Normalmente pasamos el domingo en casa con la familia.

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Questions & Answers about Normalmente pasamos el domingo en casa con la familia.

Why is there no word for “we” in the Spanish sentence? I only see pasamos, not nosotros.

In Spanish, subject pronouns (like yo, tú, él, nosotros) are usually dropped because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

  • pasamos = we spend / we pass (1st person plural)
    So Spanish speakers normally just say pasamos, not nosotros pasamos.

You can say Nosotros pasamos el domingo…, but it usually sounds more emphatic, like stressing we (as opposed to someone else).


Why is pasamos used to mean “spend (time)”? I thought pasar meant “to pass”.

pasar is a very flexible verb. One of its common meanings is “to spend (time)”.

  • Pasamos el domingo en casa.
    → We spend Sunday at home.

Other examples with time:

  • Pasé una semana en Madrid. → I spent a week in Madrid.
  • ¿Cómo has pasado el día? → How have you spent the day?

For spending money, you do not use pasar; you use gastar:

  • Gasto mucho dinero en libros. → I spend a lot of money on books.

Why is it el domingo and not just domingo or los domingos?

With days of the week, Spanish normally uses the definite article (el, los):

  • el lunes, el martes, el domingo = on Monday, on Tuesday, on Sunday
  • los lunes, los domingos = on Mondays, on Sundays (in general)

So:

  • Normalmente pasamos el domingo en casa…
    Literally: Normally we spend the Sunday at home…
    Natural English: We usually spend Sunday at home…

Using el domingo here treats “Sunday” as that type of day in general.

You only drop the article in specific patterns like:

  • Hoy es domingo. → Today is Sunday.
  • Mañana es lunes. → Tomorrow is Monday.

In most other contexts, you use el / los before days.


Could I say Normalmente pasamos los domingos en casa con la familia? What’s the difference?

Yes, that sentence is correct too, and it slightly changes the nuance:

  • Normalmente pasamos el domingo en casa…
    = We usually spend Sunday (as a day) at home…
    → Feels like a general statement about what Sunday is typically like.

  • Normalmente pasamos los domingos en casa…
    = We usually spend Sundays at home…
    → Emphasises repetition: on Sundays (in general, most Sundays), we’re at home.

In many real-life contexts, both can translate as We usually spend Sunday(s) at home, but:

  • los domingos highlights every/most Sundays.
  • el domingo sounds a bit more like talking about the typical Sunday.

Why is it en casa and not a casa or en la casa?

Three different ideas:

  1. en casa = at home / in the house (my/our home)

    • Pasamos el domingo en casa. → We spend Sunday at home.
  2. a casa = home with movement (going to):

    • Vamos a casa. → We’re going home.
    • Vuelve a casa. → Come back home.
  3. en la casa = in the house (a specific house, not necessarily “home”):

    • Hay cinco personas en la casa. → There are five people in the house.

In this sentence we talk about being at home, not moving there, and it’s “home” in general, so:

  • en casa is the natural choice.

Why is it con la familia and not con nuestra familia or con mi familia?

In Spanish, using la familia often already implies “our family / my family” when the context is clear.

  • Pasamos el domingo en casa con la familia.
    → We spend Sunday at home with the family.
    (Understood: with our own family.)

You can say:

  • con mi familia = with my family
  • con nuestra familia = with our family

Those are used when you really want to be explicit or to contrast:

  • Pasamos el domingo con mi familia, no con la de ella.
    We spend Sunday with my family, not with hers.

But in everyday speech, con la familia is very common and sounds natural for “with the family (ours)”.


Can I move normalmente to other positions? For example, Pasamos normalmente el domingo en casa…?

Yes, normalmente is quite flexible. All of these are possible:

  1. Normalmente pasamos el domingo en casa con la familia.
    → Very natural, adverb at the start.

  2. Pasamos normalmente el domingo en casa con la familia.
    → Also correct, but slightly less common. Neutral meaning.

  3. Pasamos el domingo normalmente en casa con la familia.
    → Grammatically possible, but sounds a bit heavier and less natural.

  4. Pasamos el domingo en casa con la familia normalmente.
    → Sounds like you’re adding “normally” as an afterthought; used sometimes for emphasis.

Most natural and typical: Normalmente pasamos… or Pasamos normalmente…, with a slight preference for putting normalmente at the beginning.


Why is the present tense pasamos used for “usually spend”? Why not a special tense?

Spanish uses the present simple for habitual actions, just like English:

  • Trabajamos de lunes a viernes.
    We work from Monday to Friday.
  • Cenamos tarde.
    We eat dinner late.

So:

  • Normalmente pasamos el domingo en casa…
    → We usually spend Sunday at home…

There’s also the verb soler (to usually do something):

  • Solemos pasar el domingo en casa con la familia.
    → We usually tend to spend Sunday at home with the family.

Both are correct. Normalmente pasamos… is simpler and very common.


How would I say it if I wanted to talk about this Sunday only, not “normally” or “usually”?

You’d remove normalmente and specify este domingo:

  • Este domingo pasamos el día en casa con la familia.
    → This Sunday we’re spending the day at home with the family.

Or:

  • El domingo vamos a pasar el día en casa con la familia.
    → On Sunday we are going to spend the day at home with the family.
    (Usually understood as this coming Sunday because of context and future meaning.)

Is this sentence specifically “Spanish from Spain”, or would Latin Americans say it the same way?

The sentence is perfectly natural in both Spain and Latin America:

  • Normalmente pasamos el domingo en casa con la familia.

There is no difference here in grammar or vocabulary. Both varieties would say it this way.

Small regional variations might be in intonation or in adding words (e.g. en casa con la familia, tranquilos), but the core sentence is standard across the Spanish-speaking world.