Spanish has a second, much more common way to express passive ideas: the passive se. Instead of ser + participle, you put se in front of a regular third-person verb, and the thing that would be the object in an active sentence becomes the grammatical subject.
Se venden casas literally reads "houses sell themselves", but it works like English "Houses are sold" or "Houses for sale". You see this construction constantly on signs, in classified ads, in recipes, and in everyday conversation. For most everyday passive meanings in Spanish, se is the default, and the ser-passive is the marked, bookish alternative.
The basic pattern
se + verb (3rd person, agrees with the subject) + subject
The verb agrees in number with whatever is being acted on: singular subject → singular verb, plural subject → plural verb. There is no agent — no por-phrase — because the whole point of passive se is to avoid mentioning the doer.
Se vende este carro.
This car is for sale.
Se venden casas.
Houses are sold. / Houses for sale.
Notice the shift from se vende (singular) to se venden (plural). This agreement is non-negotiable and is the clearest marker that you are dealing with a passive se, not an impersonal one.
Agreement in detail
Whether the subject appears before or after the verb, the verb must match it.
Se preparan tacos frescos aquí.
Fresh tacos are prepared here.
Se necesitan voluntarios para el evento.
Volunteers are needed for the event.
Se arregla ropa aquí.
Clothing is mended here.
Pan is singular, so se hornea. Tacos is plural, so se preparan. Voluntarios is plural, so se necesitan. Ropa is singular, so se arregla. If you slip up and say se prepara tacos, Spanish ears will notice immediately.
Where you will see it
Passive se is the default construction for:
- Signs and notices: Se alquila, Se habla inglés, Se prohíbe fumar.
- Classified ads: Se busca secretaria bilingüe.
- Recipes: Se mezcla la harina con los huevos.
- Instructions and manuals: Se presiona el botón rojo.
- News headlines: Se aprueba la nueva ley.
- Store signs: Se reparan celulares, Se cortan llaves.
In all of these, the doer is irrelevant or obvious — it is "we, the shop", "we, the authorities", "whoever is cooking" — and Spanish refuses to name a specific agent. Passive se is built exactly for this situation.
Se buscan empleados con experiencia.
Employees with experience wanted.
Se necesita más información sobre el caso.
More information about the case is needed.
Se prohíbe el paso a personas no autorizadas.
No entry for unauthorized persons.
Se alquilan bicicletas por hora.
Bicycles for rent by the hour.
Any tense works
Passive se is not limited to the present. Any third-person tense can carry it: preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, subjunctive, and compound tenses.
Se publicaron los resultados la semana pasada.
The results were published last week.
Se construirán tres escuelas nuevas.
Three new schools will be built.
Se habían vendido todas las entradas antes del concierto.
All the tickets had been sold before the concert.
Esperamos que se resuelva pronto el problema.
We hope that the problem will be solved soon.
The pronoun se stays in place; only the verb shifts tense.
No agent allowed
Unlike the ser-passive, passive se does not accept a por-agent. If you need to name a specific doer, you must switch to the ser-passive or rewrite the sentence actively.
| Version | Example | Agent named? |
|---|---|---|
| Passive se | Se publicó el libro en 2020. | No — agent impossible. |
| Ser-passive | El libro fue publicado por una editorial mexicana. | Yes — via por. |
| Active | Una editorial mexicana publicó el libro. | Yes — as subject. |
❌ Se publicó el libro por una editorial mexicana.
Wrong — passive se cannot take a por-phrase.
✅ El libro fue publicado por una editorial mexicana.
The book was published by a Mexican publisher.
For a full comparison of when to use each option, see Active vs Passive: Which to Use.
Passive se vs. ser-passive
The two constructions share meaning but differ in register and frequency.
| Passive se | Ser-passive | |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency | Very common, everyday | Formal, bookish, news-headline style |
| Agent allowed? | No | Yes (via por) |
| Subject type | Usually inanimate | Inanimate or animate |
| Example | Se venden manzanas. | Las manzanas son vendidas en el mercado. |
In speech you will almost always hear the se-passive. The ser-passive feels reserved for formal prose — see Passive Ser for that one.
Passive se vs. impersonal se
These two uses of se look similar and sometimes overlap, but they are grammatically distinct:
| Construction | Verb form | Typical translation |
|---|---|---|
| Passive se | Agrees with the subject (singular or plural) | "are sold / were published / will be built" |
| Impersonal se | Always third-person singular, no grammatical subject | "one / you / they / people" |
Se venden casas (plural verb) is passive: houses are the subject. Se vive bien aquí (singular verb, no grammatical subject) is impersonal: "one lives well here". For more on that second type, see Impersonal Se.
Se venden muchos libros.
Many books are sold. (passive se — libros is the subject, verb is plural)
Se vive bien en Costa Rica.
One lives well in Costa Rica. (impersonal se — no subject, verb is singular)
English-speaker pitfalls
❌ Se prepara tacos frescos.
Wrong — tacos is plural, so the verb must be plural: se preparan.
✅ Se preparan tacos frescos.
Fresh tacos are prepared.
❌ Se venden el carro.
Wrong — carro is singular, so the verb must be singular: se vende.
✅ Se vende el carro.
The car is for sale.
❌ Las casas se venden por el constructor.
Wrong — passive se cannot take a por-agent.
✅ Las casas son vendidas por el constructor.
The houses are sold by the builder.
❌ Se es hablado español aquí.
Wrong — this clumsy mashup mixes ser-passive and se. Just use se habla.
✅ Se habla español.
Spanish is spoken (here).
English speakers also sometimes try to reach for "by" inside a se-passive. Train yourself: if the sentence has a por-agent, it is not a se-passive.
Common verbs in passive se
Some verbs show up in the passive se construction constantly. Here are the ones worth memorizing as fixed formulas.
| Verb | Formula | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| vender | se vende / se venden | for sale |
| alquilar | se alquila / se alquilan | for rent |
| buscar | se busca / se buscan | wanted |
| necesitar | se necesita / se necesitan | needed |
| solicitar | se solicita / se solicitan | sought (formal) |
| hablar | se habla / se hablan | is/are spoken |
| prohibir | se prohíbe / se prohíben | is/are prohibited |
| aceptar | se acepta / se aceptan | is/are accepted |
| reparar | se repara / se reparan | repaired |
| hacer | se hace / se hacen | made / done |
Walking through any Latin American city, you will see these verbs on signs every few blocks. Commit the singular-plural pair for each one and you will be reading shop windows with ease.
A walk past some signs in Mexico City
Se alquila departamento amueblado.
Furnished apartment for rent.
Se reparan bicicletas y motos.
Bicycles and motorcycles repaired.
Se solicitan meseros con experiencia.
Waiters with experience wanted.
Se prohíbe estacionar frente a la puerta.
No parking in front of the door.
Se habla inglés y portugués.
English and Portuguese spoken.
Se hacen tortas a domicilio.
Sandwiches made for delivery.
Each sign follows the same template: se + third-person verb + subject. The verb's singular/plural form tells you whether a single thing (un departamento) or several (bicicletas y motos) are in play.
A short dialogue
—¿Aquí se venden tamales los fines de semana?
—Are tamales sold here on weekends?
—Sí, también se preparan empanadas y se sirve café recién hecho.
—Yes, we also make empanadas and serve fresh-brewed coffee.
—¿Y se aceptan tarjetas?
—And are cards accepted?
—Solo se acepta efectivo por ahora.
—Only cash is accepted for now.
Look at the plural/singular agreement shifting as the subject shifts: se venden tamales, se preparan empanadas, se sirve café, se aceptan tarjetas, se acepta efectivo. The verb's number follows the subject every time.
More examples across tenses
Se cerraron las fronteras en marzo.
The borders were closed in March.
Las fronteras se cerraron en marzo.
The borders were closed in March.
Se inaugurará el nuevo hospital el próximo mes.
The new hospital will be inaugurated next month.
Se están construyendo más viviendas en la ciudad.
More housing is being built in the city.
Se ha aprobado la reforma educativa.
The education reform has been approved.
Either way — subject before or after — the verb agrees with the grammatical subject. That agreement is what makes this construction passive, not impersonal.
Pitfalls recap
Three errors cover most passive-se mistakes learners make:
- Forgetting the plural agreement: Se prepara tacos instead of Se preparan tacos.
- Adding a por-agent: Se vendió el carro por Juan instead of El carro fue vendido por Juan or Juan vendió el carro.
- Mixing up passive se and impersonal se: using a plural verb when there is no grammatical subject, or a singular verb when there is a plural subject.
Review the Impersonal Se page if you are still unsure about the second-vs-third issue — the distinction hinges entirely on whether there is a noun that could be the subject of an English passive translation.
Summary
- Formation: se
- 3rd-person verb (agreeing in number with the subject) + subject.
- Use it for: passive meanings where no agent is named.
- No por-phrase allowed. For agent-bearing passives, use the ser-passive.
- Number agreement is mandatory: singular subject → singular verb, plural subject → plural verb.
- Distinguish from impersonal se: impersonal se is always singular and has no grammatical subject.
The ambiguous middle ground: se + transitive verb with an animate object
With an inanimate plural subject, passive se is crystal clear: Se venden casas — "houses are sold", plural agreement.
With an animate object ("people"), Spanish gets tricky. If the object takes the personal a (Se busca a los responsables), the verb often stays singular and the construction tilts toward impersonal rather than passive: "one is looking for the responsible parties". This is why you will see both Se busca a los sospechosos and Se buscan empleados.
Se busca a los responsables del robo.
The ones responsible for the theft are being sought. (impersonal-flavored, singular)
Se buscan empleados con experiencia.
Employees with experience wanted. (passive, plural agreement)
The rule of thumb: no personal a → passive, verb agrees; with personal a → impersonal, verb stays singular. When in doubt, listen for whether the speaker is treating the humans as a target category or as specific individuals.
Decision table
| Your goal | Construction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| "X is (being) verbed" — no agent | passive se | Se venden manzanas. |
| "X is (being) verbed by Y" | ser-passive | La ley fue aprobada por el congreso. |
| "one / people / you do X" | impersonal se | Se vive bien aquí. |
| "Y does X" — standard | active voice | El congreso aprobó la ley. |
The passive se in news headlines
Newspapers love the passive se because it lets them announce events without assigning blame or credit to a specific actor. A headline like Se aprobó la reforma ("The reform was approved") keeps the focus on the event itself.
Se aprobó la nueva ley ambiental.
The new environmental law was approved.
Se descubrieron restos arqueológicos en el sur.
Archaeological remains were discovered in the south.
Se firmó un acuerdo de paz histórico.
A historic peace agreement was signed.
Se registraron lluvias intensas en la región.
Intense rains were recorded in the region.
When the agent is the government, a court, or some institutional "we", speakers default to this construction rather than naming the specific body.
Recipe example in full
Recipes are where passive se shines. Every step uses it, and the agreement rules give you useful practice.
Primero, se calienta el aceite en una sartén grande.
First, the oil is heated in a large pan.
Se agregan las cebollas picadas y se cocinan hasta que estén doradas.
The chopped onions are added and cooked until golden.
Se añade el ajo y se revuelve durante un minuto.
The garlic is added and stirred for a minute.
Finalmente, se sirven los tacos con limón y salsa al gusto.
Finally, the tacos are served with lime and salsa to taste.
Every verb changes form to match its subject: aceite (sing.) → se calienta; cebollas (pl.) → se agregan, se cocinan; ajo (sing.) → se añade, se revuelve; tacos (pl.) → se sirven.
Where to go next
See Passive Ser for the agent-bearing alternative, Impersonal Se for the "one/you/they" construction that shares the pronoun, Active vs Passive: Which to Use for decision guidance, and Passive Restrictions for verbs that resist passivization.
Related Topics
- Passive with Ser + Past ParticipleB2 — Form the true passive voice in Spanish using ser plus a past participle that agrees with the subject.
- Impersonal Se (Se Habla Español)B2 — Use se with a third-person singular verb to make generic statements about people, equivalent to English one, they, or you.
- Active vs Passive: Which to UseB2 — Decide between active voice, passive se, and ser-passive depending on whether the agent matters and how formal the context is.
- Restrictions on the PassiveB2 — Why the ser-passive is less common in Spanish than in English, and what sentences simply do not work in it.