passera (to pass, cross) | Swedish Grammar

passera means "to pass, cross, go past" — and it is a perfectly regular Group 1 verb, so once you trust the pattern you never have to think about its forms again. It is the natural verb for crossing a border, going past a landmark, and, more abstractly, for time slipping by. Borrowed long ago from French passer, it slotted neatly into the same conjugation class as native verbs like tala.

Principal parts

Infinitive	Present	Preteritum (past)	Supine	Imperative	Group
passera	passerar	passerade	passerat	passera	Group 1

Everything here is mechanical, exactly as in tala. The present is the infinitive plus -r (passera → passerar). The past adds the full -ade (passerade), never a bare -de. The supine — the form after har/hade — ends in -at (passerat). The imperative is the bare stem, identical to the infinitive (Passera!). There is no stem change and no agreement with the subject: jag passerar, tåget passerar, de passerar are all the same form.

Use 1: passing or crossing a place

The core sense is physical: to go past something, or to cross a line or boundary. The thing passed is a plain direct object — no preposition — which surprises English speakers who reach for "past" or "across."

Vi passerade gränsen strax efter midnatt.

We crossed the border just after midnight. passera + direct object — no preposition for 'crossed'.

När du har passerat kyrkan ligger huset på vänster sida.

Once you've passed the church, the house is on the left. har passerat — the perfect, supine after har.

Bussen passerar sjukhuset på vägen till centrum.

The bus passes the hospital on the way into town. passerar — present, the hospital is a plain object.

Tåget passerar flera små stationer utan att stanna.

The train passes several small stations without stopping. Still a direct object, no 'by' or 'past'.

Use 2: passera förbi — pass by

To stress that you go past something and keep going, Swedish adds the particle förbi ("by, past"). passera förbi is close to a fixed pairing and is common when something merely goes past without stopping or interacting.

En polisbil passerade förbi utan att sakta in.

A police car passed by without slowing down. passera förbi — emphasis on going straight past.

Vi stod vid fönstret och såg tåget passera förbi.

We stood at the window and watched the train pass by. passera förbi after the bare infinitive.

Use 3: the passing of time

passera is also the everyday verb for time going by. Here it is intransitive — time is the subject, and nothing is being crossed.

Tiden passerar fortare när man har roligt.

Time passes faster when you're having fun. Intransitive — tiden is the subject.

Flera år har passerat sedan vi sågs sist.

Several years have passed since we last saw each other. har passerat — the perfect, time as subject.

Det passerade en timme innan någon märkte att hon var borta.

An hour passed before anyone noticed she was gone. passerade — past tense, time slipping by.

passera vs. gå förbi

In casual speech, "to go past" something on foot is very often gå förbi rather than passera. The difference is register and feel. gå förbi is the plain, physical, everyday phrase — you, walking, past a shop. passera is a touch more neutral and is preferred for vehicles, borders, checkpoints, and anything that flows past on a route (buses, trains, the hands of a clock). For crossing a boundary or threshold, passera is clearly the better verb; you would not normally say *gå förbi gränsen.

Jag gick förbi ditt hus i morse. (informal)

I walked past your house this morning. (informal) gå förbi — the everyday on-foot phrase.

Alla resenärer måste passera säkerhetskontrollen. (neutral)

All passengers must pass through security. (neutral) passera fits a controlled crossing point.

Common Mistakes

❌ Vi passerade förbi gränsen.

Off — for crossing a boundary, drop förbi: passera gränsen. förbi adds 'by/past', which clashes with 'cross'.

✅ Vi passerade gränsen.

We crossed the border.

❌ Bussen passerar vid sjukhuset.

Incorrect — the place passed is a direct object: passerar sjukhuset, no vid.

✅ Bussen passerar sjukhuset.

The bus passes the hospital.

❌ Tiden passerde fort. (bare -de)

Incorrect — Group 1 takes the full -ade: passerade, never *passerde.

✅ Tiden passerade fort.

Time passed quickly.

❌ Flera år har passerade.

Incorrect — after har you need the supine passerat, not the past passerade.

✅ Flera år har passerat.

Several years have passed.

💡

passera is a clean Group 1 verb (passera – passerar – passerade – passerat) with three everyday jobs: cross a line (passera gränsen), go past a landmark (passera kyrkan), and — intransitively — let time slip by (tiden passerar). The thing passed is a bare object, no preposition; add förbi only when you mean "pass by and keep going."

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