Breakdown of Mi vecino y mi abuelo no se llevan bien.
Questions & Answers about Mi vecino y mi abuelo no se llevan bien.
What does se llevan bien literally mean, and why isn’t it translated word‑for‑word into English?
Literally, se llevan bien comes from the verb llevarse bien, which is a reflexive/pronominal verb meaning “to get along (well)”.
- llevar by itself = to carry, to take.
- llevarse bien (con alguien) = to get along well (with someone).
So:
- Mi vecino y mi abuelo no se llevan bien.
Literally: My neighbor and my grandfather do not carry themselves well (with each other).
Natural English: My neighbor and my grandfather don’t get along (well).
You can’t translate it word‑for‑word because llevarse bien is an idiomatic expression whose meaning has shifted from the basic verb llevar. English uses a different idiom: to get along.
Why do we need the se in no se llevan bien?
Se here is a reflexive / pronominal pronoun that is part of the verb llevarse bien. It doesn’t really translate directly into English, but it tells you the verb is being used in this special “get along” sense.
Compare:
- Ellos llevan las maletas. = They carry the suitcases. (llevar, non‑reflexive)
- Ellos se llevan bien. = They get along well. (llevarse bien, reflexive/pronominal)
Without se, no llevan bien would sound incomplete or wrong in this context and would not mean “don’t get along.” The “relationship” meaning only appears with llevarse bien.
Why is the verb llevan (plural) instead of lleva (singular)?
The verb must agree with the subject, which is plural:
- Mi vecino y mi abuelo = they (two people) → third person plural.
So:
- Mi vecino se lleva bien con mi abuelo.
(My neighbor gets along well with my grandfather.) → se lleva (3rd person singular) - Mi vecino y mi abuelo no se llevan bien.
(My neighbor and my grandfather don’t get along well.) → se llevan (3rd person plural)
If you used se lleva in the original sentence, it would be grammatically incorrect.
What is the difference between llevar and llevarse bien?
They’re related but used differently:
llevar (no reflexive pronoun):
llevarse bien (con alguien):
- Me llevo bien con mi jefe. = I get along well with my boss.
- No se llevan bien. = They don’t get along.
So llevarse bien is a fixed expression about personal relationships, not about physically carrying or wearing things.
Can I say Mi vecino y mi abuelo no se llevan without bien?
Not if you want to say “they don’t get along.”
- No se llevan bien = They don’t get along (well).
This is the standard, clear expression.
If you just say no se llevan, context becomes very important. It could sound:
- Incomplete: like you forgot bien or mal, or
- Like you mean some other use of llevarse (for example, llevarse algo = to take something away, llevarse a alguien = to take someone with you).
So for “not getting along,” you should use no se llevan bien (or less commonly no se llevan nada bien, “they really don’t get along at all”).
Could I add con and say no se llevan bien con?
Yes, if you specify the person they don’t get along with:
But in your original sentence, the two people are already the subject:
- Mi vecino y mi abuelo no se llevan bien.
Here “with each other” is implied, so you don’t need con.
You would not say:
- ✗ Mi vecino y mi abuelo no se llevan bien con. (wrong, it needs an object after con)
Why is it mi vecino y mi abuelo, not mis vecino y abuelo?
Could I change the order and say Mi abuelo y mi vecino no se llevan bien?
How would this sentence look if I replace the nouns with a pronoun?
Where does the no go in negative sentences like this?
In Spanish, no goes directly before the conjugated verb. When there’s a reflexive pronoun, it stays right before the pronoun:
- Se llevan bien. = They get along well.
- No se llevan bien. = They don’t get along well.
Pattern:
- no + reflexive/indirect/direct object pronoun(s) + conjugated verb
Examples:
- Me gusta. → No me gusta.
- Se ve bien. → No se ve bien.
- Nos llevamos bien. → No nos llevamos bien.
Is vecino always masculine? What if my neighbor is a woman?
Is no se llevan bien common in Latin American Spanish? Are there other ways to say this?
Yes, no se llevan bien is very common and fully natural in Latin America.
Some common alternatives you might hear:
- No se caen bien.
Literally: they don’t “fall” well (to each other) → they don’t like each other. - Se llevan mal.
Literally: they get along badly. - No se soportan.
They can’t stand each other. - No se aguantan.
They can’t put up with each other.
Your sentence:
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