Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ting_yuko]

Q: Completely unremarked in the confusion were the three boys who snuck past the ushers.

Why is it "snuck past", but not "snuck passed"?

Which part of speech is "pass"?

[redset]

Pass is the verb, and passed is the simple past form (past participle). Past here is a preposition, meaning 'beyond' - further in distance. The boys were in a position before the ushers, then they kept going and snuck past them, so they ended up beyond the ushers.

Pass is actually related to past here - if you move past something then you pass it. So the boys passed the ushers when they snuck past them. You just have to remember that pass is a verb in itself, whereas you add past to some other verb to add that meaning of moving beyond. Because you're talking about the boys sneaking (because they don't want to be seen), it's better to add past to snuck to keep that meaning. You could say 'passed sneakily' but that doesn't really put such a strong emphasis on the 'creeping past without being seen' part. And you never say 'passed past', because that would be redundant and confusing!

Does that make sense?

[CP]

The past tense of "sneak" is "sneaked," not "snuck." I know, I know, people say "snuck" all the time. But it's still "sneaked."
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[lotus]

Hi,

Sometimes "sneaked" just doesn't have the same ring - or seem as furtive - as "snuck."

The two boys snuck behind the bleachers to smoke a cigarette.

With "sneaked", it just doesn't sound as recalcitrant:

The two boys sneaked behind the bleachers to smoke a cigarette.

Same with:

She snuck a peak at his jewels.

I think MW has it down (although I don't always agree with their notes).

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=snuck


--lotus

[princessgina]

Is the past tense of "swing" "swung?"

Thus:

1. swing 2. swung 3. swung ?????????
_________________
princessgina


"Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence." -- Abigail Adams

[CP]

I agree with you, Lotus. Snuck sounds sneakier than sneaked. One day snuck will be the accepted form, I suppose, and then people will say sneaked instead, and it will sound sneaker than snuck.

And, yes, Princess Gina, it is swing, swung, swung.

I swing today, I swung yesterday, and I have swung on this swing many times in the past. And I sneaked into the playground to do it every time.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb