Is natural and correct to say something passed over me meaning it didn't affect me in any way? For example:
The economic crisis passed over me. I didn't lose my job.
If doesn't sound good, could you tell me what you would say to communicate it.
asked Jun 15 at 12:05
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1Passed me by, or past by me. – Bruce Murray Jun 15 at 12:15
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@BruceMurray is past by me a typo? – Peter Jun 15 at 12:25
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Yes. I'm on a phone with predictive text. Thanks for the heads up. – Bruce Murray Jun 15 at 12:26
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Using over is not incorrect. There are variants which use over such as "I was passed over for promotion" and "the remark passed over his head." – Weather Vane Jun 15 at 13:57
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I can't help thinking there's something of a "subject inversion" going on here. It's not so much that the crisis passed me by (even though that's how we normally phrase it). Rather it's that I passed by the crisis (without really noticing and/or being affected by it). It feels a bit like “The ticket is printing” vs “…is being printed” to me, but I don't actually know if it really is an example of The Middle Construction. – FumbleFingers Reinstate Monica Jun 15 at 15:07
These are common ways of expressing that someone was not affected by an event or circumstance:
The economic crisis bypassed me
The economic crisis passed me by.
The economic crisis passed by me.
"Over" is more likely to suggest that a person was affected:
The crisis was over my family for many months. (We felt its effect)
A wave of regret passed over me. (I felt intense regret)
