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I am sure I’ve seen this usage somewhere, i want to use this and it goes like this:
“As I reflect on the years passed, ...”
I don’t feel comfortable with it. But I’ve seen similar usage in “ a reflection on years passed”
Can someone help tell if my usage is correct ?
Thanks
It's not correct English.
Confusion often arises between the verb passed
She passed the library each morning on the way to work
and the word past which, problematically, while never a verb, can act as a noun:
The reason for his actions lay in his past
or a preposition:
The first horse past the post
or an adverb:
Several dogs ran past
or an adjective:
The past week has been a busy one.
In your case your are talking about the years past where past is an adjective. That's to say, earlier years or years that have gone by.
To use your construction, you would have to change it to read:
As I reflect on the years that have passed since.....
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/past
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/past_1
passed / past
If you are referring to a distance or a period of time before now, use “past”: “the police car drove past the suspect’s house” (distance) or “the team performed well in the past” (time). If you are describing the action of passing, however, you need to use “passed”: “when John passed the gravy, he spilled it on his lap,” “the teacher was astonished that none of the students had passed the test,” “after a brief illness, he passed away.” Remember that no matter however you have ”passed the time” you have never “past the time,” not even in the distant past.
“Past” can be an adjective, a noun, a preposition, or an adverb, but never a verb. If you need to write the past tense of the verb “to pass,” use “passed.”
Published in Prof Paul Brian’s book, Common Errors of English Usage
