Impersonal ‘se’ in Spanish – reflexive verbs
Hola,
Bienvenidos a Spanish Blog 365.
Hoy aprendemos uso #2 de los verbos reflexivos: El ‘se’ impersonal.
Impersonal ‘se’ in Spanish – reflexive verbs
Notes:
A. In this use of the reflexive verb, we’ll only use the 3rd person singular or 3rd person plural of the verb and pronoun.
Ejemplo:
Se habla español – Spanish spoken here (‘Spanish’ is singular so we’ll use the 3rd person singular verb form)
Se necesitan cocineros – cooks needed (‘cocineros’ is plural so we’ll use the 3rd person plural form)
B. It’s a passive voice meaning nobody is named as doing the action.
Ejemplo:
Active voice: ‘Nosotros hablamos español’ (Here we have named who speaks Spanish – We do)
Passive voice: ‘Se habla español’ (Here it is stated that Spanish is spoken here – we don’t mention who)
C. The ‘se’ can also be used to indicate an ‘impersonal’ subject. – They, one
Ejemplo:
¿Cómo se dice ‘cook or chef’ en español? (How does ‘one’ say…?)
Se dice ‘cocinero/a’ (‘you say’ or ‘one says’…)
Se dicen que va a nevar el sábado. – ‘They’ say it’s going to snow on Saturday.
A few more examples of the ‘se’ impersonal using the 3 Notes from above
Otros ejemplos de las 3 notas de arriba:
A.
¿Se habla español en Brasil? – Is Spanish spoken in Brazil?
No. Se habla portugués en Brasil. – No. Portuguese is spoken in Brazil.
¿Se venden licores en el supermercado? – Do they sell liquor at the grocery store?
No. No se venden licores allí. Se venden cervezas y vinos, pero no se venden licores. – No. They don’t sell alcohol there. They sell beer and wine, but not liquors.
B.
Estas partes se hacen en Corea. – These parts are made in Korea.
El agave se cultiva en México. – Agave is grown in Mexico.
C.
¿Cómo se dice? – How is it said?
¿Cómo se pronuncia? – How is it pronounced?
¿Cómo se escribe? – How is it written?
¡Sí se puede! – Yes you can! – Yes ‘one’ can!
¿Se puede estacionar aquí? – Can you (one) park here?
No. Se prohibe estacionar aquí. – No. Parking is prohibited here.
Action steps: Start collecting these impersonal ‘se’ expressions. They are everywhere! Re-read the above notes and examples. Notice how they translate.
Come back tomorrow. We’ll continue this same usage.
