Pasados

Pasados is the masculine plural form of pasado, a common Spanish adjective and participial form meaning “gone,” “previous,” or “before now.” The word is used both as an adjective and, in certain contexts, as a noun phrase referring to past events, times, or people. Its meaning depends on context and the noun it accompanies.

As an adjective, pasado agrees with the noun in gender and number: pasado (masculine singular), pasada (feminine singular), pasados (masculine plural), pasadas (feminine plural). Examples include días pasados (past days) and tiempos pasados (past times). The plural form pasados appears whenever the modified noun is masculine plural, such as años pasados or eventos pasados.

As a noun, los pasados can denote past events or people from earlier periods, typically in literary or historical writing. This usage is more formal or evocative than everyday speech, where el pasado or los tiempos pasados are more common. For example, a historical chronicle might refer to “los pasados de la ciudad” to evoke memory and continuity with earlier eras.

Usage notes: pasados does not imply a future or present state; it describes what has already occurred. The term often carries nostalgic, historical, or reflective nuances, especially in literature or discourse about memory. In other Iberian languages, cognates such as Portuguese passados function similarly.

See also: Spanish grammar on adjectives and noun phrases, the concept of el pasado and los tiempos pasados, pretérito.