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Spanish (Spain)

### The passive "se" for things

When reading job listings, police reports, or formal notices, you will often see statements where the doer of the action isn't specified. When the action happens to a thing, we use the passive *se*.

In this structure, the thing receiving the action acts as the grammatical subject. This means the verb must agree in number, taking a plural form if the thing is plural, or a singular form if it is singular.

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### The impersonal "se" for people

If the action is done to a *specific person* or a group of people, the rules change. Whenever you refer to specific people as the direct object of a verb, you must use the personal *a*.

Because the personal *a* makes the person an object rather than the subject, the verb can no longer agree with them. Instead, we use the impersonal *se* and the verb **always stays in the singular form**—even if you are talking about multiple people.

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### Comparing things and people

To see the difference clearly, look at how the verb *juzgar* (to judge) behaves when applied to things versus people.

When judging plural things, like intentions, the verb becomes plural to agree with the noun.

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When judging specific people, like thieves, we must add the personal *a* and freeze the verb in its singular form.

{{item:1220734}}

Impersonal vs. passive 'se'

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

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

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
to request / to apply for	solicitar
the vacancy	la vacante
Several documents are requested for the vacancy.	Se solicitan varios documentos para la vacante.
to require	requerir
Is a lot of patience required for this job?	¿Se requiere mucha paciencia para este trabajo?
to summon / to convene	convocar
Yesterday the candidates were summoned.	Ayer se convocó a las candidatas.
A strike was called for tomorrow.	Se convocó una huelga para mañana.
to identify	identificar
the accomplice	el cómplice
The murderer's accomplice has been identified.	Se ha identificado al cómplice del asesino.
the interrogation	el interrogatorio
During the interrogation, many lies were discovered.	Durante el interrogatorio se descubrieron muchas mentiras.
the fugitive	el fugitivo
The fugitive is being looked for all over the country.	Se busca al fugitivo por todo el país.
More information is required about the vacancy.	Se requiere más información sobre la vacante.
to judge	juzgar
The thieves were tried last week.	Se juzgó a las ladronas la semana pasada.
Intentions are not judged here.	Aquí no se juzgan las intenciones.
Is a lawyer requested for the interrogation?	¿Se solicita una abogada para el interrogatorio?
the hostage	el rehén
The hostages were rescued last night.	Se rescató a los rehenes anoche.
The fugitive and his accomplice have been caught.	Se ha atrapado al fugitivo y a su cómplice.
It is impossible that the fugitive has been seen.	Es imposible que se haya visto al fugitivo.
The hostages were protected during the robbery.	Se protegió a los rehenes durante el robo.
The accomplice has already been identified.	Ya se ha identificado al cómplice.
the penalty, the sentence (for a crime)	la pena
The penalty for robbery is three years in prison.	La pena por robo es de tres años de cárcel.
In Spain the death penalty does not exist.	En España no existe la pena de muerte.
the reference	la referencia
For the vacancy, two references are required.	Para la vacante se requieren dos referencias.
Are references from other jobs requested?	¿Se solicitan referencias de otros trabajos?
the pistol, the gun	la pistola
A pistol was found in the fugitive's car.	Se encontró una pistola en el coche del fugitivo.
The thief was carrying a toy gun.	El ladrón llevaba una pistola de juguete.

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