Questions & Answers about No explican bien el problema.
Who exactly is 'they' in this sentence if there is no 'ellos' included?
This sentence uses the impersonal third-person plural. Even though explican translates to 'they explain,' it doesn't necessarily refer to a specific group of people. Similar to English ('They say it's going to rain'), Spanish uses this form to talk about an unspecified agent. It can often be translated into English using the passive voice: 'The problem isn't explained well.'
Could I use the impersonal 'se' here and say 'No se explica bien el problema' instead?
Yes! Both No se explica bien el problema (impersonal se) and No explican bien el problema (impersonal third-person plural) are very common ways to express that something isn't explained well by an unspecified person. The plural form used here is slightly more colloquial and often implies that some people (like the authors of a manual) are doing the explaining, but their identity just isn't the main focus.
Would the meaning change if I added 'Ellos' to the beginning of the sentence?
Yes, it would. If you add Ellos, the sentence changes from an impersonal statement to a specific one. Ellos no explican bien el problema means a very specific group of people (like a specific group of teachers) don't explain it well. Leaving the pronoun out is exactly what allows the sentence to function as an impersonal statement.
Why is the word 'bien' placed right after the verb instead of at the end of the sentence?
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