I am receiving advice on other forums that I don't think is correct.
The English phrase "One can see many stars" would be translated as:
"
Uno puede ver muchas estrellas".
This is one way to translate it.
But I am told that the following statement is
correct:
(1) "
Se puede ver muchas estrellas
."
This is correct, and is the more common way to translate it.
It should actually be as follows (with plural verb):
(2) "
Se pueden ver muchas estrellas
."
No, this is not correct.
Is (1) acceptable? If not, why not?
(What you're talking about here is the impersonal 'se', not the 'voz pasiva refleja'. This last structure is the one whose verb needs to agree with the object. The impersonal 'se' is used when the subject isn't a specific individual, when you're talking 'in general' to no one in particular.)
---------------------
There is a similar issue in English, considering that we have no
epicene singular pronoun.
If you ask "How should a student prepare his homework?" the proper response (using a pronoun) is one of the following:
(A) "One should prepare one's homework neatly"
(B) "He should prepare his homework neatly"
(C) "He or she should prepare his or her homework neatly" (awkward)
But many people will respond
(D) "They should prepare their homework neatly"
While (D) was once proper English more than 3 centuries ago, it is considered improper today. But it is so widely done, that some grammarians think that it will become the norm again.