past
pæst
Brushing by a marker and leaving it behind
The picture Something brushes by the side of a marker and leaves it behind its back. PAST has gone beyond the marker, TO has not reached it yet.
Where the picture shows up in past
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going by without stopping
The bus drove past without stopping.
ðə bʌs droʊv pæst wɪˈðaʊt ˈstɑːpɪŋ
The bus went straight by without stopping.
the bus sweeps by the raised hand, leaving a gust of wind
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beyond the clock mark
It is ten past three now.
ɪt ɪz ten pæst θriː naʊ
It is ten minutes after three.
the clock hand has cleared the three mark and moved ten notches further
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going beyond a building
Walk past the pharmacy and turn left.
wɔːk pæst ðə ˈfɑːrməsi ənd tɜːrn left
Go beyond the pharmacy, then turn left.
the pharmacy sign is now behind, and the feet stop at the next side street
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brushing by a person
She walked past me without a word.
ʃiː wɔːkt pæst miː wɪˈðaʊt ə wɜːrd
She walked by me without a single word.
two shoulders almost touch as they pass and then show each other their backs
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beyond an age mark
He is past seventy and still drives.
hiː ɪz pæst ˈsevənti ənd stɪl draɪvz
He is over seventy and still drives.
the age arrow has passed the notch labelled seventy and gone further
All of it in one picture
past is brushing by a marker and leaving it behind. A bus brushes the stop and goes straight by; the hand brushes the three mark and you get minutes after three; feet brush the pharmacy and you get directions going beyond it. Brush by a person with no word and it is walking straight past them, and let an age brush the seventy mark and he is over seventy.