Apuntes de octubre Construcciones con se (Constructions with se) In addition to reflexive constructions, él se levanta, ella se acuesta, ellos se duchan, se is used as an impersonal subject. In these cases, se is equivalent to one, you or they when no specific person is being referred to. En España, se respeta al Rey. In Spain, one respects the King. Se hablan inglés y francés en Canadá. They speak English and French in Canada. Se puede esperar en esta sala. You can wait in this room.
Se is also used to create the passive voice. In this case, the third- person singular verb form is used with singular nouns and the third- person plural form is used with plural nouns. En esta tienda, se vende ropa barata. (In this store, cheap clothing is sold.) Se venden zapatos de China allí. (Shoes from China are sold there.)
Se for unplanned events Se me olvidó la mochila.I forgot my backpack. A Maite se le perdieron las llaves.Maite lost her keys.
When something accidental or unplanned occurs, it’s possible to use a construction that de-emphasizes the person’s responsibility – implying the event was not entirely the person’s fault. se + indirect object pronoun + verb + subject Se les rompió la botella. (They broke the bottle. Literally, the bottle broke itself on them.)