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Spanish (Latin America)

### Spreading the word: Impersonal "se"

When you want to talk about rumors, celebrity gossip, or unconfirmed news without specifying *who* is talking, Spanish uses the impersonal **se**.

The formula is: **se + [verb in 3rd person singular] + que + [noun clause]**.

These are equivalent to English phrases like "It is said that..." Because these statements generally declare a piece of information or state a widespread belief, the verb in the **que** clause usually remains in the indicative mood.

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### Gossip in the past tense

The impersonal verb doesn't have to be in the present tense. If you are reporting on yesterday's headlines or older scandals, simply put the impersonal reporting verb into the preterite or imperfect tense (e.g., **se rumoreó**, **se supo**, **se confirmó**).

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### When to use the subjunctive

Just like any other sentence with a **que** clause, impersonal statements trigger the subjunctive if the main verb expresses doubt, denial, emotion, or an expectation.

While expressions of reporting or certainty (**se sabe**, **se afirma**) take the indicative, verbs like **dudar** (to doubt) or **esperar** (to expect/hope) require the subjunctive in the following clause. Notice how this applies even when the impersonal statement is in the past tense, which triggers the past subjunctive.

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Impersonal statements (se dice que)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (yo soy)

Noun gender and definite articles (el, la)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Question	Answer
to rumor	rumorear
It is rumored that the singer hid the truth.	Se rumorea que el cantante ocultó la verdad.
Yesterday it was rumored that the politician stole the money.	Ayer se rumoreó que el político robó el dinero.
to speculate	especular
the romance	el romance
It is speculated that the actor has a hidden romance.	Se especula que el actor tiene un romance oculto.
Now it is speculated that the news is a lie.	Ahora se especula que la noticia es una mentira.
to unleash	desatar
It is said that the romance unleashed a scandal.	Se dice que el romance desató un escándalo.
It is commented that the gossip triggered chaos.	Se comenta que el chisme desató el caos.
to leak	filtrar
It is believed that someone leaked the document to the journalist.	Se cree que alguien filtró el documento al periodista.
It is known that a colleague leaked it.	Se sabe que un colega lo filtró.
the informant	el informante
the scoop	la primicia
It is claimed that the informant got the scoop.	Se asegura que el informante consiguió la primicia.
It became known that the informant was not loyal.	Se supo que el informante no era leal.
It was expected that the magazine would publish the scoop today.	Se esperaba que la revista publicara la primicia hoy.
the infidelity	la infidelidad
It is suspected that the infidelity ruined the marriage.	Se sospecha que la infidelidad arruinó el matrimonio.
Yesterday it was confirmed that there was an infidelity in the palace.	Ayer se confirmó que hubo una infidelidad en el palacio.
alleged	supuesto
It is mentioned that the alleged thief is famous.	Se menciona que el supuesto ladrón es famoso.
It was doubted that the alleged contract was real.	Se dudaba que el supuesto contrato fuera real.
to involve	involucrar
It is stated that the scandal involves the mayor.	Se afirma que el escándalo involucra al alcalde.
It is thought that the crime involved three guards.	Se piensa que el crimen involucró a tres guardias.