EL "SE" IMPERSONAL
The word "
se" has many uses in Spanish. You've seen it used as the third-person reflexive pronoun ("Rogelio se baña"), and as a replacement for the indirect object complement pronoun in certain combinations ("le + lo--> se lo"). This page is about another very common use of "se," to express an impersonal subject. There are two reasons for adding this explanation now. First, it's sometimes a source of confusion for people who are just learning the reflexive. Second, and more important, it's an extremely common and useful element of the Spanish language.What is the "
se impersonal"? The "impersonal se" structure is a way of talking about things that get done when the subject (person doing it) is unknown or unimportant. English doesn't have this structure; you always have to specify a subject, and it often causes some awkward wording. For example, in English you'll find sentences like "one must work hard if one wants to succeed" (the least inelegant way of saying this), "A person has to work hard if he or she wants to succeed," "People have to work hard if they want to succeed," or, in speech, "Ya have to work hard if ya want to succeed." You have probably had a conversation like the following at some point in your life:"You have to work hard if you want to get a good grade in that class."
"I do work hard! I work my buns off! Get off my case!"
"I didn't mean you personally! I mean everyone has to."
All these manipulations are easily avoided in Spanish. You simply say, "
Se tiene que trabajar mucho si se quiere tener éxito." Pretend that "se" in this case means "you, but not you personally."More examples:
Se habla español en Paraguay, pero en Brasil se habla portugués. (People/ "they" speak)Said frequently to children caught doing something they shouldn't:
°Eso no se hace!The English equivalent, "
You don't do that!" is counter-logical since the "you" who is being addressed obviously just did do that. And the other possibility, "that is not done," is something that is not said (es algo que no se dice!)An example that you've been using for years without realizing it:
øCómo
se dice "book?" --Se dice "libro." You've probably heard your instructor say, "Así no se dice." (You don't say it that way. Again, not very logical because you do say it that way. What the teacher really mean is "That's not how it's said," but nobody talks like that (así no se habla!)This really is an extremely common structure in Spanish. Listen for it and you can probably catch at least ten examples per class from your instructor, or per Destinos episode. You may not be ready to use it yet, but being aware of it will help you avoid confusion with the reflexive or reciprocal construction.
Copyright Ann Wildermuth (University of Texas at Austin, 1997). For permission to use this page or any portion of its contents, contact the author by e-mail: annw@mail.utexas.edu