yo pasaba

was happening, was passing, used to go by

→ pasar
pas pass + aba imperfect indicative/subjunctive, 1st or 3rd person singular
verb · first singular · imperfect indicative Common #4,417
was happening, was passing, used to go by Imperfect tense of "pasar" (it describes something ongoing in the past or something that used to happen).
SP: Pasaba el tiempo y no recibía respuesta.
EN: Time was going by and I wasn’t getting an answer.
Conjugation of pasar
SingularPlural
First pasarme —
Second pasarte —
Indicative imperfect
SingularPlural
First pasaba pasábamos
Third pasaba pasaban
Subjunctive imperfect
SingularPlural
First pasaba pasábamos
Third pasaba pasaban

Sólo pasaba por aquí.

I was just passing by.

No pasaba nada entre nosotros.

Nothing was happening between us.

Trato de entender lo que pasaba por su cabeza.

I try to understand what was going through his mind.

— Tres colores. Azul (1993)

De niño, pasaba muchísimo tiempo en la casa de mi tío.

As a child, I spent a lot of time at my uncle's house.

— Laurence Anyways (2012)

Esto pasaba cada otoño.

This happened every autumn.

El tiempo pasaba rápido y el trabajo no avanzaba en absoluto.

Time was passing quickly, and the work wasn’t progressing at all.

Pasaba hambre.

I was starving.

— O Auto da Compadecida (2000)

Pasaba por aquí y se me ocurrió traerle el billete de barco.

I was passing by and it occurred to me to bring him the boat ticket.

— Deseando amar (2000)

En mi niñez pasaba frecuentemente enfermo.

I was frequently sick during my childhood.

Total se pasaba ahí la vida.

After all, he spent his life there.

— Los lunes al sol (2002)

Nos advirtieron que si eso pasaba de nuevo nos matarían.

They warned us that if that happened again, they would kill us.

— Los falsificadores (2007)

Más tiempo pasaba más miedo tenía porque sé que a una madre como yo se la odia.

The more time passed, the more afraid I became because I know that a mother like me is hated.

— Mañana empieza todo (2016)

No sabes ni la mitad de lo que pasaba.

You don't even know half of what was going on.

— Una segunda madre (2015)

Un día se distrajo cuando ella pasaba y arrancó un diente sano en vez del malo.

One day he got distracted as she walked by and pulled out a healthy tooth instead of the bad one.

— Malèna (2000)

Cuanto más tiempo pasaba en París, más me gustaba.

The more time I spent in Paris, the more I liked it.

Lo que pasaba fuera significaba poco.

What happened outside meant little.

Se pasaba las noches en vela.

He spent sleepless nights.

Un día, pasaba junto a unas obras.

One day, I was passing by some construction work.

Pero el tiempo pasaba.

But time passed.

— Hable con ella (2002)

Me confirmaron que no pasaba nada.

They confirmed to me that nothing was wrong.

Él confirmó que le pasaba algo a su coche.

He confirmed that something was wrong with his car.

La verdad, no sabía qué carajos pasaba.

Honestly, I had no idea what the hell was going on.

— 28 años después: El templo de los huesos (2026)

Pasaba horas leyendo todos sus libros.

He spent hours reading all his books.

Dijeron que no pasaba nada.

They said nothing was wrong.

— El jardín de los pecadores: Paradigma paradoja (Paradoja espiral) (2008)

Hacía años que no me pasaba.

It had been years since that happened to me.

— Retrato de una mujer en llamas (2019)

Le pasaba que estaba anticuado.

The problem was that it was outdated.

— State and Main (2000)

Pasaba todo el tiempo pensando en cómo solíamos jugar por acá.

I spent all my time thinking about how we used to play around here.

— El cuento de la princesa Kaguya (2013)

Como suele ser habitual con la gente joven, él pasaba del dinero.

As is often the case with young people, he didn't care about money.

El poco tiempo que tenía libre lo pasaba con su familia.

He spent what little free time he had with his family.

La pelota quizás sí pasaba, pero el tobillo del pobre chico, no.

The ball might have made it through, but the poor boy's ankle didn't.

— O Som ao Redor (2012)

El pasaba por aquí en todo momento.

He used to pass by here all the time.

Un coche que pasaba nos empapó.

A passing car splashed us.

Ya te pasaba antes.

This used to happen to you before.

— Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal (2001)

Tom pasaba horas mirando a los peces en el estanque.

Tom spent hours watching the fish in the pond.

Tom miraba lo que pasaba en la pantalla del ordenador.

Tom was watching what was happening on the computer screen.

Era una niña que no pasaba desapercibida.

She was a girl who did not go unnoticed.

— Crudo (2017)

Sólo pasaba por aquí, Señor caballero.

I was just passing by, Sir Knight.

Cuando era un niño pasaba mucho tiempo jugando en la azotea de mi casa.

When I was a child I spent a lot of time playing on the roof of my house.

Pasaba el día gritando, diciendo lo que teníamos que hacer.

He spent the day shouting, telling us what we had to do.

— Tesis (1996)

Solo pasaba por aquí, estudié baile y danza.

I was just passing by, I studied dance.

— Los visitantes (1993)

Y tú sabías que la pasaba mal.

And you knew I was having a hard time.

— Sin conexión (2025)

La gente se reía siempre, cuando pasaba por ahí todo orgulloso.

People always laughed when he walked by, all proud.

— Oh Boy (2012)

Pasaba por aquí y pensé que podríamos ver lo del vídeo.

I was passing by and thought we could watch the video.

— Love Actually (2003)

Después pasaba algo muy raro.

Then something very strange happened.

— Durante la tormenta (2018)

Ella me preguntó si pasaba algo.

She asked me if something was wrong.

Yo pasaba por un mal momento.

I was going through a rough patch.

— El médico de Budapest (2020)

Anoche estabas de un humor terrible, ¿qué te pasaba?

You were in a terrible mood last night, what was wrong?

Antes se pasaba el día llamándome.

He used to spend the day calling me.

— Comer, beber, amar (1994)

Nada, acá, pasaba a charlar un poco.

Nothing, I was just passing by to chat a bit.

— El secreto de sus ojos (2009)

En verano pasaba las vacaciones en casa.

In the summer I spent my holidays at home.

— Divorcio a la italiana (1961)

Cada lunes me pasaba sus informes.

Every Monday, he would give me his reports.

— Zeta (2026)

Cuando yo era niño, pasaba muchas horas solo, leyendo en mi dormitorio.

When I was a child, I spent many hours alone, reading in my bedroom.

Creía que eso sólo pasaba en las películas.

I thought that only happened in movies.

— Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988)

Lo siento, sólo pasaba por aquí.

I'm sorry, I was just passing by.

— El imperio de las sombras (2016)

El tiempo pasaba rápido y el trabajo no avanzaba nada.

Time was passing quickly, and the work wasn't progressing at all.

Al ver lo que pasaba, decidimos salir.

Seeing what was happening, we decided to leave.

Pasaba horas estudiando francés.

I spent hours studying French.

Pasaba por aquí.

I was passing by.

— Haz lo que debas (1989)

Los bancos no sabían qué pasaba hasta hace unos días.

The banks didn't know what was happening until a few days ago.

— Atrápame si puedes (2002)

Como me pasaba a mí.

Like what happened to me.

— SEND HELP (Enviad ayuda) (2026)

Me pasaba lo mismo antes de una grabación.

The same thing used to happen to me before a recording.

— TÁR (2022)

Es obvio que se pasaba de modesto.

It's obvious he was being overly modest.

— La ironía del destino, o goce de su baño (1976)

Cuando yo era niña, pasaba horas sola leyendo en mi pieza.

When I was a child, I would spend hours alone reading in my room.

Tienen que haber descubierto lo que pasaba.

They must have figured out what was going on.

Tom pasaba cada día a la casa de María para almorzar.

Tom would stop by María’s house every day for lunch.

Ya noté yo que te pasaba algo.

I already noticed that something was wrong with you.

— Volver (2006)

Hace tiempo que no pasaba.

It hadn’t happened in a long time.

— El maquinista (2004)

Te dije que algo pasaba.

I told you something was wrong.

— Solo en casa (1990)

Más egoísta y cruel cuanto más tiempo pasaba aquí, entre tu especie.

The longer I spent here, among your kind, the more selfish and cruel I became.

— Bugonia (2025)

A menudo pasaba ahí.

It often happened there.

Pasaba por aquí y eché un vistazo hacia adentro.

I was passing by and took a look inside.

— Guardianes del día (2006)

Hace años que no me lo pasaba tan bien.

I haven’t had this much fun in years.

Él pasaba mucho tiempo estudiando.

He spent a lot of time studying.

Yo te diré lo que le pasaba.

I’ll tell you what was wrong with him.

— State and Main (2000)

Y todos los sábados y domingos me los pasaba sola.

And I spent every Saturday and Sunday alone.

— La ironía del destino, o goce de su baño (1976)

Cuando era joven pasaba mucho tiempo aquí solo.

When I was young I spent a lot of time here alone.

— El castillo ambulante (2004)

Un coche que pasaba nos salpicó.

A passing car splashed us.