passe

/pas/passer

verbInd, Subj, Imp1stPresSing1, 2, 3

pass; go by (time or an object)

hand over (give something to someone)

be acceptable / work (colloquial: 'ça passe')

Passe-moi le sel, s'il te plaît.

Pass me the salt, please.

Synonyms:transmettre, donner, être acceptable (pour 'ça passe')

nounfeminine

pass (a pass to a teammate in team sports such as football or basketball)

Il m'a fait une passe décisive.

He made a decisive pass to me.

Synonyms:transmission, passe décisive

nounfeminine

sexual favour / brief sexual encounter (slang, often vulgar)

Il a payé pour une passe.

He paid for a sexual service.

Synonyms:relation sexuelle (familier), aventure (familier)

Notes

GENERAL INFO

Passer is a highly versatile French verb. It means "to pass," "to spend (time)," "to go by," "to go through," or "to hand over."

It's used for :

Physical movement ("Je passe devant la boulangerie" - I pass by the bakery),

Temporal duration ("Nous passons un bon moment" - We are having a good time),

or Transferring objects ("Passe-moi le sel" - Pass me the salt).

The main trap is the auxiliary verb in compound tenses.

Use être when *passer* denotes movement or changing location ("Je suis passé par Paris" - I passed through Paris).

Use avoir when it means "to spend (time)" or when transitive ("J'ai passé un bon week-end" - I spent a good weekend).

Je passe

Tu passes

Il/elle/on passe

Nous passons

Vous passez

Ils/elles passent