Pass or Spend ?!

[yousrati]

Hello,

Could you please correct me?!

I was speaking with my friend and I asked her: How do you pass your day?

She corrected me and said: we don’t say “pass” but we say “spend a day”.

So which one is correct?? Or can we use both of them?!

Thanks.

[Vidor]

You spend a day, but you can either pass or spend time.

[yousrati]

Thank you for the clarification.

[JMurray]

I do hear "pass the day" occasionally and COCA has a few examples which are just as I sometimes hear it.

If there is any difference it's when the sense of "allowing the day to go by" is meant.
"He likes to sit out on the porch to pass the day"
"He is close to his parents and can't pass a day without calling them".

[SanMar]

"Pass your day" seems negative, more like suffering a day
"Spend your day" is a common expression about how a person uses his time a day, his routine, his relaxation...

The negative or positive meaning is really based on the situation or example used. For example:
I spent my most of my day stuck in traffic and being yelled at.

Pass the day, or pass the time is only negative or positive depending on what you did.

I do however agree that spend your day is more common as is pass your time, at least here in Canada.


Not a teacher.
:)

[cawatawa]

Pass is similar to some extent to the phrasal verb "while away"