and â€Å"passed† are surprisingly tricky. As well as sounding similar and starting with the same letters, for example, they can sometimes be used in similar situations. If you want to avoid errors in your written work, though, you may want to check out our guide to how they are used. Past (Noun and Adjective) When used as a noun, â€Å"past† refers to a time before the current moment: History is the formal study of the past. It also refers to a previous point in time when used as an adjective: My past choices were sometimes flawed. Here, â€Å"past† modifies the noun â€Å"choices† to show when they occurred. Past (Adverb and Preposition) Another use of â€Å"past† is as an adverb or preposition, where it means â€Å"beyond a point in time or space.† For instance, we could use it as an adverb like this: They walked past the bridge on the way home. Here, we use the adverb â€Å"past† to modify the verb â€Å"walked.† Passed (Verb) â€Å"Passed† is the simple past tense and past participle form of the verb â€Å"pass.† It is therefore used in a number of situations, which include having: Moved beyond a particular point in time or space Succeeded in a test Handed something to someone Died or departed Changed from one state to another Declined to accept a chance or offer For example, we could use â€Å"passed† in any of the following sentences: They passed the bridge on the way home. She passed her exams with flying colors. He passed me the envelope with a nervous look. She passed away peacefully in her sleep. It passed from a solid to a liquid state. I regret having passed on buying shares in Facebook. This isn’t even a complete list of how â€Å"passed† can be used! The important thing, however, is that â€Å"passed† is always the past tense form of â€Å"pass,† including in the example sentences above. Past or Passed? These terms are most often confused when discussing movement. We can see how similar they are in this case if we repeat two examples from above: They walked past the bridge on the way home. They passed the bridge on the way home. The key here is that â€Å"passed† is a verb, while â€Å"past† in this case is an adverb. To make sure you get this right in your writing, remember that: As a noun and an adjective, â€Å"past† refers to a previous point in time. As an adverb, â€Å"past† should always modify another verb in a sentence. â€Å"Passed† and â€Å"pass† are both verbs spelled with a double â€Å"s.† Furthermore, while â€Å"passed† is the past tense of â€Å"pass,† the word â€Å"past† is never a verb. Consequently, if you need an action word, â€Å"passed† will always be correct. If you need a noun, adverb, adjective, or preposition, on the other hand, the term you need will always be â€Å"past.† Past (noun) = A time before the current moment Past (adjective) = From an earlier time Past (adverb/preposition) = Beyond a point in time or space Passed (verb) = Past tense of â€Å"pass†

The 10 Best Places For Dads to Work in 2017

The 10 Best Places For Dads to Work in 2017 The United States is pretty terrible when it comes to family leave- but it’s even worse for dads. Very few employers even provide paid parental leave for fathers. As Simon Isaacs, co-founder of Fatherly, told Business Insider, â€Å"This means a lot of new dads are not able to take time to bond with their babies and be at home with their families.† Isaacs is quick to add that paternity leave is not â€Å"time off.† â€Å"There is an increasing body of evidence,† he says, â€Å"behind the importance of father-child bonding beginning in the first few weeks†¦ With more couples than ever sharing responsibilities at home, paternity leave is also important to support your wife or spouse.† The conversation is happening, and hopefully, change is in the works. But in the meantime, Fatherly has compiled a sweet list of companies leading the charge. Here are some of the highlights, taking into account leave policies, flexible hours, and telecommuting opti ons.1. NetflixNetflix wins all the praise from Fatherly. And should have our respect anyway given their â€Å"Unlimited Vacation† policy. Their parental leave policy is stellar; parents (mothers and fathers) can take up to a full year of paid leave. They can also change their hours around to work as much or as little as they need at different times. And they can come in and out, go full-time, part-time, etc. and keep receiving their salaries as normal. As long as you do your job at Netflix, the company trusts you and takes care of you.2. EtsySecond on Fatherly’s list is Etsy, giving its employees a gender-blind blanket 26 weeks of paid leave. You have to take the first six weeks consecutively (at the beginning, i.e. the first six months), but then you can spread the rest out over the course of two years (post birth or adoption) as needed. Their Brooklyn office also boasts dedicated parents’ rooms and a twice weekly communal meal called â€Å"Eatsy.†3. AmE xGo Platinum with AmEx’s parental leave policy. First of all, if you adopt, undergo fertility treatment, or use a surrogate, you’re eligible for $35k in medical assistance. Then, you get 20 weeks of paid paternity leave. Then an additional 20 days of subsidized backup dependent care per year. Plus, at some of their office locations, you can take advantage of â€Å"Summer Flex† and compress your work weeks to maximize weekend time off with the fam.4. SpotifyYou get 24 weeks of paid paternity leave with no restrictions on how to use it- until your kid’s third birthday. (You even get this retroactively as a new recruit if you come in with a child under three.) Their â€Å"Welcome Back† program lets your return gradually to full-time status with the added bonus of telecommuting options. And they have a Dad-centric â€Å"Focus on Fatherhood† group with activities, programming, and networking breakfasts with top execs giving advice about work/life balance.5. FacebookFacebook offers $20k in family planning benefits for fertility treatments, egg freezing, surrogacy, etc. Then 17 weeks paid leave, plus the standard 21 days of PTO and unlimited sick days, including an additional three days per year for â€Å"taking care of sick dependents.† If your kid gets the flu, take the day off, then log into Dads@Facebook (the company’s online dad space) for advice.6. TwitterTwitter is more like Netflix than Facebook, in that there is no PTO policy. Do your job well and take all the time you need otherwise. They’ve just doubled their paid paternal leave to 20 weeks. And they have great company perks, including a prep class for Dads about to go on leave to help in the transition.7. VMware, Inc.This company offers $5k to help with adoption or surrogacy ($10k lifetime limit), a $250 â€Å"Welcome Baby† gift, and 18 weeks paid paternity leave. And they have a non-accrued vacation policy to let you shape your own tim e off- as long as you’re delivering good work.8. Bank of AmericaBank of America offers a lot of support to new parents: a Welcome Kit, free financial planning, Lifecare advice and assistance, and 16 weeks paid paternity leave. You also get a 25-day backup child care allotment and a 25-day adult care allotment for when a caregiver is not available.9. PatagoniaFathers at Patagonia get 12 weeks paid leave to be used at any time before the child’s first birthday. They have a great work-life balance reputation, and are very concerned with employees and their children thriving. There are lots of ways they help a new family get set up, including FSAs and stipends.10. DeloitteYou’re eligible for paternity leave from day one of your employment, to the tune of 16 paid weeks. They offer child-care coverage and reimbursement, and employees get an average of 40 paid days off per year regardless. Managers here won’t track time off either. So do your work, and get your life in order without stress.