Passer Conjugation in French
passer means “to pass, to spend” in English, and it is one of the first verbs French learners meet — it sits at number 19 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for French verbs. You use it whenever you talk about passing a week in Paris, and 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 passer — 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: “Je passe une semaine à Paris tous les jours.” — “I pass a week in Paris every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: passer
- English: to pass, to spend
- Verb type: Regular
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: passant
- Past participle: passé
- Auxiliary: avoir (all perfect tenses are formed with avoir + the past participle)
- Ending: -er verbs; pattern er in the verified tables
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. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read passer in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about passer
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -er pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
- The perfect tenses use avoir: the present perfect is formed with avoir in the present plus the past participle passé. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table.
- The gerund is passant and the participle is passé: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions and the participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for passer. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | passe |
| tu | passes |
| il/elle | passe |
| nous | passons |
| vous | passez |
| ils/elles | passent |
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Je passe devant la maison tous les jours.” — “I pass in front of the house every day.”
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | passai |
| tu | passas |
| il/elle | passa |
| nous | passâmes |
| vous | passâtes |
| ils/elles | passèrent |
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mostly in written and literary French. For example: “Tu passas devant la maison hier.” — “You passed in front of the house yesterday.”
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | passais |
| tu | passais |
| il/elle | passait |
| nous | passions |
| vous | passiez |
| ils/elles | passaient |
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Il passait devant la maison autrefois.” — “He used to pass in front of the house in the past.”
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | passerai |
| tu | passeras |
| il/elle | passera |
| nous | passerons |
| vous | passerez |
| ils/elles | passeront |
The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Je passerai devant la maison demain.” — “I will pass in front of the house tomorrow.”
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | passerais |
| tu | passerais |
| il/elle | passerait |
| nous | passerions |
| vous | passeriez |
| ils/elles | passeraient |
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Tu passerais devant la maison un jour.” — “You would pass in front of the house one day.”
Present perfect (passé composé)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai passé |
| tu | as passé |
| il/elle | a passé |
| nous | avons passé |
| vous | avez passé |
| ils/elles | ont passé |
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. For example: “Il a passé devant la maison cette semaine.” — “He has passed in front of the house this week.”
Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | avais passé |
| tu | avais passé |
| il/elle | avait passé |
| nous | avions passé |
| vous | aviez passé |
| ils/elles | avaient passé |
The pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “J'avais passé devant la maison avant la fête.” — “I had passed in front of the house before the party.”
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurai passé |
| tu | auras passé |
| il/elle | aura passé |
| nous | aurons passé |
| vous | aurez passé |
| ils/elles | auront passé |
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Tu auras passé devant la maison pour demain.” — “You will have passed in front of the house by tomorrow.”
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | aurais passé |
| tu | aurais passé |
| il/elle | aurait passé |
| nous | aurions passé |
| vous | auriez passé |
| ils/elles | auraient passé |
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Il aurait passé devant la maison hier.” — “He would have passed in front of the house yesterday.”
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | passe |
| tu | passes |
| il/elle | passe |
| nous | passions |
| vous | passiez |
| ils/elles | passent |
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “Il est important que je passe devant la maison.” — “It is important that I pass in front of the house.”
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | passasse |
| tu | passasses |
| il/elle | passât |
| nous | passassions |
| vous | passassiez |
| ils/elles | passassent |
The imperfect subjunctive is used in formal written French for past wishes and hypotheticals after que. For example: “Il est important que tu passasses devant la maison.” — “It is important that you pass in front of the house.”
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | passe |
| nous | passons |
| vous | passez |
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Passe devant la maison !” — “Pass in front of the house!”
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | passe |
| nous | passons |
| vous | passez |
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Ne passe pas devant la maison.” — “Do not pass in front of the house.”
Gerund
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en passant |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, usually after en. For example: “En passant une semaine à Paris, je passe un bon moment.” — “While passing a week in Paris, I have a good time.”
Past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Past participle | passé |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “J'ai passé une semaine à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have passed a week in Paris this week.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with passer, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je passe une semaine à Paris tous les jours.” — “I pass a week in Paris every day.”
- “Tu passas devant la maison hier.” — “You passed in front of the house yesterday.”
- “Il passait un examen en juin autrefois.” — “He used to pass an exam in June in the past.”
- “Je passerai une semaine à Paris demain.” — “I will pass a week in Paris tomorrow.”
- “Tu passerais devant la maison un jour.” — “You would pass in front of the house one day.”
- “Il a passé un examen en juin cette semaine.” — “He has passed an exam in June this week.”
- “J'avais passé une semaine à Paris avant la fête.” — “I had passed a week in Paris before the party.”
- “Tu auras passé devant la maison pour demain.” — “You will have passed in front of the house by tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il passe un examen en juin.” — “It is important that he pass an exam in June.”
- “Passe une semaine à Paris !” — “Pass a week in Paris!”
Common mistakes
1. 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 present form passe.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Je passent une semaine à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Je passe une semaine à Paris.”
passent is the ils/elles form, not the je form. Match the verb to the subject every time: je goes with passe.
3. Using the passé simple for a present habit
✗ Wrong: “Je passai une semaine à Paris tous les jours.”
✓ Right: “Je passe une semaine à Paris tous les jours.”
The passé simple passai describes one finished past action. For something that happens every day, use the present passe.
4. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que je passe une semaine à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que je passe une semaine à Paris.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use passe here, not the indicative passe.
5. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passé composé
✗ Wrong: “Je suis passé une semaine à Paris.”
✓ Right: “Je ai passé une semaine à Paris.”
The passé composé of passer is formed with avoir plus the past participle passé: the je form is ai passé. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
6. Dropping a written accent
✗ Wrong: “passe” written without its accent
✓ Right: “passe”
Accents are part of the spelling in French. Write the form exactly as it appears in the table, accent included, or it looks like a different word.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on passer. Choose the right form, 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 il/elle form of passer in the Passé simple?
- A) passa
- B) passai
- C) passas
- D) passâmes
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 perfect (passé composé)?
- A) ai passé
- B) as passé
- C) avons passé
- D) a passé
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 Imperfect subjunctive?
- A) passassions
- B) passasse
- C) passasses
- D) passât
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.
- A) passa — the il/elle form of passer in the Passé simple is passa. 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.
- 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) passe — the il/elle form of passer in the Present subjunctive is passe. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) passasse — the je form of passer in the Imperfect subjunctive is passasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) en passant — the gerund of passer is en passant; it is used after en for actions happening at the same time as another action. 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: it follows the ordinary -er pattern in every tense. The gerund is passant and the past participle is passé.
What are the gerund and past participle of passer?
The gerund is passant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is passé — use it with avoir for the perfect tenses, as in ai passé.
Which auxiliary does passer take in the passé composé?
passer takes avoir in the passé composé: the je form is ai passé. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with avoir plus the past participle passé.
How do I say “I pass” in French?
Say “Je passe une semaine à Paris tous les jours.” — “I pass a week in Paris every day.” The je form of the present is passe, and it is the form you will use most often.
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 Conjugator — practise passer with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise passer with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise passer with the interactive tool.