Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Já passaste pela agência? - Did you already pass by the agency?

Já passaste pela agência?

Did you already pass by the agency?

Breakdown of Já passaste pela agência?

passar

to pass

por

through / by / for / because of

Questions & Answers about Já passaste pela agência?

Why does já come before the verb here?

In Portuguese questions, time words like já (already) are usually placed right before the verb. Unlike English, where you might say 'Did you pass by the agency already?', it is much more natural in Portuguese to put já at the start.

Why use pela instead of another word for 'by' or 'at'?

The word pela is a mandatory combination of the preposition por (by/through) and the feminine 'the', a. You will often see the verb passar paired with por when talking about passing through or stopping by a place.

How do I know passaste is in the past tense?

The ending -aste tells you this is the completed past tense (Pretérito Perfeito) for tu (informal 'you'). A common learner mistake is mixing it up with the present tense passas. Regular past tense tu forms for -ar verbs always end in -aste.

Does passar pela agência mean I walked past it without going in?

It can mean literally walking past a building, but in everyday Portuguese, passar por is a very common way to say 'dropping by' or 'stopping by' a place briefly to run an errand.