have/hold/throw a party (NOT make/celebrate ): ‘Let’s have a party and invite all our friends.’ celebrate Christmas, the New Year, someone’s birthday, retirement, promotion etc: ‘Next month we’re having a party to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary.’ A party is held somewhere (NOT made/celebrated ): ‘Where is the garden party being held?’ See Language Note at DO 2
See TAKE PART 5 pass 1
We like to pass our holidays near the sea.
We like to spend our holidays near the sea. We passed the night in a cheap hotel.
We spent the night in a cheap hotel. I passed Christmas in London.
I spent Christmas in London. You spend your holidays/a period of time somewhere (NOT pass ): ‘We spent a lazy afternoon down by the river.’ When pass is used in connection with time, it is usually intransitive: ‘Two weeks passed and there was still no reply.’ 2
It has passed almost a year since we first met each other.
It’s almost a year since we first met each other. We first met each other almost a year ago. Almost a year has passed since we first met each other.
In sentences about the passage of time, the subject of pass is always a time phrase: ‘Another five
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minutes passed and the taxi still didn’t appear.’ Note however that this pattern is used mainly in narrative styles.
