Spanish Phrase
Dime cuándo pasó.
Meaning
This sentence is a polite but informal request: 'Tell me when it happened.' It uses an indirect question (cuándo) to ask for the specific moment of a past event. The speaker expects a concrete time reference in the answer.
When to use
Use it in casual conversation with friends, family, or anyone you address with the familiar 'tú'. It’s perfect when you need a timeline for a story, a plan, or an incident that already occurred.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Dimecuándopasó
Imperative + pronoun
The verb 'decir' in the informal affirmative command is 'di', and attaching the indirect object pronoun 'me' forms 'dime', meaning 'tell me'.
Interrogative adverb
'cuándo' asks for a point in time and carries a written accent to distinguish it from the conjunction 'cuando'.
Preterite 3rd person
'pasó' is the preterite form of 'pasar', indicating a completed action in the past.
🗨In Conversation
Dime cuándo pasó.
Tell me when it happened.
Pasó ayer por la tarde, justo antes de la cena.
It happened yesterday afternoon, right before dinner.
✕Common Mistakes
Dime cuando pasó.
Missing accent changes the meaning to the conjunction 'when' instead of the interrogative adverb.
Dime cuándo paso.
Without the accent, 'paso' is the present tense first‑person singular ('I pass'), not the past action.
Dime que paso.
This asks 'tell me what happened' (different meaning) rather than 'when it happened'.
Dígame cuándo pasó.
Using the formal 'dígame' is correct in formal contexts, but it sounds overly stiff in casual conversation.
↔Alternatives
Cuéntame cuándo ocurrió.
Tell me when it occurred.
Dime en qué momento sucedió.
Tell me at what moment it happened.
¿Podrías decirme cuándo pasó?
Could you tell me when it happened?
Cultural Tip
The form 'dime' is informal; in a formal setting you would say 'dígame' (using the formal 'usted'). Also, note that indirect questions like this are written with only one pair of question marks at the end, not around the embedded clause. Accents are crucial: 'cuándo' with an accent asks 'when?', while 'cuando' without an accent means 'when' as a conjunction.