Inklingo

How to Say "occurred" in Spanish

English → Spanish

pasó

VerbA1General
Use 'pasó' for a general and slightly more formal way to say 'happened' in everyday conversation.

Examples

¿Qué pasó con tu coche?

What happened with your car?

sucedió

VerbA2Formal
Choose 'sucedió' for a more formal tone, often used in news reports or when recounting events in a slightly more detached manner.

Examples

No sé qué sucedió anoche.

I don't know what happened last night.

ocurrido

oh-koo-RREE-doh/o.kuˈri.ðo/

Past ParticipleA2General
Use 'ocurrido' as part of compound tenses, usually with 'haber,' to describe something that has happened or taken place.
A brightly glowing yellow lightbulb floating above a simple human figure's head, signifying an idea that has just occurred.

Examples

Un evento inesperado ha ocurrido.

An unexpected event has occurred.

¿Qué ha ocurrido con el proyecto?

What has happened with the project?

Nunca antes le había ocurrido algo así.

Something like that had never occurred to him before.

Forming Compound Actions

Use 'ocurrido' with a form of the helping verb 'haber' (to have) to describe actions that finished in the past or relate to the present moment, like 'hemos ocurrido' (we have occurred).

sucedido

soo-seh-DEE-doh/suθeˈðiðo/ (Spain) | /suseˈðiðo/ (Latam)

AdjectiveA2General
Employ 'sucedido' as an adjective to describe an action or event that has already taken place, often emphasizing its completion.
A successful green seedling emerging from the brown earth, symbolizing something that has occurred or happened.

Examples

Fue un día muy agitado, todo ha sucedido tan rápido.

It was a very hectic day, everything has happened so quickly.

Todo esto ha sucedido muy rápido.

All of this has happened very quickly.

La caída de la torre fue un evento sucedido hace mucho tiempo.

The fall of the tower was an event that occurred a long time ago.

No sé qué le ha sucedido; está muy callado.

I don't know what has happened to him; he is very quiet.

The Past Participle

'Sucedido' is the form of the verb 'suceder' used with the helping verb 'haber' to talk about completed actions (e.g., 'ha sucedido' = it has happened).

Adjective Use

Like many past participles, it can also act as an adjective, describing a noun. When used this way, it must agree in number and gender (sucedido, sucedida, sucedidos, sucedidas).

Using 'Ser' instead of 'Haber'

Mistake: “La fiesta es sucedido.”

Correction: La fiesta ha sucedido. (The verb 'suceder' always uses 'haber' to form perfect tenses, never 'ser' or 'estar'.)

Verb vs. Participle Confusion

Learners often confuse the verb forms 'pasó' and 'sucedió' with the past participle 'ocurrido' or adjective 'sucedido'. Remember that 'ocurrido' and 'sucedido' are typically used with auxiliary verbs like 'haber' to form compound tenses or as descriptive adjectives, while 'pasó' and 'sucedió' function as standalone past tense verbs.

Related Translations

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