pasar means: to pass, to pass on, to spend (time), to happen
Click to see all conjugation charts of pasar in every tense

In this Spanish conjugation lesson we will learn how to conjugate the verb pasar in the Imperfecto tense of the Indicativo mood. It means we will see step by step how to create and translate forms of each grammatical person.

This lesson is specifically about the pasar conjugation. For a general overview of all the Simple Tenses conjugation have a look at the Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

You may also see the Video Presentation on how to conjugate verbs in Imperfecto. It’s embedded below, but using the above link you can get more detailed information on conjugation in this tense and explanation of exceptions and special cases.

How to translate Imperfecto to English

Notice that the phrases in English provided below next to each conjugation are not direct translations from Spanish to English. They are usually the closest general equivalents. The example differences are:

• In Spanish conjugation, there is the form usted in the third person singular. But this person does not translate to the English third person singular. It translates to the so called formal you and uses the inflected form which is most often represented as he/she/it in English conjugation charts.
• Similar situation happens in the third person plural, where ustedes translates to the English plural formal you but uses the form which corresponds to the they form in English.
• Tenses are used differently in Spanish and English, so the actual translation should always take into account the context and focus on translating the meaning, not just words.
• In both languages each verb may have multiple meanings and not every meaning translates directly to the other language. Here also, the context and focusing on the particular meaning helps to create the most accurate translation.

Note the timeline

The ability to properly locate the desired position on the timeline is a crucial skill for proper use of tenses. So pay attention to the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while listening, speaking, writing and reading. After a bit practice you will be capable of selecting the right tense to use much easier.

Step by step instructions

Imperfecto belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of the inflected forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in Spanish language, where each inflected verb form consists of two words.The verb pasar has a completely regular conjugation in the Imperfecto tense of the Indicativo mood. It means this verb simply follows the general rules for its group (-ar) without exceptions. This tense is really easy, because there are only three irregular verbs! The basis for the conjugation in this tense is the stem of the verb, so we have to begin by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s really easy to do. Simply remove two letters from the end of the infinitive to get the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So for our verb:

• the stem is: pas-
• and the ending is: -ar

Use the stem pas- in each person as the basis for the conjugations, the common prefix or root that each of the forms begins with. Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. Analyze the image showing all six endings. Note both the shapes and colors of the letters. It should help you find patterns and make it easier to remember these endings.Each grammatical person has a specific ending in each of the three conjugation groups -ar, -er, -ir. Add the regular ending -aba for the first person singular to create pasaba:

• yo pasaba – I passed

As before add the regular ending -abas for the second person singular to create pasabas:

• tú pasabas – you passed

Again add the regular ending -aba for the third person singular to create pasaba:

• él pasaba – he passed
• ella pasaba – she passed
• usted pasaba – (formal) you passed

And once more add the regular ending -ábamos for the first person plural to create pasábamos. Note difference in spelling

Only the first person plural has an accent here.

This difference exists only in case of the verbs from the -ar group. Other groups always have an accented i in the ending in this tense.So add the accent to get pasábamos:

• nosotros pasábamos – we passed
• nosotras pasábamos – (feminine) we passed

Once more add the regular ending -abais for the second person plural to create pasabais:

• vosotros pasabais – (plural) you passed
• vosotras pasabais – (feminine, plural) you passed

Once more add the regular ending -aban for the third person plural to create pasaban:

• ellos pasaban – they passed
• ellas pasaban – (feminine) they passed
• ustedes pasaban – (formal, plural) you passed

¡Ya está! The conjugation is now done. That’s the final result:

yo	pasaba	I passed
tú	pasabas	you passed
él/ella/usted	pasaba	he/she/it passed
nosotros/nosotras	pasábamos	we passed
vosotros/vosotras	pasabais	you passed
ellos/ellas/ustedes	pasaban	they passed

Click to see all conjugation charts of pasar in every tense
But do not end your session yet – it is very important to repeat and practice the material in order to remember it. Check below for next steps.

Next Steps to Perfection To practice this conjugation and test your knowledge check this Conjugation Exercise or the Memory Game To see other conjugation lessons for this verb choose another tense: PresentePretéritoCondicionalFuturoPretérito Perfecto CompuestoPretérito PluscuamperfectoFuturo PerfectoCondicional PerfectoPretérito Perfecto Compuesto (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto A (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto B (subjuntivo)Futuro Perfecto (subjuntivo)  For exercises and examples related to pasar visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for pasar visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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