Se puede

[aniRB]

Hola,

I am new to the forum and only just posted in the introduction section, and I am eager to ask a grammar related question.

I have gotten used to seeing the word "se" in front of a verb to make it impersonal. Some examples:
¿Se puede comer aqui? -- Can one eat here?
¿Cómo se dice...? -- How does one say...?

So, my question is, how does "se" work grammatically? Is it a reflexive pronoun as in ¿Cómo se llama? or something else?

Thanks very much,

-ani

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Not all pronominal particles are reflexive. The "se" in your examples is used to build an impersonal structure. :)
You might find useful this discussion (http://forums.tomisimo.org/showthread.php?t=13735) on some uses of "se".

[aniRB]

Thank you.

I thank you again for your response, and in the thread you pointed me to, "se" is being discussed as a reflexive pronoun. I know that not all pronouns are reflexive but as far as I can tell, the pronoun se only has reflexive applications.

I have been digging deeper into my Spanish material. For some reason understanding literal translations helps me remember the language, which is why I'm not simply content with knowing that "¿se puede..?" means "can one?"

Based on what I have read... "¿Dónde se puede comprar leche?" would literally translate to "Where can milk buy itself?" but it is functionally equivalent to "Where can one buy milk?" or "Where can you buy milk?" where "you" doesn't really mean just "you" but anyone.

Likewise, ¿Cómo se dice milk en español?" literally means "How does milk say itself in Spanish?" and "¿Cómo se escribe?" literally means "How does it write itself?"

Me gusta mucho aprender español. Tengo muchas otras preguntas, así que... I will start a new thread.

-ani

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Only the title is only about reflexive pronouns. The discussion and the examples are about other uses of "se", like impersonal constructions, a variation of passive voice, differentiation of verbs meanings...