Passer: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in French
Introduction
Passer means “to pass, to spend”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in French — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for passer, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Example sentences
Twelve sentences with passer, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the French first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Je passe une semaine à Paris tous les jours.” — “I pass a week in Paris every day.”
- “Tu passes devant la maison tous les jours.” — “You pass in front of the house every day.”
- “J'ai passé un examen en juin cette semaine.” — “I have passed an exam in June this week.”
- “Il passait une semaine à Paris autrefois.” — “He used to pass a week in Paris in the past.”
- “Nous passerons devant la maison demain.” — “We will pass in front of the house tomorrow.”
- “Tu as passé un examen en juin cette semaine.” — “You have passed an exam in June this week.”
- “Je passerais une semaine à Paris un jour.” — “I would pass a week in Paris one day.”
- “Il est important que il passe devant la maison.” — “It is important that he pass in front of the house.”
- “Nous avions passé un examen en juin avant la fête.” — “We had passed an exam in June before the party.”
- “Il passera une semaine à Paris demain.” — “He will pass a week in Paris tomorrow.”
- “Ils passent devant la maison tous les jours.” — “They pass in front of the house every day.”
- “Passe un examen en juin !” — “Pass an exam in June!”
A short dialogue
Marie and Pierre are talking about a week in Paris. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how passer changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of passer below is taken from the verified tables.
Marie : Tu fais quoi, ce soir ? Pierre : “Je passe une semaine à Paris tous les jours.” — “I pass a week in Paris every day.” Marie : Et demain ? Pierre : “Je passerai devant la maison demain.” — “I will pass in front of the house tomorrow.” Marie : Tu as fait ça hier aussi ? Pierre : “J'ai passé un examen en juin cette semaine.” — “I have passed an exam in June this week.” Marie : Tu ferais ça un jour ? Pierre : “Je passerais une semaine à Paris un jour.” — “I would pass a week in Paris one day.”
Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the passé composé for yesterday, and the conditional for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.
Passer in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of passer that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, passer describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The je form is passe: “Je passe une semaine à Paris tous les jours.” — “I pass a week in Paris every day.”
The imperfect: the past as it used to be
In the imperfect, passer describes the past as it used to be — background, habit, an action in progress. The il form is passait: “Il passait devant la maison autrefois.” — “He used to pass in front of the house in the past.”
The passé composé: finished actions
In the passé composé, passer reports one finished action, built with avoir plus the participle passé. The je form is ai passé: “J'ai passé un examen en juin cette semaine.” — “I have passed an exam in June this week.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, passer talks about what will happen. The nous form is passerons: “Nous passerons une semaine à Paris demain.” — “We will pass a week in Paris tomorrow.”
The conditional: what would happen
In the conditional, passer talks about what would happen. The tu form is passerais: “Tu passerais devant la maison un jour.” — “You would pass in front of the house one day.”
The subjunctive: wishes and doubts
In the subjunctive, passer appears after triggers such as il est important que. The form is passe, and the sentence keeps the same complement as the other tenses: “Il est important que je passe un examen en juin.” — “It is important that I pass an exam in June.”
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je passer une semaine à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Je passe une semaine à Paris.”
The infinitive passer never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form passe.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Tu passe une semaine à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Tu passes une semaine à Paris.”
passe is the je form. With tu you need passes. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je passe une semaine à Paris hier.”
✓ Right: “Je ai passé une semaine à Paris hier.”
The time word hier points to the past, so a finished action needs the passé composé ai passé, not the present.
Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que tu passes devant la maison.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que tu passes devant la maison.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive: passes, not the indicative passes.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je passé une semaine à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Je ai passé une semaine à Paris.”
The passé composé of passer needs the auxiliary avoir plus the participle passé: the full je form is ai passé.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on passer. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of passer in the Present indicative?
- A) passe
- B) passes
- C) passons
- D) passez
What is the tu form of passer in the Present indicative?
- A) passez
- B) passes
- C) passe
- D) passons
What is the il/elle form of passer in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ai passé
- B) as passé
- C) avons passé
- D) a passé
What is the nous form of passer in the Imperfect?
- A) passions
- B) passais
- C) passait
- D) passiez
What is the tu form of passer in the Future?
- A) passera
- B) passerons
- C) passeras
- D) passerai
What is the je form of passer in the Conditional?
- A) passeriez
- B) passerais
- C) passerait
- D) passerions
What is the il/elle form of passer in the Present subjunctive?
- A) passe
- B) passes
- C) passions
- D) passiez
What is the je form of passer in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)?
- A) avais passé
- B) avait passé
- C) avions passé
- D) aviez passé
What is the gerund of passer?
- A) en tenant
- B) en portant
- C) en laissant
- D) en passant
What does passer mean in English?
- A) to leave, to let
- B) to pass, to spend
- C) to hold
- D) to carry, to wear
Answer key
- A) passe — the je form of passer in the Present indicative is passe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) passes — the tu form of passer in the Present indicative is passes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) a passé — the il/elle form of passer in the Present perfect (passé composé) is a passé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) passions — the nous form of passer in the Imperfect is passions. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) passeras — the tu form of passer in the Future is passeras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) passerais — the je form of passer in the Conditional is passerais. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) passe — the il/elle form of passer in the Present subjunctive is passe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) avais passé — the je form of passer in the Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is avais passé. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en passant — the gerund of passer is en passant. The other options are the gerunds of neighbouring verbs.
- B) to pass, to spend — passer means “to pass, to spend” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does passer mean in English?
passer means “to pass, to spend”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is passer regular or irregular?
passer is regular in every tense. The gerund is passant and the past participle is passé.
How do I practise passer every day?
Say one sentence with passer in the present, one in the passé composé and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Je passe une semaine à Paris tous les jours.”, “J'ai passé une semaine à Paris cette semaine.” and “Je passerai une semaine à Paris demain.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for passer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of passer — every tense of passer in one place.
- Passer in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Passer examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Tenir conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Porter conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- Laisser conjugation — another everyday French verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise passer with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise passer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise passer with the interactive tool.