Se vive bien en esta ciudad.
English: People live well in this city.
- Language
- Spanish
- Level
- B2
- Unit
- Pronombres y estructuras relativas
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
The advanced uses of 'se' in Spanish refer to different situations where 'se' is used in special ways, beyond just reflexive verbs. It's a small word with many important functions.
When to use it
You use 'se' in Spanish to make sentences more general (impersonal), to talk about actions without saying who does them (passive), to show that something happened by accident, and to talk about actions people do to each other (reciprocal).
Key forms
- 'Se' impersonal: Se + verb (e.g. Se dice)
- 'Se' pasivo: Se + verb (e.g. Se venden casas)
- 'Se' accidental: Se + indirect object + se + verb (e.g. Se me olvidó)
- 'Se' recíproco: Subject plural + se + verb (e.g. Ellos se miran)
Examples
Se vendieron todos los boletos.
English: All the tickets were sold.
Se me rompió el vaso.
English: I accidentally broke the glass.
Ellos se escriben cada semana.
English: They write to each other every week.
Tips
- Don't confuse 'se' with reflexive verbs only; it has other uses.
- With impersonal and passive 'se', the verb agrees with the object, not the person.
- In accidental 'se', the person is not the subject but the indirect object.
Exceptions and edge cases
- Some verbs cannot be used with impersonal 'se'.
- With reciprocal 'se', you need a plural subject.