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-   -   The impersonal se seems confusing to me (https://forums.tomisimo.org/showthread.php?t=16596)

The impersonal se seems confusing to me


BrianDeBama August 02, 2013 07:35 PM

The impersonal se seems confusing to me
 
Anybody know of some good resources or exercises to help me get a grasp on its usage?

Rusty August 02, 2013 08:07 PM

There are good threads in the forums.
There are a few web sites that teach about it.

Don't let the fact that 'se' has a lot of different uses steer you from its 'impersonal' use. It's important to know the difference.
AdA has provided some good examples of the different uses in this thread.

jedi5384 August 02, 2013 08:14 PM

It's very similar to how in English, we say "you", "they", or "one" in a generic sense without referring to a specific person.

Se hablan español en México.
They speak Spanish in Mexico.
Spanish is spoken in Mexico.

Se dicen que...
They say that...

Nunca se sabe.
You never know.
One never knows.

Hope this helps. Native speakers may be able to explain it better.

AngelicaDeAlquezar August 03, 2013 09:19 AM

@Jedi: I'll make a small precision on what you said:

If you use the impersonal form with "se", the verb must be conjugated for third person singular: Se habla español en México(Spanish is spoken in Mexico), se dice que... (it is said that...)

The conjugation for third person plural never takes the impersonal form with "se":
Hablan español en México (they speak Spanish in Mexico), dicen que... (they say that...)

jedi5384 August 03, 2013 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar (Post 140934)
@Jedi: I'll make a small precision on what you said:

If you use the impersonal form with "se", the verb must be conjugated for third person singular: Se habla español en México(Spanish is spoken in Mexico), se dice que... (it is said that...)

The conjugation for third person plural never takes the impersonal form with "se":
Hablan español en México (they speak Spanish in Mexico), dicen que... (they say that...)

My mistake, thanks for clarifying. I'm always glad to learn something new :)

AngelicaDeAlquezar August 05, 2013 01:29 PM

I'm glad you found it useful. :)

BrianDeBama August 05, 2013 04:31 PM

Thank you guys for the replies. I can feel the "se" starting to sink into my brain.


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