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Use of "se"This is the place for questions about conjugations, verb tenses, adverbs, adjectives, word order, syntax and other grammar questions for English or Spanish. |
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#1
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Use of "se"
Why 'se' is used in:
1.¿Cómo se deletrea la palabra.....? In the above case, it is understood that a question is asked to another person. Is it not sufficient if se is not used? 2.La cara de Antonio se ilumina. Here it is understood that the face of Antonio brightens. So why se is used. Isn't it superficial? |
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#2
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In both cases, "se" is needed.
"Se" in the first case indicates an impersonal sentence. There is no specific subject who spells a word. - ¿Cómo se dice "libro" en inglés? (How does one say "libro" in English?) - Aquí no se dicen malas palabras. (You don't say bad words here.) - Se habla español. (Spanish spoken.) *Please note that "one" and "you" are not specific people, but they're understood in these cases as "anyone". In the second sentence, "se" is a reflexive pronoun. These are used for actions that the subject performs on itself. - Me lavo las manos. (I wash my hands.) - ¿Por qué no te peinaste? (Why didn't you comb your hair?) - María se puso un vestido nuevo. (María put on a new dress.) For more cases and examples on the use of "se" you might want to take a look at this other thread.
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#3
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The best advice I can give about the "se" is to remove it and see if the sentence makes sense without it. What you'll often find is that the verb requires an explicit subject or object and doesn't make sense if those aren't there.
1. If you remove "se", you have "como deletrea la palabra" which requires you to define a subject. You would have to add one, as in "Yo no puedo deletrear esta palabra". Otherwise, you need to use the "se" to make a general statement that implies "any subject". 2. This shows a second way to use "se". Actually this is sort of a combination second and third-use case, one being a reflexive and the other being that sometimes the bare verb has a different definition than the the verb + "se". So you go to the dictionary and you find that "iluminar" is defined as "to lighten" whereas "iluminarse" is defined as "to lighten up or brighten up". Again, remove the "se" from your sentence: La cara de Antonion ilumina. This doesn't make sense because you need to define an object: what does it illuminate? Does his face iluminate the nightstand? Does it iluminate the room? Well, no. Usually a face can only brighten itself (reflexive) so you add the "se". |
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