Particle guide

Phrasal verbs with past

The particle past starts from one core idea — movement beyond a point, surface, or difficulty. Sink In groups its verbs by the recurring ways that idea plays out, so verbs that look unrelated line up into patterns.

5 phrasal verbs · 3 meaning groups

Passing

A person or thing continues beyond a physical point, person, or obstacle.

Usual verb + particle uses

The verb keeps its normal meaning. The particle adds its usual direction or relation.

move past

Continue beyond a place or point

Maya and Leo moved past the first security check as the club queue went forward.
Maya and Leo continued beyond the first security check with the club queue.
We moved past the first checkpoint before noon.
We continued beyond the first checkpoint before noon.
Maya and Leo's train moved past the last city station before noon.
Maya and Leo's train continued beyond the last city station before noon.

Beyond the Surface

Attention goes beyond a visible detail, appearance, or excuse to notice what is more important.

Beyond Difficulty

A difficult event, feeling, or limit stops controlling what a person can do next.

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Practice the past patterns in Sink In

The app turns each meaning group into short review cards: recognition, particle cloze, meaning-to-particle recall, and schema matching.

  • Learn the pattern behind dozens of verbs at once — not one-off translations.
  • Spaced repetition (SM-2) brings each meaning back right before you forget.
  • Four practice modes train recall and discrimination, not just recognition.
1,300+ phrasal verbs26 particle patternsBuilt for B1–C2
Sink In particle browser, including the particle past