Today we will speak about the Spanish verb pasar. Like many other Spanish verbs, it has multiple meanings and can be used under different circumstances. Our Spanish school, El Rincón del Tándem, will tell you everything in this short article 😊

As we already mentioned in our previous Spanish lessons, Spanish language has many verbs with a variety of meanings that can work in different settings.

The Spanish verb pasar is one of them. By learning the most common meanings and usages of pasar, we will be able to enrich our Spanish vocabulary by studying one single verb.

Let’s start!

To begin with, the Spanish verb pasar mostly express movement in time or space, but can also have other meanings.
Let’s see all of them here below:

PASAR (space)

1. To cross.

  • Para llegar al hospital, tienes que pasar el puente = To get to the hospital, you have to cross the bridge
  • Paco y Andrea pasaron la frontera con Francia en autobús = Paco and Andrea crossed the border to France by bus

2. To enter a room or a space, to come in.

  • Por favor, pasa y siéntate en la segunda fila = Please, come in and sit down in the second row
  • Los pacientes pasaron a la sala de espera = Patients entered the clinic’s waiting room

3. To pass/to hand something to somebody

  • Por favor, ¿me pasas el libro de gramática? = Could you please pass the grammar book?

4. Go through

  • El tranvía pasa por el centro de la ciudad = The tram goes through the city centre
  • El armario no pasa por la puerta de la habitación = The wardrobe does not pass through the bedroom door

5. To pass, to go past

  • Pasa el semáforo y luego gira a la derecha = Pass the traffic light and then turn right

PASAR: (time)

6. To happen, to occur

  • A Marta le ha pasado algo bonito y no deja de sonreir = Something beautiful has happened to Marta and she cannot but smiling

7. To pass, to go by

  • Han pasado dos años desde la última vez que nos vimos = Two years have passed since we last saw each other
  • El tiempo pasa muy rápido = Time goes by very fast

8. To spend (time)

  • Julio pasó todo el fin de semana escribiendo un artículo = Julio spent the whole weekend writing a paper
  • Este año pasaré las vacaciones de verano en los Pirineos = This year I will spend my summer holidays in the Pyrenees
  • ¡Que pases unas felices fiestas! = Have a happy holiday!

Other meanings

9. To pass, to succeed

  • María pasó el examen de español con un sobresaliente = Maria passed her Spanish exam with an outstanding grade
  • Pablo pasó el examen de conducir en su segundo intento = Pablo passed his driving test on his second attempt

10. To show/ to screen a movie

  • Esta noche pasan una película de Ken Loach en la tele  = Tonight a Ken Loach’s movie will be screened on the TV

We hope you enjoyed your reading and learned how to use correctly the Spanish verb pasar.

If you want to learn more about verbs with multiple meanings, you can go back to our previous posts on Spanish verbs dejar and sentir.

Finally, our Spanish school, El Rincón del Tándem provide you a friendly space to learn Spanish while having fun.

Get a look at our Spanish courses in Valencia to know more 😉

See you soon!

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