Breakdown of ¿Se requiere mucha paciencia para este trabajo?
para
for / in order to (+ infinitive) / by (a deadline)
mucho
a lot
el trabajo
the work
la paciencia
the patience
este
this (m.sg., also esta, estos, estas, esto)
se
one, people (impersonal)
requerir
to require
Questions & Answers about ¿Se requiere mucha paciencia para este trabajo?
Why is the verb requiere singular here? What is the grammatical subject?
In Spanish, this is a passive se construction (pasiva refleja). The thing being required, mucha paciencia, acts as the grammatical subject. Because paciencia is singular, the verb must be the singular requiere. If you were asking about plural requirements, the verb would change to match: ¿Se requieren muchas habilidades? (Are many skills required?).
How does this sentence fit the lesson about passive agreement versus the personal a?
The verb requerir is transitive, meaning it takes a direct object. When the object is an inanimate thing like paciencia, we use the passive se and the verb agrees with the noun (singular requiere for singular paciencia). If the object were specific people, we would use the impersonal se with the personal a and keep the verb singular, regardless of how many people there are (for example: Se requiere a los mejores candidatos).
Why do we use para instead of por in para este trabajo?
Could I use necesitar instead of requerir in this sentence?
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