passive voice and "se" verbs
 

I have learned that the passive voice is ser + past participle of main verb, but then I was reading a grammar book in the library, and there was a section on using the reflexive form of the verb as a passive tense. The problem is I can't find the book again, and now I don't know if what I remember is right or not. Any ideas on this one?

Yes there is the "real" passive tense "fue roto" and the "se" passive tense (for lack of a better word) "se rompió". They aren't always interchangeable though. I'll try too look this up in a grammar reference and see if there are any other pointers.

passive voice
 

Have you ever heard the term español es hablado aquí instead of se habla español aquí? The first phrase is correct but seems more direct, implying that only Spanish is spoken here, and the second phrase seems to denote that one can expect to speak Spanish here.

Hi vidottsen
I don't find "español es hablado aquí " as a good sentence for a Hotel/shop.
I find it's better "Aquí se habla español" or "Se habla español (aquí)",
implying that it's possible to handle in Spanish.

The direct way it's more for sentences like
"El español se habla en España/Colombia/México"...",
"El español se habla en regiones de...."
but not for a banner/placard or in normal speech.

It's like "We speak english" or "English is spoken here",
but in spanish it's more strange the second option.

Hope it helps.
Welcome to the forums

Thanks guys for the help.