Trouble with pasar conjugation? Learn this useful Spanish verb (to pass) with chunks!

CARLA
¡Te pasas! Me encanta. Pásame esa foto.
(You are too much! I love it. Pass me that photo.)

MAURA
Vale. ¿Y esta?
(Ok. And this one?)

CARLA
¡No! Esa es horrible, pásala, pásala.
(No! That’s horrible, “pass it”, “pass it”.)

Our verb series might never be complete, but it would definitely not be complete without “pasar” (to pass). We do too many unrelated things with it.

I’m Maura, from Spring Spanish and today I’ll tell you all about what “pasar” can do while we check out its conjugation for the reflexive and non-reflexive versions. ¡Empecemos!

1. Pasar conjugation with YO (”Pasar” with I)

People use pasar conjugation mostly when they are talking about passing time or giving information related to past events or future plans.

In this dialogue you’ll be looking for things like:

• Yo paso la tarde en casa. (I spend the afternoon at home.)
• Pásame la sal, por fa. (Pass me the salt, please.)

MAURA
Te paso todas fotos y tú escoges.
(I pass you all the photos and you choose.)

CARLA
Vale. Pásame los videos también, porfis.
(Ok. Pass me the videos too, please.)

MAURA
Seguro, pero pásame el cargador entonces.
(Sure, but pass me the charger then.)

CARLA
Toma.
(Here. (Lit. Take.))

“Pasar” is one of the most common verbs Spanish uses in the digital world.

That’s why you can hear things like:

• Te paso los videos por Google Drive. (I’ll pass you the videos by Google Drive.)
• Pásame su contacto por WhatsApp. (Pass me their contact by WhatsApp.)
• Paso las fotos a la computadora y con eso termino. (I’ll transfer the photos to the computer and that’s it.)

We also use “pasar” as the ultimate verb that means to hand someone something in general. It doesn’t have to be digital things. For example:

• Pásame la manta, porfis. (Pass me the blanket, please.)
• Te paso la sal, pero no le eches mucho. (I’ll pass you the salt, but don’t add too much.)
• No me pases las galletas que me las como todas. (Don’t pass me the cookies because I’ll eat them all.)

Before we move one, make sure you’ve already clicked that link in the description. It gives you access to our free Essential Spanish Chunking kit which is one of the staples of our community!

2. Pasar verb conjugation with TÚ (”Pasar ” with YOU)

Look out for things like:

• Tú pasas el día quejándote. (You spend the day complaining.)
• Por fa, pasa por aquí antes de irte. (Please, stop by before you leave.)

MAURA
Si sales, ¿podrías pasar por el super?
(If you go out, could you stop by the supermarket?)

CARLA
Claro, ¿necesitas algo?
(Sure, do you need anything?)

MAURA
Sí y de hecho, si puedes, pasa por el bio mejor.
(Yes and in fact, if you can, even better, stop by the bio.)

CARLA
Seguro. Escríbemelo.
(Sure. Write it to me.)

MAURA
Sí, te lo paso por WhatsApp.Ű
(Yes, I’ll “pass” it to you by WhatsApp.)

“Pasar” can also mean to walk by or stop by some place. So you can say:

• Cada vez que pasas por aquí te topas a alguien. (Every time you pass by here you bump into someone.)
• Pasa por casa de tu abuela si tienes tiempo. (Stop by your grandmother’s house if you have time.)
• No pases por esa calle de noche. (Do not pass through that street at night.)

There’s another little thing we do with “pasar” that might not come up all the time, but I actually can’t think of another way I would say it. Let’s rewind that first dialogue and then we talk about it.

CARLA
¡Te pasas! Me encanta. Pásame esa foto.
(You are too much! I love it. Pass me that photo.)

MAURA
Vale. ¿Y esta?
(Ok. And this one?)

CARLA
¡No! Esa es horrible, pásala, pásala.
(No! That’s horrible, “pass it”, “pass it”.)

When you want to skip something or be skipped, if that makes sense, you can also use “pasar”. For example:

• Pasa esa canción que no me gusta. (Pass that song I don’t like.)
• No, paso, yo no quiero ir a esa reunión en lo absoluto. (No, I’ll pass, I don’t want to go to that meeting at all.)
• ¡Me pasaste! Yo también quiero. (You passed me! I want some too.)

3. Pasar Spanish examples with Él/Ella/Usted/Eso (”Pasar” with HE/SHE/FORMAL YOU/ IT)

Examples of this conjugation would be:

• Él se pasa de intenso. (He goes too far with his intensity.)
• Ella siempre pasa por aquí. (She always passes by here.)

CARLA
¡Qué locura! Se pasó.
(How crazy! He went too far.)

MAURA
Demasiado. Es que él es muy intenso, sinceramente.
(Too much. It’s just that he’s very intense, honestly.)

CARLA
Ya, con razón se pasa con la sal en la comida toda el tiempo.
(Right, no wonder he goes overboard with salt in his food all the time.)

MAURA
Jajaja, es verdad. Y eso que le encanta cocinar.
(Hahaha, it’s true. And he even loves to cook.)

CARLA
Bueno, ya que nos pasamos nosotras de chismosas.
(Well, let’s stop it because then we go overboard with the gossiping.)

MAURA
¡Total! Pero es que no es para menos.
(Totally! But it is not for less.)

“Pasarse” can also mean to go overboard in distance or intensity. Check out the following examples:

• Llegaron tarde porque Mauricio se pasó la salida en la autopista. (They were late because Mauricio passed the exit on the highway.)
• Siempre que cocina se pasa con el picante. (Whenever she cooks, she always overdoes it with the spice.): what would be the opposite of “pasar” in this sentence? If you’re short on spice you could say “le falta picante” (“it lacks spice”). “Faltar” is another crazy verb I covered not long ago. Click here to check out that video!
• Él se pasa de atento conmigo. (He is overly attentive to me.): I’m sure I’ve mentioned this on other videos. But make sure you understand that if you tell someone: “te pasas” (you go overboard) it can be negative or positive. It depends on what they’re going overboard with.

4. Conjugate “Pasar” with NOSOTROS/NOSOTRAS (”Pasar” with WE)

For this the conjugation would be:

• Nos pasamos la salida. (We passed the exit.)
• Pasamos todo el mes juntas. (We spent the whole month together.)

CARLA
¿Maura?
(Maura?)

MAURA
¡Pasa!
(Come in!)

CARLA
¿No quieres salir a dar una vuelta?
(Do you want to go for a walk?)

MAURA
¡Por favor! Ya pasamos todo el día de ayer en la casa.
(Please! We already spent all day yesterday in the house.)

CARLA
Sí y pasamos toda la semana trabajando. Nos merecemos un paseo.
(Yes, and we spent the whole week working. We deserve a stroll.)

For us time is something that “pasa” (passes). So, anything regarding spending time can use “pasar” in Spanish. Like:

• Pasamos la vida preocupándonos por tonterías. (We spend our lives worrying about silly things.)
• Hoy pasamos el día buenísimo, comiendo y paseando. (Today we had a great day, eating and walking.)
• Pasamos un rato buscando las llaves, pero ya las conseguimos. (We spent some time looking for the keys, but we got them.)

We also use this annoyingly versatile verb to mean “go ahead” and/or “come in”. So we say:

• Pasa adelante. (Go ahead.)
• Pasa, pasa, que espero por alguien. (Go ahead, go ahead, I’m waiting for someone.): this is a typical thing that happens we you’re standing in line for something, for example.
• Pasa tú y luego pasa yo. (You go ahead, then I’ll go ahead.)

5. Usage of Pasar with USTEDES/ELLOS/ELLAS (“Pasar” with PLURAL YOU/THEY)

Here’s what to pay attention to:

• Ustedes se pasan de lindas. (You guys are too cute.)
• Ellos pasan horas jugando. (They spend hours playing.)

MAURA
¿Qué les pasa? ¿Por qué están gritando?
(What’s happening to you? Why are you shouting?)

CARLA
Es que no sabes lo que pasa.
(It’s just that you don’t know what’s happening.)

VICTORIA
A Carla la acaban de llamar para un casting increíble.
(Carla just got called for an amazing casting.)

MAURA
¡Qué bueno! Y menos mal, porque yo pensé que les estaba pasando algo horrible.
(How great! And thankfully, because I thought something horrible was happening to you.)

The last thing that you should know and that could have very well been the first use we discussed is that “pasar” means “to happen”. So everything that includes the verb “happen” in English will use “pasar” in Spanish. Here are some common chunks with this use:

• Ellos son súper dramáticos. Siempre les pasa algo. (They are super dramatic. Something always happens to them.)
• No les pasa nada, no se preocupen. (Nothing happens, don’t worry.)
• A ustedes siempre les pasan cosas buenas. (Good things always happen to you.)

6. Spanish conjugation chart to practice “pasar” (to pass)

Now for those little tables you’re only supposed to use as a guide. Take into account that with “pasar” you do have many different options but we’ll focus on two. Here’s the non-reflexive table:

And this is the table for the reflexive version of “pasar”. Keep in mind that the conjugation would be the same. We’re just adding a pronoun right in front. Check it out:

7. Summary of this lesson: use the verb “pasar” in these sentences

Let’s review all of the uses we covered in this video with some examples.

• “Pasar” for digital things:
  • Pásanos las fotos del viaje, por fa. (Pass us the photos of the trip, please.)
• “Pasar” to hand in things:
  • Pásame ese cojín. (Pass me that cushion.)
• “Pasar” for stopping by a place:
  • Avísame si pasas cerca de aquí. (Let me know if you pass by here.)
• “Pasar” for skipping:
  • Esta vez paso. Me les uno la próxima. (I’ll pass this time. I’ll join you next time.)
• “Pasar” for going overboard:
  • ¡Se pasaron de bellos! ¡Gracias! (You guys went overboard! Thank you!)
• “Pasar” for events that “happen”:
  • No sé qué pasó, pero pasó algo. (I don’t know what happened, but something happened.)
• “Pasar” for spending time:
  • Ayer pasamos la tarde juntas. (Yesterday we spent the afternoon together.)
• “Pasar” for “go ahead”:
  • Mejor pasa tú y yo te espero aquí. (You better go ahead and I’ll wait for you here.)

There are many more confusing verbs in Spanish. Luckily, we’ve made an entire playlist of the verbs we’ve covered for you to have them all in one place! ¡Nos vemos allá!