Getting PASSED by the PAST, and having a blast!

For those of you who don't know me all that well yet, I must confess that I have a bit of a narcissistic enthusiasm for the "proper" use of English grammar. ::winks at The Purple Lady:: I may have even used that particular choice of words before, but Zach refers to me as "The Grammar Nazi," and I figure that it's probably preferable to be called a narcissist as opposed to a Nazi? It's a toss-up...hehe...but, it is what it is. ;)

I don't know what it is about the English language (or language, in general, for that matter); though, that fascinates me so much. Who knows - maybe I was an English teacher in another life. :-P

I am not going to sit here and dare to claim that my knowledge of "proper" grammar is perfect. I know that I still have a lot to learn - especially since language is so fluid. Besides, there is always room for self-improvement. Every once in a while; though (you know - when Hades is expecting a snow storm...hehe), I might have a slip-up, and you'd better believe that Zach and Madison are all over it when that happens. haha. It has actually become quite the little game for them. It's like their life's ambition to catch me in the act and knock me off of my grammar throne. ;)

In all seriousness though, every time I come across a rule in the English language that I don't completely understand, it drives me absolutely insane. I finally have to concede defeat and look up the rule, because - well, like I said: I am a narcissist (haha), and I can't stand to not be 100% certain that I am using the proper spelling of a word (etc.) when I know that others will be seeing what I write. It's like how some people can't stand to leave the house without  wearing makeup. There's nothing wrong with THAT brand of narcissism, is there? ;)

Anyway, one of those little things that is always tripping me up is the correct usage of past vs. passed. For some reason, I constantly confuse the two. I know that it is a common problem, and I found this link recently that explains the difference very clearly, so I thought I'd share the love. :)

Past vs. Passed

I hope that this will clear things up for other people who suffer from my same degree of confusion, and I just wanted you all to know that I accept tokens of gratitude in the form of ice cream - or basically anything drenched in chocolate. Hehe.