Impersonal expressions are frequently used in English.
They say you shouldn't smoke.
They say it is going to rain.
One never knows when a tornado will strike.
It is said that lightening never strikes twice...
To form an impersonal expression in Spanish:
- conjugate the verb into the third person singular
- place the impersonal se directly before the conjugated verb
Example: ¿Cómo se dice ...?
How does one say ...?
This is referred to as the Impersonal "se", or as "se" Impersonal.
More examples with se Impersonal:
¿Cómo se dice "many people" en español?
How does one say "many people" in Spanish?
¿Se puede ir en autobús?
Is one able to go by bus?
¿Se puede nadar aquí?
Is one able to swim here?
¿Se aceptan dólares?
Are Dollars accepted?
Se necesita una olla para cocinarlo.
One needs pot to cook it.
Durante la misa no se debe hablar.
One must not talk during the mass.
¿A qué hora se abre la tienda?
What time does the shop open?
The word "se" has many uses in Spanish. Two of the most frequent uses are the impersonal "se" and the passive "se". The impersonal "se" is used with a third person singular verb to express the impersonal English subjects, one, you, people, or they.
¿Se puede nadar en el lago?
Can you swim in the lake? / Can one swim in the lake?
Se dice que hay brujos que viven en la sierra.
They say there are witches that live in the mountains.
Se come muy bien en México.
One eats very well in Mexico. (You are fed good food in Mexico).
The passive "se" is very similar to the impersonal "se". The agent of the action is either unknown or unimportant and the influence is placed on the action and not the doer/actor.
En Coyotepec se hace el barro negro.
Black clay is made in Coyotepec.
No se habla español en ese pueblo.
Spanish isn't spoken in that town.
Se gasta mucho dinero en el mercado.
A lot of money is spent in the market.
"No fault" construction
One of the many uses of the word se in Spanish is in a "no fault" construction. Just as the name indicates, this construction is used for unexpected occurrences and does not place the blame on anyone. These sentences include se, an indirect object pronoun which refers to the person(s) involved (usually as an innocent victim) and the verb which is in the third person and agrees with the recipient. For example:
A Juan se le perdió la cartera.
Juan lost his wallet (Juan's wallet "got" lost).
Se me olvidaron tus libros.
I forgot your books (Your books were forgotten).
Se nos cayeron los vasos.
We dropped the glasses. (The glasses fell).
Se me rompió la mesa.
I broke the table (the table broke).
¿Se te ha acabado el dinero?
Your money has run out?
The no fault construction is very commonly used. In fact, if you were to not use it you would appear to have done the action on purpose. For example:
Rompí la mesa.
I broke the table.
Perdí mi tarea.
I lost my homework.
Both of these sentences would imply an intentional act on the subject's part. Another possible translation of the first sentence would be, "I broke the table on purpose."
"Se" is undoubtedly the most versatile of the Spanish pronouns. As you learn Spanish, you will come across "se" used in a variety of ways. For the beginner, it isn't necessary to learn all those ways, although it can be helpful to be introduced to its various uses to help avoid confusion when you see it used in a way you haven't studied yet.
Here are the major uses of se, along with examples in sentences:
As a reflexive pronoun:
This is its most common use. As is explained in the lesson on reflexive pronouns, such pronouns indicate that the subject of a verb is also its object. In English, this is usually accomplished by using verbs such as "himself" or "themselves." Se is used as the reflexive pronoun for third-person uses (including when usted or ustedes is the subject). Some verbs (as in the final two examples below) can be used reflexively in Spanish even though they aren't translated that way in English.
Examples:
Pablo se ve por el espejo.
Pablo sees himself using the mirror.
Los padres no pueden oírse.
The parents can't hear themselves.
Rebecca se perjudica por fumar.
Rebecca is hurting herself by smoking.
Benjamín Franklin se levantaba temprano.
Benjamin Franklin got up early.
Se comió los tacos.
He ate up the tacos.
As the equivalent of the English passive voice: By using se, particularly when discussing inanimate objects, it is possible to indicate some sort of action without indicating who performed the action. Grammatically, such sentences are structured in the same way that sentences using reflexive verbs are. Thus in a literal sense, a sentence such as se venden coches means "cars sell themselves." In actuality, however, such as sentence would be the English equivalent of "cars are sold" or, more loosely translated, "cars for sale."
Examples:
Se abren las puertas. (The doors are opened.)
Se vendió la computadora. (The computer was sold.)
Se perdieron los llaves. (The keys were lost.)
Se prohibe fumar. (Smoking is prohibited.)
As a substitute for le or les:
When the indirect-object pronoun le or les is immediately followed by another pronoun that begins with an l, the le or les is changed to se, apparently as a way to avoid having two pronouns in a row beginning with the l sound.
Examples:
Déselo a ella. (Give it to her.)
Se lo dijo a él. (He told it to him.)
No se lo voy a dar a ellos. (I'm not going to give it to them.)
The impersonal se:
In some sentences, se is used in an impersonal sense with singular verbs to indicate that people in general, or no person in particular, performs the action. When se is used in this way, the sentence follows the same pattern as those in which the main verb is used reflexively, except that there is no subject to the sentence that is explicitly stated. As the examples below show, there are variety of ways such sentences can be translated to English.
Examples:
Se maneja rápidamente en Lima.
People drive fast in Lima.
Se puede encontrar cocos en el mercado.
You can find coconuts in the market.
Muchas veces se tiene que estudiar para aprender.
Often you have to study to learn.
No se debe comer con prisa.
One ought not to eat quickly.
A final note:
"Se" shouldn't be confused with "sé" (note the accent mark), which is usually the singular first-person present indicative form of saber ("to know"). Thus "sé" usually means "I know." Sé can also be the singular familiar imperative form of ser; in that case it means "you be."
¿Qué idioma se habla en Madrid?
What language is spoken in Madrid?
What language does one speak in Madrid?
En Madrid se habla castellano.
In Madrid is spoken Castilian Spanish.
In Madrid one speaks Castilian Spanish.
¿Qué idioma se habla en Barcelona?
What language does one speak in Barcelona?
En Barcelona se habla catalán y castellano.
In Barcelona one speaks Catalan and Castilian Spanish.
¿Qué idioma se habla en Bilbao?
What language does one speak speak in Bilbao?
En Bilbao se habla euskera y castellano.
In Bilbao one speaks Basque language and Castilian Spanish.
¿Qué idioma se habla en Santiago de Compostela?
What language does one speak in Santiago de Compostela?
En Santiago de Compostela se habla gallego y castellano.
In Santiago de Compostela one speaks Galician and Castilian Spanish.
¿Cuántos idiomas se habla en España?
How many languages are spoken in Spain?
En España hay cuatro idiomas oficiales: El castellano, el catalán, el euskera y el gallego.
In Spain there are four official languages: Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Basque and Galician.
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