It passed. (Pass as a verb) It was a pass. (Pass as a noun) If you are talking about a physical pass like a hall pass then that would be different from the verb pass. In American English you might hear "It's a pass" when they talk about the success of a goal (in sports) or something similar. This can be confusing because they use it as a noun. Example It was an Apple. Apple is the noun. "It was a pass" means that the verb pass occured but barely.