The Many Faces of 'Se'

The word 'se' is one of the most versatile in Spanish. While it has many functions, we'll focus on the three most common uses you'll encounter when reading. Mastering these will dramatically improve your comprehension.

Main Uses of 'Se'

1. The Impersonal 'se'

This is used to make general statements about what 'people', 'one', or 'they' do, without specifying who. The verb is always in the third-person singular form.

• En España se come muy tarde. (In Spain, people eat very late.)
• Se dice que el libro es excelente. (They say that the book is excellent.)
• ¿Cómo se llega al museo? (How does one get to the museum?)

2. The Passive 'se'

This is used to say that something was done, without mentioning who did it. The focus is on the object that receives the action. The verb agrees in number (singular or plural) with this object.

• Se vende esta casa. (This house is for sale. / This house is sold.) - vende is singular because casa is singular.
• Se venden casas en esta calle. (Houses are for sale on this street.) - venden is plural because casas is plural.
• Se necesitan voluntarios. (Volunteers are needed.)

3. The Reflexive 'se'

This is used when the subject of the verb performs the action on itself. It corresponds to 'himself', 'herself', 'itself', or 'themselves'.

• El niño se lava las manos. (The boy washes his hands.) - He performs the action on himself.
• Ella se levanta a las siete. (She gets up at seven.)
• Los jugadores se preparan para el partido. (The players prepare themselves for the game.)

A Note on Other Uses (For Awareness Only)

You might also see 'se' used for reciprocal actions ('Ellos se abrazan' - They hug each other) or to express accidental occurrences ('Se me cayeron los libros' - The books fell / I dropped the books). We won't test these today, but it's good to know they exist!