How to Conjugate the French Verb Passer (to Pass)

Meaning to pass, the French verb  passer  is an easy one to remember and the conjugations are not too difficult, either. French students who have studied other regular -er  verbs will find this lesson relatively simple to follow. By the end, youll be familiar with the basic present, past, and future tenses of this very common verb. How to Conjugate  Passer Conjugations are used in French in the same way they are in English. We add certain endings to the verb stem to form the various tenses. This helps us use the verb properly and form complete sentences. Since  passer  is used in many common expressions, its important to memorize the conjugations. To begin, well look at the indicative verb mood, including the present, future, and imperfect past tenses. These verb conjugations are formed by adding  the regular -er  endings  to the verbs stem of  pass-. Using the chart, match the subject pronoun of your sentence with the appropriate tense. For example, I am passing is  je passe  while we will pass is  nous passerons. Try practicing these in context to aid in memorization. If you need some ideas,  passer  is used in many idiomatic expressions that youll find useful as well. Present Future Imperfect je passe passerai passais tu passes passeras passais il passe passera passait nous passons passerons passions vous passez passerez passiez ils passent passeront passaient Passer  and the Present Participle The  present participle  of  passer  is  passant. This was formed by adding -ant  to the verb stem. Not only can  passant  be used as a verb, in some contexts it may also be an adjective, gerund, or even a noun. Passer in the Past Tense The imperfect is the past tense, though its also common to use the passà © composà © in French. This requires the construction of a short phrase that uses the auxiliary verb à ªtre and the past participle passà ©. Putting it together is quite simple: use the subject pronoun, conjugate  Ãƒ ªtre  to the present tense, and attach the past participle. For example, I passed is  je suis passà ©Ã‚  and we passed is  nous sommes passà ©. More Conjugations of Passer As you build your French vocabulary, you will find other basic forms of  passer  useful. For example, if you wish to express that the action of passing is uncertain, the subjunctive verb mood is used. Similarly, if it is dependent on something else also occurring, you will use the conditional verb mood. In rare cases, you might encounter the passà © simple or the imperfect subjunctive. While the other forms of  passer  should be your priority, these are good to know as well. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je passe passerais passai passasse tu passes passerais passas passasses il passe passerait passa passt nous passions passerions passmes passassions vous passiez passeriez passtes passassiez ils passent passeraient passrent passassent You will use the imperative verb mood when using  passer  in short  commands and requests.  When using it, skip the subject pronoun, so  tu passe  is simplified to  passe. For the phrase Pass it! you will say Passe-le ! Imperative (tu) passe (nous) passons (vous) passez