El uso de SE

1) SE -reflexivo
-"Se" is a reflexive pronoun to indicate that the "agent" and "receiver" of an action is the same person.
Eg. Lavar (se). The verb "lavar" can be transitive which means and it takes a direct object OR it can be reflexive in meaning. The subject of the sentence is also the receiver of the action.

Lavo mi carro= I wash my car // Me lavo= I wash myself

2) SE- la voz pasiva (o el SE pasivo)
-The pronoun "se" is also used to express the passive voice, which is not as commonly used in Spanish. The construction with "ser" + past participle agrees in number and gender with the receiver of the action. There are two ways to form a passive construction in Spanish.

English (active voice)= I closed the door // Passive voice= The door was closed by me

Spanish (active voice)= Cerré la puerta // Passive voice= La puerta fue cerrada por mí OR Se cerró la puerta [agent not expressed]

3) SE- recíproco
-"Se" is also a reciprocal pronoun to show the reciprocal nature of an action between two people. This is often expressed in English by the phrase "each other". Not all verbs in Spanish can be reciprocal. Certain verbs are reciprocal if the phrase "el uno al otro" (and other combinations) can be added to express the action.

Eg. Amar(se). The verb "amar" can be transitive meaning it takes a direct object OR can be reciprocal.

Amo a mis hijos= I love my children// Se aman (la pareja) = They love each other

4) SE-impersonal
"Se” is used to express an unknown or unspecified subject of a sentence usually equivalent to the English "it is said that..., it is believed that". There is no true subject.

English = It is said that people get used to cold (weather). ["it is said that"= not a real subject]

Spanish= Se dice que la gente se acostumbra al frío. [¿"quién lo dice"?= not a real subject]

5) SE-emotivo/personal
-The usage of "se" in this way has no real English equivalent thus it may be a difficult concept to grasp. Certain verbs in Spanish fall under this category and the usage is considered more of a colloquial nature.

Beber vs Beberse
Comer vs Comerse

Eg.

English= He drank more than five beers.

Spanish= Bebió más de cinco cervezas. // Se bebió más de cinco cervezas.

Se bebió is "más emotivo/personal" but there is no difference in meaning.

Other verbs in this category include: merecer, terminar, morir, olvidar etc.

6) SE- "gramatical" (para reemplazar "le")
-"Se" is also used in phrases where there is a direct object pronoun "lo" or "la" and indirect object pronoun "le". For phonectic reasons (cacofonía) the indirect object pronoun "le" becomes "se".

He gave the pencil to Juan -> He gave it to him-> "it" (the pencil) = "lo", to "him" (Juan) = "le".

*the grammar rule for the position of pronouns= indirect before direct and reflexive first of all.

The new phrase using pronouns = Le lo dio a Juan (incorrect) = SE lo dio a Juan.

7) SE- acciones involuntarias
-"Se" is also used to describe involuntary actions or something out of a person's control. It is expressed in Spanish by using "se" phrasal construction + an indirect object pronoun.

Se me olvidó avisarte= I forgot to (it slipped my mind) tell you.

Se me ocurrió que....= It occured to me that....

Se me quedaron las llaves en casa= I forgot my keys at home.

8) SE- verbos que antes eran de uso "reflexivo" o el SE "pronominal" -Certain verbs in Spanish were considered reflexive in nature. However, through the evolution of language their usage is no longer considered reflexive but remain "pronominal" just because of their meaning therefore they must always be used with a pronoun (reflexive or reflexive + indirect object pronoun).

Eg. Desmayarse (when it means “perder el conocimiento”), antojarse, arrepentirse, atreverse

1) A veces me desmayo cuando estoy enfermo.

2) No se me antoja ir al cine. // OR No se me antoja una buena idea (el sentido de “parecer”)

3) Si no lo haces lo antes posible te arrepentirás.



-ldg.