Passare Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

passare — to pass — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a non-reflexive, regular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to pass something to someone, to spend time, and to pass by a place. The tables on this page use avere, the auxiliary for its transitive uses, as in passing the salt or spending an afternoon. When passare means to drop by or to go past without an object, Italian uses essere instead, so the meaning decides the auxiliary. On this page you will find passare in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the passare conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the passare present tense page.

Example sentences with passare

In the present tense

  • “Io passo il sale a Maria ogni giorno.” — “I pass the salt to Maria”
  • “Tu passi il sale a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You pass the salt to Maria”
  • “Lui passa il sale a Maria ogni giorno.” — “He passes the salt to Maria”
  • “Noi passiamo il sale a Maria ogni giorno.” — “We pass the salt to Maria”
  • “Voi passate il sale a Maria ogni giorno.” — “You pass the salt to Maria”
  • “Loro passano il sale a Maria ogni giorno.” — “They pass the salt to Maria”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io ho passato il sale a Maria questa settimana.” — “I have passed the salt to Maria”
  • “Tu hai passato il sale a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have passed the salt to Maria”
  • “Lui ha passato il sale a Maria questa settimana.” — “He has passed the salt to Maria”
  • “Noi abbiamo passato il sale a Maria questa settimana.” — “We have passed the salt to Maria”
  • “Voi avete passato il sale a Maria questa settimana.” — “You have passed the salt to Maria”
  • “Loro hanno passato il sale a Maria questa settimana.” — “They have passed the salt to Maria”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io passavo il sale a Maria una volta.” — “I used to pass the salt to Maria”
  • “Tu passerai il sale a Maria domani.” — “You will pass the salt to Maria”
  • “Lui passerebbe il sale a Maria un giorno.” — “He would pass the salt to Maria”
  • “È importante che noi passiamo il sale a Maria.” — “It is important that we pass the salt to Maria”
  • “Passa il sale a Maria!” — “Pass the salt to Maria!”

How passare is used

The first thing to know about passare is its core meaning: to pass. It means to pass something to someone, to spend time, and to pass by a place. The tables on this page use avere, the auxiliary for its transitive uses, as in passing the salt or spending an afternoon. When passare means to drop by or to go past without an object, Italian uses essere instead, so the meaning decides the auxiliary. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company passare keeps. The present io form is passo, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is ho passato, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what passare does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need passo, never passare. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is ho passato, built with avere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle passato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Passare in context

Io passo il sale a Maria ogni giorno. Tu passi il sale a Maria ogni giorno. Lui passa il sale a Maria ogni giorno. Noi passiamo il sale a Maria ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of passare is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — passo, passi, passa, passiamo — while the meaning stays the same: to pass. Io ho passato il sale a Maria questa settimana. Tu hai passato il sale a Maria questa settimana. Lui ha passato il sale a Maria questa settimana. Noi abbiamo passato il sale a Maria questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of passare appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to pass — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io passare il sale a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io passo il sale a Maria ogni giorno.”

The infinitive passare never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form passo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io passi il sale a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io passo il sale a Maria ogni giorno.”

passi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is passo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io passo il sale a Maria ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io ho passato il sale a Maria questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo ho passato here, not the present passo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io sono passato il sale a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Io ho passato il sale a Maria questa settimana.”

passare takes avere in the passato prossimo. The io form is ho passato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on passare across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of passare in the Present indicative?

    • A) passo
    • B) passi
    • C) passa
    • D) passiamo

  2. What is the io form of passare in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) hai passato
    • B) ha passato
    • C) ho passato
    • D) abbiamo passato

  3. What is the lui/lei form of passare in the Imperfect?

    • A) passavo
    • B) passavi
    • C) passavamo
    • D) passava

  4. What is the noi form of passare in the Future?

    • A) passeremo
    • B) passerò
    • C) passerai
    • D) passerà

  5. What is the tu form of passare in the Conditional?

    • A) passerei
    • B) passeresti
    • C) passerebbe
    • D) passeremmo

  6. What is the io form of passare in the Passato remoto?

    • A) passasti
    • B) passò
    • C) passai
    • D) passammo

  7. What is the noi form of passare in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) passi
    • B) passiate
    • C) passino
    • D) passiamo

  8. What is the gerund of passare?

    • A) passando
    • B) passato
    • C) passare
    • D) passo

  9. What is the past participle of passare?

    • A) passando
    • B) passato
    • C) passare
    • D) passo

  10. What does passare mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to pass
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) passi — the correct form is passi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) ho passato — the correct form is ho passato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) passava — the correct form is passava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) passeremo — the correct form is passeremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) passeresti — the correct form is passeresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) passai — the correct form is passai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) passiamo — the correct form is passiamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) passando — the correct form is passando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) passato — the correct form is passato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to pass — the correct form is to pass. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does passare mean in English?

passare means “to pass”. You use it whenever you talk about to pass in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is passare regular or irregular?

passare is regular. passare is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of passare?

The gerund is passando and the past participle is passato. The perfect tenses use avere + passato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of passare?

On the passare conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The passare present tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for passare, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages