Passed or past?

I haven't been posting here lately, busy with other things,  but I have been spurred to by reading a glossy publication of walks in my area. While it is generally well written, the author clearly has no idea of the difference between past and passed.

OK, both sound the same.

The -ed on passed should give a clue that this is a verb and indeed the past tense of the verb.

I passed an accident on the way here.

Past is a preposition

Go past the shops, then turn left.

Compare

I passed the church. I passed by the church.  ( both have the same meaning)
I walked past the church.  ( same meaning as above but the first could be in a vehicle)

We passed a farm.
The route runs past a farm.

The route continues along the river bank, past the football ground …  (you could say passing the football ground)

emigrate or immigrate?

This ties in with another passion of  mine - family history.

Which of the following is correct?

John Smith and his family emigrated to the USA in 1878.

or

John Smith and his family immigrated to the USA in 1878.


Answer - both are correct but they are from a different viewpoint.

to emigrate is to leave a country
and to immigrate is to come into a country.

So the first sentence would be written by someone in the old country and the second by someone in the USA.

The same with emigration and immigration.

Migration and to migrate are used with birds and animals.