ADJ

immediate, recent
ancient, (dim and) distant, remote
Many modern festivals can be traced back to an ancient past. It all happened in the distant past

VERB + PAST

cling to, live in
We're going to have to stop living in the past and invest in new technology if the firm is to survive
belong in/to
Those memories belong to the past and I don't want to think about them

PREP

from the ~
Memories from the past came flooding back to him
in the ~
I admit that I have made mistakes in the past
into the ~
events stretching back many years into the past
of the ~
great artists of the past

PHRASES

be all in the past
Don't worry about it?it's all in the past now
a break with the past
In an effort to make a complete break with the past, she sold everything and went abroad
a glimpse of the past
The uncovering of the buried town gives us a unique glimpse of the past
a link with the past
The old market is a living link with the past, unchanged for hundreds of years
nostalgia for the past, a thing of the past
a new device that makes such problems a thing of the past

ADJ

historic, historical
colourful, rich
chequered, murky, sordid
criminal
glorious, illustrious
Few remnants remain of the city's glorious past
cultural, political
ancestral, evolutionary
imperial, industrial

VERB + PAST

reflect on/upon
recapture
trying in vain to recapture his past
erase, escape from, put behind you, wipe out
Political parties cannot escape from their pasts any more than individuals can. The counselling helped Dan to put the past behind him

PREP

from your ~
ghosts from his past
in your ~
at some time in her past