Le weekend est passé très vite.

Question

I'm curious to know why this sentence isn't conjugated with avoir (passer + time) or "se passer" (to happen/take place)?  Would it be incorrect to write "Le weekend s'est passé très vite"?

Accepted Answer

Hi everyone,
In the case of the use of passer vite (a period of time going quickly) and as Alan rightly says, you can in fact use the verb 'passer' with either 'être' or 'avoir' or in its reflexive form, which is very odd indeed!
Le weekend a passé très vite
Le weekend est passé très vite
Le weekend s'est très vite passé
to say, '
 
The weekend went very quickly'
We can add all the possibilities if you like?
Thank you for your valued contribution.

Answer

In order to use avoir as the auxiliary verb, there would need to be a direct object. There is no direct object in this sentence, therefore you need être.

Answer

I'm not sure, but I think all three are possible: "a passé", "est passé" and "s'est passé".

When used intransitively, in principle passer is conjugated with avoir when describing the action of passing, and with être when describing the result. In practice, être seems to be more common.

The difference between passer and se passer is that the latter refers to an event rather than a time period. It could still be used with "le weekend", but the nuance is different, and maybe passer is more appropriate in this context.

Answer

Thank you Alan and Chris!