Definition

1. Noun:

   • The past: The time that has already happened, including all events, experiences, and conditions that occurred before the present moment.
   • Past history / bygone days: Refers to a period or events in one's personal life or in history that are completed.

2. Adjective (Attributive):

   • Past / former: Used to describe something that belonged to or existed in the time before now. It often precedes another noun.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ấy không muốn nói về quá khứ. (He does not want to talk about the past.)
  • Chúng ta hãy quên quá khứ và nhìn về phía trước. (Let's forget the past and look forward.)
• Adjective:
  • Cô ấy là một quá khứ vận động viên. (She is a former athlete.)
  • Đó là một thành phố với nhiều di tích quá khứ. (That is a city with many relics from the past.)

Advanced Usage

• Grammar - Tense: In linguistics, "thì quá khứ" refers to the past tense, used to describe actions or states that happened before the time of speaking.
  • "Đã" thường được dùng để chỉ thì quá khứ trong tiếng Việt. ("Đã" is often used to indicate the past tense in Vietnamese.)
• Philosophical/Figurative Use: "Quá khứ" can represent one's personal history, including memories, regrets, or lessons learned.
  • Mỗi người đều mang theo quá khứ của mình. (Everyone carries their own past with them.)

Variants and Related Words

• Quá khứ đơn (n): Simple past tense (grammar).
• Quá khứ hoàn thành (n): Past perfect tense (grammar).
• Dĩ vãng (n): A more literary synonym for "quá khứ," meaning bygone days or the past.

Synonyms

• The past: Former times, history.
• Former: Previous, earlier, one-time.
• Bygones: Past events, especially those best forgotten.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Sống với quá khứ: To live in the past.
  • Ông ấy không thể tiến lên vì cứ sống với quá khứ. (He cannot move forward because he keeps living in the past.)
• Quá khứ đã qua, hãy nhìn về tương lai: The past is past, look to the future. (A common saying encouraging someone to move on.)

noun

1. the past; past
   • chúng ta hãy quên quá khứ
     Let bygones be bygones