il passait

was passing, went by

→ passer
pass pass; go through + ait he/she/it imperfect
verb · third singular · imperfect indicative Uncommon #11,564
was passing, went by Imperfect tense (ongoing or habitual action in the past).
FR: Le bus passait devant chez moi tous les matins.
EN: The bus went by in front of my place every morning.
Conjugation of passer
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
Second passiez
Third passait passaient

La musique passait doucement.

The music played softly.

— Memories of Murder (2003)

On passait un bon moment et tu t'énerves!

We were having a good time, and you’re getting angry!

— Black (2005)

T'avais dit qu'on passait un week-end cochon.

You said we'd have a naughty weekend.

— Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (2007)

La lumière du phare passait à travers la vitre de la chambre.

The light from the lighthouse shone through the window of the room.

— L'Orphelinat (2007)

Nous avons parlé de tout ce qui nous passait par la tête.

We talked about whatever came to mind.

Quand on s'est parlé, j'ai senti que le courant passait.

When we talked, I felt that we clicked.

— Presque Célèbre (2000)

Tom passait une mauvaise journée.

Tom was having a bad day.

Dommage, le courant passait si bien.

Too bad, we were getting along so well.

— Rebecca (1940)

Sami passait l'aspirateur devant lui.

Sami was vacuuming in front of him.

J'ai essayé de te joindre au téléphone mais ça ne passait pas.

I tried to call you, but I couldn't get through.

Chaque matin le tsar passait sa collection en revue.

Every morning the tsar reviewed his collection.

— L'Arche russe (2002)

Il passait à cheval.

He rode by on horseback.

— Une journée particulière (1977)

La musique passait en boucle.

The music was playing on repeat.

Une chanson français passait à la radio.

A French song was playing on the radio.

C'était un ange de l'enfer qui passait pour juste prendre contact avec moi.

It was a Hell’s Angel who had stopped by just to get in touch with me.

— Le Sacrifice (1986)

On passait un bon moment.

We were having a good time.

— Bugonia (2025)

Il l'a modifié quand ça passait les portes!

He modified it while it was going through the doors!

— Ratatouille (2007)

Quand j'étais petit un vendeur passait devant la maison.

When I was little, a salesman used to walk past the house.

— Les Anges déchus (1995)

Vous voulez sans doute dire passait par les canaux du Parti communiste, exact?

You presumably mean it went through the Communist Party's channels, right?

— Oppenheimer (2023)

Avant, il passait chez nous tous les jours.

Before, he came to our house every day.

Il passait sa vie .

He spent his life there.

— Les Lundis au soleil (2002)

Virgile adorait les livres et passait ses journées à les lire attentivement.

Virgil loved books and spent his days reading them attentively.

Un vieux Dateline passait hier soir sur les tueurs Ghostface à New York.

An old Dateline episode about the Ghostface killers in New York was on last night.

— Scream 7 (2026)

On passait à table.

We were sitting down to eat.

— Chicago (2002)

Elle m'avait demandé de l'arrêter s'il passait aux aveux.

She had asked me to arrest him if he confessed.

— Ne le dis à personne (2006)

Qu'est-ce qu'on y passait?

What did we spend there?

— Amarcord (1973)

La grand-route passait par ici, avant!

The main road used to pass through here!

— Psychose (1960)

Elle ne passait pas un bon moment.

She wasn't having a good time.

L'une de mes chansons préférées passait à la radio.

One of my favorite songs was playing on the radio.

Il savait ce qui s'y passait.

He knew what was going on there.

— Les Affranchis (1990)

Si maintenant on passait à quelque chose de nouveau?

What if we moved on to something new now?

— Oppenheimer (2023)

Et s'il ne me passait rien par la tête?

What if nothing came to mind?

— Picnic (1955)

Avant, il passait tous les jours chez nous.

Before, he came to our house every day.

Il passait souvent me voir.

He often came to see me.