Using the Spanish Verb Pasar

Using the Spanish Verb Pasar Like its English cognate to pass, the Spanish verb pasar has a variety of meanings that often vaguely relate to movement in space or time. The key to translating the verb, more so than with most words, is understanding the context. Pasar is regularly conjugated, using the pattern of verbs such as hablar. Pasar as a Verb of Happening Although the English pass is sometimes a synonym for to happen, such usage is extremely common in Spanish. Another possible translations for this usage is to occur or to take place. Dime quà © te pasà ³. (Tell me what happened to you.)Nadie sabà ­a decirnos lo que pasaba, habà ­a mucha confusià ³n. (Nobody knew to tell us what happened, there was so much confusion.)Mira lo que pasa cuando les dices a las personas que son bellas. (Look at what happens to people when you say they are beautiful.) Other Common Meanings of Pasar Here are the other meanings of pasar you are most likely to come across: To happen, to occur:  ¿Quà © ha pasado aquà ­? (What happened here?) Pase lo que pase estoy a tu lado. (Whatever happens, Im at your side.) Creo que ya pasà ³. (I think it has already happened.) To spend (time): Pasà ³ todo el dà ­a con la familia de Juan. (She spent all day with Juans family.) Pasaba los fines de semana tocando su guitarra. (He would spend weekends playing his guitar.) To move or travel: No pasa el tren por la ciudad. (The train doesnt go through the city.) To enter a room or area:  ¡Bienvenida a mi casa!  ¡Pasa! (Welcome to my house! Come in!) To cross (a line of some sort): Pasamos la frontera y entramos en Portugal. (We crossed the border and entered Portugal.) El general Torrejà ³n pasà ³ el rà ­o con la caballerà ­a. (General Torrejon crossed the river with the cavalry.) To go past: Siga derecho y pase 5 semforos. (Go straight ahead and pass five traffic lights.) Cervantes pasà ³ por aquà ­. (Cervantes came by here.) To hand over an object: Psame la salsa, por favor. (Pass the sauce, please.) No me pasà ³ nada. (He didnt give me anything.) To endure, to suffer, to put up with: Nunca pasaron hambre gracias a que sus ancestros gallegos trabajaron como animales. (They never suffered from hunger because their ancestors worked like animals.) Dios no nos abandona cuando pasamos por el fuego de la prueba. (God does not abandon us when we go through the fiery ordeal.) To experience: No puedes pasar sin Internet. (I cant get by without the Internet.) No tenà ­a amigos ni amigas, por eso me lo pasaba mal. (I didnt have male friends nor female friends, and because of this I had a rough time.) To pass (a test): La nià ±a no pasà ³ el examen de audicià ³n. (The girl didnt pass the audition.) To exceed: Pasamos de los 150 kilà ³metros por hora. (We went faster than 150 kilometers per hour.) To overlook (in the phrase pasar por alto): Pasarà © por alto tus errores. (Ill overlook your mistakes.) To show (a motion picture): Disney Channel pasà ³ la pelà ­cula con escenas nuevas. (The Disney Channel showed the movie with new scenes.) To forget: No entiendo como  se me pasà ³ estudiar  lo ms importante. (I dont now how I forgot to study the most important thing.) Reflexive Usage of Pasarse The reflexive form pasarse is often used with little or no change in meaning, although it sometimes suggests that the action was surprising, sudden, or unwanted:  ¿Nadie se pasà ³ por aquà ­? (Nobody passed through here?)Muchos jà ³venes se pasaron por la puerta de acceso para adultos mayores. (Many young people passed through the access door for older adults.)En una torre de enfriamiento, el agua se pasa por el condensa. (In a cooling tower, the water passes through the condenser.) Key Takeaways Pasar is a common Spanish verb that is often used to mean to happen.Other meanings of pasar coincide with many of the meanings of its English cognate, to pass.The reflexive form pasarse usually has little or no difference in meaning from the normal form.