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Las puertas nunca se deben obstruir.

Las puertas nunca se deben obstruir.
The doors must never be obstructed.
From Lesson 377:Reflexive passive (se)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Las puertas nunca se deben obstruir.

Why is the verb deben in the plural here?
In this sentence, we are using the reflexive passive (pasiva refleja). Because it is a passive structure, the thing receiving the action—las puertas (the doors)—is actually the grammatical subject. Since las puertas is plural, the auxiliary verb deben must also be plural to match it.
How do I know this is the passive se and not the impersonal se (like "one must never obstruct")?
The key is subject-verb agreement. The impersonal se always takes a singular verb, regardless of what comes next in the sentence. Because deben is plural here to match las puertas, it has to be the passive se. If you wanted to use the impersonal "one", you would say Nunca se debe obstruir las puertas.
Could the se be attached to the end of obstruir?
Yes! When you have a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive (like deben obstruir), pronouns can either go right before the conjugated verb or attached to the end of the infinitive. So, Las puertas nunca deben obstruirse is perfectly correct and means exactly the same thing.
Could we change the word order and put las puertas at the end?
Yes, and that is actually very common. While you can put the subject first, Spanish speakers frequently place the subject after the verb in reflexive passive constructions. Saying Nunca se deben obstruir las puertas sounds very natural and is exactly how you might see this phrased on a warning sign.
Since the sentence uses nunca, do I need to add no before the verb?
No, you do not need no here. In Spanish, if a negative word like nunca (never) comes before the verb, you drop the no. You only use a double negative if the negative word comes after the verb, which would look like Las puertas no se deben obstruir nunca.

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