Breakdown of La pareja se está abrazando en el parque.
en
in / on / at
estar
to be (location/state)
el parque
the park
se
each other (reciprocal)
Questions & Answers about La pareja se está abrazando en el parque.
Why do we use se in this sentence?
Here, se is a reciprocal pronoun meaning "each other." Even though the word pareja (couple) is grammatically singular, it represents two people. The se shows that the people in the couple are hugging each other, rather than hugging someone else.
Since a couple is two people, shouldn't the verb be plural (están)?
In Spanish, collective nouns like la pareja (the couple), la familia (the family), or la gente (the people) are grammatically singular. Because of this, you must use the singular verb form está, even though it refers to multiple people.
Could I attach the se to the end of the verb instead?
Yes! When using the present continuous tense (a form of estar plus an -ando or -iendo verb), you can choose to attach the pronoun to the very end. You could say La pareja está abrazándose en el parque. Notice that when you add se to the end, you need to add an accent mark over the a (abrazándose) to keep the natural stress in the right place.
Could se está abrazando also mean "is hugging himself/herself"?