Pasar Conjugation in Spanish
pasar means “pass” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Spanish learners meet — it sits at number 14 in VerbFlow’s frequency list. You use it for spending time, for passing by a place, and for happening and going by. Because it comes up in everyday conversation so often, learning its forms properly pays off from the very first week. This page gives you the complete conjugation of pasar — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Yo paso el verano en la playa todos los días.” — “I pass the summer at the beach every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: pasar
- English: to pass
- Verb type: Regular -ar verb
- Irregular in: no tense — fully regular
- Gerund: pasando
- Past participle: pasado
- Auxiliary: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + the past participle)
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for pasar. Learn the present tense first, then the preterite and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | paso |
| tú | pasas |
| él/ella/Ud. | pasa |
| nosotros/as | pasamos |
| vosotros/as | pasáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasan |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pasé |
| tú | pasaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | pasó |
| nosotros/as | pasamos |
| vosotros/as | pasasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pasaba |
| tú | pasabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | pasaba |
| nosotros/as | pasábamos |
| vosotros/as | pasabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pasaré |
| tú | pasarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | pasará |
| nosotros/as | pasaremos |
| vosotros/as | pasaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pasaría |
| tú | pasarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | pasaría |
| nosotros/as | pasaríamos |
| vosotros/as | pasaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he pasado |
| tú | has pasado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha pasado |
| nosotros/as | hemos pasado |
| vosotros/as | habéis pasado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han pasado |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había pasado |
| tú | habías pasado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había pasado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos pasado |
| vosotros/as | habíais pasado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían pasado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré pasado |
| tú | habrás pasado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá pasado |
| nosotros/as | habremos pasado |
| vosotros/as | habréis pasado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán pasado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría pasado |
| tú | habrías pasado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría pasado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos pasado |
| vosotros/as | habríais pasado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían pasado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pase |
| tú | pases |
| él/ella/Ud. | pase |
| nosotros/as | pasemos |
| vosotros/as | paséis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pasara |
| tú | pasaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | pasara |
| nosotros/as | pasáramos |
| vosotros/as | pasarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | pasa |
| él/ella/Ud. | pase |
| nosotros/as | pasemos |
| vosotros/as | pasad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | pases |
| él/ella/Ud. | pase |
| nosotros/as | pasemos |
| vosotros/as | paséis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pasen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Gerund | pasando |
| Past participle | pasado |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Yo paso el verano en la playa todos los días.” — “I pass the summer at the beach every day.”
Preterite
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past. For example: “Tú pasaste por la tienda ayer.” — “You passed by the shop yesterday.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. For example: “Él pasaba mucho tiempo con amigos antes.” — “He used to pass a lot of time with friends before.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, predictions and probability. For example: “Yo pasaré el verano en la playa mañana.” — “I will pass the summer at the beach tomorrow.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, polite requests and hypothetical situations. For example: “Tú pasarías por la tienda algún día.” — “You would pass by the shop someday.”
Present perfect
The present perfect is used for recent past actions and life experience, formed with haber + the past participle. For example: “Él ha pasado mucho tiempo con amigos esta semana.” — “He has passed a lot of time with friends this week.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Yo había pasado el verano en la playa antes de la fiesta.” — “I had passed the summer at the beach before the party.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tú habrás pasado por la tienda para mañana.” — “You will have passed by the shop by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Él habría pasado mucho tiempo con amigos ayer.” — “He would have passed a lot of time with friends yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Es importante que yo pase el verano en la playa.” — “It is important that i pass the summer at the beach.”
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
The imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, and clauses after a past-tense trigger. For example: “Ojalá tú pasaras por la tienda.” — “I wish you passed by the shop.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. The imperative of pasar gives a direct order; the negative forms use the present subjunctive pattern. For example: “¡Pasa mucho tiempo con amigos!” — “Pass a lot of time with friends!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. The imperative of pasar gives a direct order; the negative forms use the present subjunctive pattern. For example: “No pases el verano en la playa.” — “Do not pass the summer at the beach.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with pasar, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Spanish and try to produce it from the English.
- “Yo paso el verano en la playa todos los días.” — “I pass the summer at the beach every day.”
- “Tú pasaste por la tienda ayer.” — “You passed by the shop yesterday.”
- “Él pasaba mucho tiempo con amigos antes.” — “He used to pass a lot of time with friends before.”
- “Yo pasaré por la tienda mañana.” — “I will pass by the shop tomorrow.”
- “Tú pasarías el verano en la playa algún día.” — “You would pass the summer at the beach someday.”
- “Él ha pasado mucho tiempo con amigos esta semana.” — “He has passed a lot of time with friends this week.”
- “Yo había pasado el verano en la playa antes de la fiesta.” — “I had passed the summer at the beach before the party.”
- “Tú habrás pasado por la tienda para mañana.” — “You will have passed by the shop by tomorrow.”
- “Es importante que él pase mucho tiempo con amigos.” — “It is important that he pass a lot of time with friends.”
- “¡Pasa el verano en la playa!” — “Pass the summer at the beach!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Yo pasar el verano en la playa.”
✓ Right: “Yo paso el verano en la playa.”
The infinitive pasar never takes a subject. After yo you need the conjugated present form paso.
2. Confusing pasar with ocurrir
✗ Wrong: “Yo ocurro el verano en la playa.”
✓ Right: “Yo paso el verano en la playa.”
Pasar can mean to happen, like ocurrir, but it also means to spend time and to pass by.
3. Using the wrong auxiliary in perfect tenses
✗ Wrong: “Yo soy pasado el verano en la playa.”
✓ Right: “Yo he pasado el verano en la playa.”
Spanish perfect tenses are always built with haber, never with ser. The correct form is he + the participle pasado.
4. Dropping the written accent
✗ Wrong: “pase”
✓ Right: “pasé”
The accent on pasé is part of the spelling in the preterite. Without it the form looks like a different word, so always write the accent.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Ojalá tú pasas el verano en la playa.”
✓ Right: “Ojalá tú pases el verano en la playa.”
After ojalá Spanish needs the subjunctive, so use pases here, not the indicative pasas.
6. Using the preterite for a habitual past action
✗ Wrong: “Yo pasé el verano en la playa antes.” (said of a repeated habit)
✓ Right: “Yo pasaba el verano en la playa antes.”
The preterite pasé describes one finished action. For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect pasaba.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on pasar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the yo form of pasar in the Present indicative?
- A) pasas
- B) pasa
- C) pasamos
- D) paso
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of pasar in the Preterite?
- A) pasaste
- B) pasamos
- C) pasó
- D) pasé
What is the nosotros/as form of pasar in the Imperfect?
- A) pasabais
- B) pasábamos
- C) pasaba
- D) pasabas
What is the tú form of pasar in the Future?
- A) pasarás
- B) pasaré
- C) pasará
- D) pasaremos
What is the yo form of pasar in the Conditional?
- A) pasarías
- B) pasaríamos
- C) pasaríais
- D) pasaría
What is the él/ella/Ud. form of pasar in the Present subjunctive?
- A) pasemos
- B) paséis
- C) pase
- D) pases
What is the yo form of pasar in the Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)?
- A) pasarais
- B) pasara
- C) pasaras
- D) pasáramos
What is the gerund of pasar?
- A) pasando
- B) llegando
- C) debiendo
- D) poniendo
What is the past participle of pasar?
- A) llegado
- B) debido
- C) puesto
- D) pasado
What does pasar mean in English?
- A) to have to
- B) to put
- C) to pass
- D) to arrive
Answer key
- D) paso — the yo form of pasar in the present indicative is paso. The other options (pasas, pasa, pasamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) pasó — the él/ella/Ud. form of pasar in the preterite is pasó. The other options (pasé, pasaste, pasamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) pasábamos — the nosotros/as form of pasar in the imperfect is pasábamos. The other options (pasaba, pasabas, pasaba) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) pasarás — the tú form of pasar in the future is pasarás. The other options (pasaré, pasará, pasaremos) are the same tense for different persons.
- D) pasaría — the yo form of pasar in the conditional is pasaría. The other options (pasarías, pasaría, pasaríamos) are the same tense for different persons.
- C) pase — the él/ella/Ud. form of pasar in the present subjunctive is pase. The other options (pase, pases, pasemos) are the same tense for different persons.
- B) pasara — the yo form of pasar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) is pasara. The other options (pasaras, pasara, pasáramos) are the same tense for different persons.
- A) pasando — the gerund of pasar is pasando; it is used with estar for the progressive. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- D) pasado — the past participle of pasar is pasado; perfect tenses use haber + pasado. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to pass — pasar means “to pass” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does pasar mean in English?
pasar means “to pass”. You use it for spending time, for passing by a place, and for happening and going by. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is pasar regular or irregular?
pasar is regular -ar verb, with no irregular tense — it follows the regular pattern throughout. The gerund is pasando and the past participle is pasado.
What are the gerund and past participle of pasar?
The gerund is pasando — use it with estar for actions in progress. The past participle is pasado — use it with haber for the perfect tenses, as in he pasado (I have passed).
What is the difference between pasar and ocurrir?
Pasar can mean to happen, like ocurrir, but it also means to spend time and to pass by. If you are unsure, check the full table for ocurrir and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I pass” in Spanish?
Say “Yo paso el verano en la playa.” — “I pass the summer at the beach every day.” The yo form of the present is paso, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- pasar in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in its most practised tense.
- pasar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Llegar conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Deber conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Poner conjugation — another everyday Spanish verb.
- Present tense guide — how the present tense works for regular verbs.
- Preterite tense guide — how the preterite works, and when to choose it over the imperfect.
- Verb Conjugator — practise pasar with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise pasar with the interactive tool.