days passed vs days had passed

Both "days passed" and "days had passed" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Days passed" is used to indicate a general statement about the passage of time, while "days had passed" is used to indicate a specific point in the past when the days had already passed.

Last updated: April 09, 2024 • 1278 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate the passage of time.

"days passed"

This phrase is used to indicate a general statement about the passage of time without specifying a particular point in the past.

Examples:

Many days passed before he finally returned.
As the days passed, she grew more anxious.
The days passed quickly during our vacation.
The days passed slowly while she waited for the test results.
Days passed without any news from him.

Show examples from the web [+]

Several days passed before the next rage.
We stayed three days passed too quickly.
The days passed and time was running out.
The days passed gently, and the fact that there was little to mark one from the next seemed a great gift to me.
The days passed ablur, turning into weeks.
Two days passed without either side making any movement.
The days passed, and I watched as he forgot how to walk...
A few more days passed without any arrivals.
The days passed, and then the years.
The days passed by, and while Jano was away because of his meeting...
Two days passed in a fantastic property, lovely, furnished with attention to detail and clean.
Several days passed before the next rage. Then, they started becoming even more severe. There was nothing I could think of to help her.
And so the days passed while she was helping the old man's shop, who gave her shelter.
The days passed slowly. As soon as possible Grolla made a quick visit to the couple of pheasants.
Me and my old son came home today after five days passed in this place comfortable, familiar and extremely friendly people.
So, the days passed, one very much like the other.
But days passed behind days, anything terrible did not occur, and Europe has forgotten about the dream.
Davide Vasta offers an extreme summary of his 3 days passed at the Nikon stand during Photoshow 2010 with his inseparable Nikon D3S fixed on a SteadyCam.
So I was stuck sticking to my guns, but as the days passed, Sue wasn't making it any easier.
The days passed... and I watched as he forgot how to walk and...

Alternatives:

time passed
weeks passed
months passed
years passed
hours passed

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate a specific point in the past when the days had already passed.

"days had passed"

This phrase is used to refer to a particular moment in the past when a certain number of days had already passed.

Examples:

By the time we arrived, three days had passed.
When she woke up, two days had passed since the accident.
He realized that many days had passed since he last saw her.
Days had passed before they found out the truth.
After three days had passed, they decided to take action.

Show examples from the web [+]

Wasn't till three days had passed that anyone noticed was still waiting outside John's house.
They started the claim procedure in July but had to wait until 91 days had passed since the date of the draw before getting paid.
The news arrived on the afternoon of the 25th - three days had passed - that a boat with 14 people on board had sunk, that two adults had survived, and that some fishermen had found a boy tied to an inner tube.
We knew not what had become of him till three days had passed, when his body was washed up by the sea.
Only ten days had passed since Mr. Aznar had given his advice in his meeting with the U.S. president.
Only four days had passed since the time the samples were taken from him in Winnipeg.
But a few days had passed ere they witnessed the Saviour's agonizing death, and laid Him in the tomb.
They find that while only a few days had passed for them, for the rest of the world a year has passed.
After three days had passed, according to the King's command, the peasant went before the King.
Now, after some days had passed, these things became more and more numerous in the sky over Egypt.
The memories of my old life were all still present, but somehow I knew that although only a few days had passed by, all this belonged to the past.
38 1Sam 25, 38 And after ten days had passed, the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.
When eleven days had passed and the turn came to Benjamin, he saw that a flag was being raised.It was, however, not the white, but the blood-red flag which announced that they were all to die.
Only few days had passed from the triumphal prémière of I Goti, when the junta of the Commune of Bologna welcomed the proposal of the Communal Council to name Gobatti as an honorary citizen of Bologna.
Background Reading: Festus Consults King Agrippa 2nd 25:13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to welcome Festus. Since they were staying there for several days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king.
[Five days had passed...] [... the license for the petrol pump had not arrived...] [... and Grotti had informed Don Camillo...] [... that he would wait until midnight at the latest.]
We had celebrated our belief that peace was near, as fifteen days had passed with no bombardments and it seemed that everything had finished.
6 And when forty days had passed, Noah, opening the window that he had made in the ark, sent forth a raven,
I didn't realize till Katrina told me that an entire day had passed by in between.
The light goes out and another day had passed in Pakistan. These photos represent two different visions about a shared experience.

Alternatives:

days were gone
days elapsed
days had gone by
days had transpired
days had elapsed

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days passed vs days had passed

"days passed"

"days had passed"

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