3.12 Se in Impersonal, Passive, and Unexpected Events
Hoy aprenderás usar se para la voz pasiva, las frases impersonales, y los accidentes, como
Se pesan.
Se le rompió el vaso.
y mucho mas, ¡Vámonos!
Sé que has aprendido unas temas muy dificiles en las útimas lecciones y hoy aprenderás algo divertido y muy útil en la conversación fluida, se. "Se" puede ser unas parablas más utiles y usarás en español y ya sabes un poco.You have used "se" in reflexive constructions .Se seca el pelo. She dries her own hair.Se cepillan los dientes. They brush their own teeth.Se is the 3rd person reflexive pronoun.In both of these examples, se is the reflexive pronoun, which indicate the direct or indirect object pronoun in the sentence is the same as subject for reflexive phrases. The subject both performs and receives the action.Reciprocal Verbs: 2+ people perfroming an action on each other.Another form of the reflexive verbs usd when 2 or more people perform an action on each other, it´s called, ¨ a reciprocal verb ¨ A reciprocal verb works exactly the same way as reflexive verb but with the verbs likebesarse, to kiss each other
abrazarse, to hug each other
casarse, to get married to each other.
, which you´ve also seen before.Se casaron. They marry each other.Se besan. They kiss each other.Se abrazan. They hug each other.Se functions as part of a verb in impersonal and passive phrases.There are a few other ways to use se, where it does not function as reflexive pronoun, but rather as part of the verb itself to portray impersonal or passive meaning.
Let´s start with impersonal se .Impersonal Se: The subject is an unknown human.Impersonal construction with "se" are sentences in which the subject is known but is definitely human. Impersonal Se: Used for general statement and rules.These are mostly used to make general statements and to express rules, Impersonal Se: Se is used to replace Uno/Unawhere se is used to replace impersonal uno or una or one. Impersonal Se: verbs are always in the 3rd person singular.Verbs are always in the 3rd person singular, are often followed by direct object since most are transitive verbs.for example, you could say,Uno habla español aquí. - which literally means "One speaks Spanish here."or you could just say,Se habla español aquí., which is a better formation if you want to communicate the idea that someone speaks Spanish at that location without specifying who.Take a look at a few another examples, and you´ll see what I mean.Se dice que los monos son muy inteligentes.It´s said that monkeys are very intelligent.Se paga en la caja.One pays at cashier´s desk.or you can interpret this one as impersonal command, ¨Pay at cashier´s desk.¨Se está muy mal en la cárcel.One feels bad in jail.In this case, the verb is intransitive, so there is no direct object.So, in review of impersonal se construction, Impersonal Se Guidelines 1. It's used to make general statements/rules.2. The subject is human but it´s not specified.3. The verb is always in the 3rd person singular.4. Se always falls right in front of the verb.Perfecto! Estas listo para un poco de pratica con las frases impersonales? Te daré una frase con el infinitivo en paréntesis. Tienes que conjugar el verbo en la tercera persona singular y poner "se" delante del verbo. Y por supuesto, di las frases en voz alta. Listo?(Decir) que el ballet es bueno para los futbolistas.Se dice (Saber) que la contaminación es mala para la Tierra.Se sabe (Prohibir) escupir en el suelo.Se prohibeescupir vi. to spill, to spit out
suelo nm. ground, floor, road, land, soil
Fantástico! Ahora seguimos con la voz pasiva.
La voz pasiva: The object is the same as the subject.Se is used to form the passive voice, where the object to which the verb refers is also the subject of the verb. La voz pasiva: Makes general statements and requests.Passive sentences like impersonal se sentences are commonly used to make general statements or requests, and they are very common in want ads and the instructions.La voz pasiva: 3rd person verb whose subject is inanimate.The difference between impersonal and passive se is that while impersonal subjects are always human, passive subjects are inaminate and are included in the sentences. The verb appears in the 3rd person and can be singular or plural depending on the subject.Although se makes the sentence look like a reflexive verb, it only indicates a passive construction. There are no direct object in passive contructions. So, let´s take a look at a few passive sentences, then same sentences in the passive se form.Las joyas son vendidas en esa tienda.Se venden las joyas en esa tienda. ("las" was missed out on the cuecard in the video.)Jewelry is sold in that shop.Both sentences have exact same translation. You just take the passive construction, ser+ a past participle, and change to se + 3rd person verb and put it in front of the subject.Las bebidas serán servidas en el jardín.Se servirán las bebidas en el jardín.Drinks will be served in the garden.La basura fue tirada en la papelera.Se tiró la basura en la papelera.The trash was thrown in the waste basket.So, for a quick review of passive se. Passive Se Guidelines 1. It is used to make general statements or requests.2. The subject is inanimate and also the object.3. The verb is always in the 3rd person, singlar or plural.4. Se always falls right in front of the verb.Bueno! Ahora, te toca. I will give you phrases in regular passive. Ser + Participle －> se + 3rd per. verb ("verb" is not stated)Just change "ser + past participle" phrase to "se + 3rd person" verb, either singular or plural match it to the noun and put it (se) in front of the verb. 3rd pers. verb must be in the same tense as SerRemember whatever tense "se" is in, the verb following se has to be in that tense but in the 3rd person.¿Listo?ejercicio:Las especias son vendidas los lunes. Spices are sold on Mondays.=> Se venden las especias los lunes.El reloj fue robado. The watch was stolen.=> Se robó el reloj.El ladrón será capturado. The thief will be captured.=> Se capturará el ladrón.(a typo on the cuecard in the video, it should be capturará, not caputurará.)Ahora, estas listo para el último tema por hoy? Vamos a hablar de los accidentes y las acciones inesperadas. inesperado adj. unexpectedThis is the fun part of the lesson for today. Whenever something unexpected happens like forgetting something or having an accident, you can use "se" with certain verbs to convey the idea that isn´t on purpose. Like English, instead of saying, "I broke her teapot", which assumes all the responsibility, you can say, "The teapot slipped out of my hands." So you're taking on a little less responsibility for that broken teapot. And you can do the same thing in Español using se + indirect object pronoun to indicate who the tragedy is happened to + a verb conjugated to the 3rd person verb, singular or plural, depending on items that was romper, olvidar, dejar, caer, perderbroken romper forgotten olvidar drop dejar caer or lost perder instead of Rompí la tetera. -- I broke the teapot. you can say, tetera nf. teapot, kettleSe me rompió la tetera. -- The teapot broke on me. Instead of conjugating "romper" to the yo-form making me responsible for breaking the teapot. I conjugated it to the 3rd person singular to match the teapot and add a "se" to indicate that teapot was broken. You should be a little familiar after going over these passive forms. I also added "me" there to make sure this teapot wasn't broken by me, but I can just easily leave that out, alleviating me from all the responsibility.Se rompió la tetera. The tea pot was broken.But if you're the person responsible for the accident, you might want to learn up a little bit.So, let´s practice just taking a little of blame using se + indirect object pronoun + 3rd person verb formula.intead of Dejé caer el florero. I dropped the flower vase. I could say,=> Se me cayó el florero. The flower vase slipped out of my fingers.Perdieron el libro. They lost the book.Se les perdió el libro. The book got lost on them.Olvidó las llaves. She forgot the keys.Se le olvidaron las llaves. The keys were left behind.Quick review on using se for unexpected events 1. It's used to divert some of the responsibility for an accident.2. The subject is the item that was broken, lost, forgotten..etc.3. The verb is conjugated to the item in the 3rd person singular or plural.4. An indirect object pronoun for the "victim" of the accident is placed between Se and the verb.So, are you ready to give some excuses for an accident using "se"? I´ll give an excuse taking all the blame. Change it around so that it seems more like an accident. Just remember,Se + indirect object pronoun for the poor person that happens to + a 3rd person verb conjugated to the thing that was broken, lost, forgotten etc.¿Listo?(Yo) Rompí la cámara. I broke the camera.=> Se me rompió la cámara. The camera fell right through my fingers (Tú) Olvidaste las llaves. You forgot the keys.=> Se te olvidaron las llaves. The keys just lipped your mind.(Nosotros) Perdimos el mono. We lost the monkey.=> Se nos perdió el mono. The monkey got lost on us.
La Casa de las Conchas (the House of Shells) (XV century).by Frank 2005.12.13
updated May 29, 2013
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