Breakdown of El espía pasa desapercibido, pero hoy se pasa.
pero
but
hoy
today
pasar
to come in / to pass / to spend / have (time)
el espía
the spy
desapercibido
unnoticed
pasarse
to go too far
Questions & Answers about El espía pasa desapercibido, pero hoy se pasa.
How does adding the pronoun se change the meaning of the verb pasar in the second half of the sentence?
Why is it el espía and desapercibido if the noun ends in an "-a"?
The word espía is a common-gender noun, meaning the spelling of the word itself doesn't change regardless of whether the spy is male or female. Because this sentence uses the masculine article el, we know the spy is male, which is why the adjective must also be masculine: desapercibido. For a female spy, it would be la espía pasa desapercibida.
In English we say "goes unnoticed." Could I use the verb ir instead of pasar to translate this?
No, pasar desapercibido is a fixed expression in Spanish. Translating it literally with ir (ir desapercibido) sounds unnatural to native speakers.
Does pasarse always mean "to go too far" in a negative way?
Usually yes, it means crossing a boundary, acting inappropriately, or overdoing something. However, in many Latin American countries, pasarse is also used informally as a compliment meaning "to outdo oneself" or "to be amazing." For example, ¡Te pasaste con la cena! means "You outdid yourself with dinner!" In the context of this spy, however, it means he made a misstep.
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