verb
1
BAD : We like to pass our holidays near the sea.
GOOD : We like to spend our holidays near the sea.
BAD : We passed the night in a cheap hotel.
GOOD : We spent the night in a cheap hotel.
BAD : I passed Christmas in London.
GOOD : I spent Christmas in London.
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You spend your holidays/a period of time somewhere (NOT pass ): 'We spent a lazy afternoon down by the river.'
When pass is used in connection with time, it is usually intransitive: 'Two weeks passed and there was still no reply.'
2
BAD : It has passed almost a year since we first met each other.
GOOD : It's almost a year since we first met each other.
GOOD : We first met each other almost a year ago.
DUBIOUS : Almost a year has passed since we first met each other.
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In sentences about the passage of time, the subject of pass is always a time phrase: 'Another five minutes passed and the taxi still didn't appear.' Note however that this pattern is used mainly used in narrative styles.
3
See EXAM (↑ exam )/EXAMINATION 2