Use of (se) passer

i. l.C1Kwiziq community member

Use of (se) passer

I am unclear about "Comment se sont passées tes vacances"


If the verb is se passer, should it not be "Comment tes vacances se sont-ils passées" 

If the verb is simply passer, should it not be "Comment sont passées tes vacances"

Asked 11 months ago
Berenice L.B1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributorCorrect answer

Hi, the verb is 'se passer' :

in passé composé, verbs in 'se' require the auxiliaire 'être' : se passer = se sont passées

Comment se sont passées tes vacances ? or Comment tes vacances se sont-elles passées ? mean the same thing, the switch of subject-verb makes it more formal (second sentence)

other verbs require 'être' in passé composé, there are 14 of them (usually motion verbs: aller, venir, entrer, sortir, rentrer, partir, etc.)

 

if the verb were to be 'passer' like in  : je passe du temps avec mon chat, then you need auxiliaire 'avoir' in passé composé. ex: j'ai passé du temps avec mon chat.

 

 
i. l. asked:View original

Use of (se) passer

I am unclear about "Comment se sont passées tes vacances"


If the verb is se passer, should it not be "Comment tes vacances se sont-ils passées" 

If the verb is simply passer, should it not be "Comment sont passées tes vacances"

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