passer at B2 — the subjunctive
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Reflexive twice over, with two different meanings.
Se passer = to happen
Se passer means to happen: « qu’est-ce qui se passe ? » — what’s going on? It is one of the most frequent questions in spoken French, and « ça s’est bien passé » — it went well — is how you report on anything from an interview to a holiday.
Se passer de is different again: it means to do without. « Je peux me passer de café » — I can do without coffee. Same reflexive verb, and the de changes everything.
💡 Focus at this level: se passer & se passer de
👨🏫 How to use « passer » at this level
1. « Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? » = what’s happening?
2. « Ça s’est bien passé » reports an outcome.
3. « Se passer de » = to do without. Watch for the de.
Qu’est-ce qui se passe ?What’s going on?
Ça s’est bien passé.It went well.
Je peux me passer de café.I can do without coffee.
Il faut que ça se passe bien.It needs to go well.
🎮 Practise « passer »
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