comment se sont passées vos vacances ?
In French, how was your holiday? Is expressed as comment se sont passées vos vacances ?
This phrase is a question used to ask someone about their experience during a recent vacation.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to 'how themselves passed your holidays?' because it uses the pronominal verb se passer (to happen/to pass).
Which one should you use?
You can use comment se sont passées tes vacances ? instead of comment se sont passées vos vacances ? if you are speaking to a friend, family member or someone you know well. For a more casual and conversational way to ask the same question, you can say tes vacances étaient bien ?
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase comment se sont passées vos vacances ?, the past participle passées must agree in gender and number with the subject vacances, which is feminine plural.
Did you know?
- In France, the concept of vacances is tied to the word vacare, meaning 'to be empty'. It describes the state of being empty of work or duties rather than just the act of traveling.
- While the phrase asks how the holiday went, a common French response is C'était top !, using the English word 'top' to mean 'great' or 'fantastic'.
- Unlike in English where 'holiday' can be singular, vacances is always plural when referring to a vacation. Using it in the singular would refer to a 'vacancy' in a hotel or a job opening.
Examples in context
- Dites-moi, comment se sont passées vos vacances ?Tell me, how was your holiday?
Example conversation
Nathan and Emma are meeting at the office after a long break.
- NathanBonjour Emma, comment se sont passées vos vacances ?Hello Emma, how was your holiday?
- EmmaC'était génial, merci de demander !It was great, thanks for asking!
- NathanVous avez fait quoi de beau ?What did you do?
- EmmaJe suis allée à la plage avec ma famille.I went to the beach with my family.
