In the following phrase-why is "se" in front of convirtio...

Question

'YCA"se convirtió" en una excelente fuente de captación de efectivo para Allstate por cobrar a

Answer 1

There may be more than one answer, but I would guess that it is passive voice "se".

YCA became (was converted, was changed into, was transformed into,etc,)....

It almost looks reflexive, so maybe it is passive-reflexive, but after the hiding I got on that topic the other day I'm only going to say that it is a pronominal usage that makes it intransitive.....it converted....rather than the transitive ...it changed something.

OK, Lazarus???

• Heheh :) - culé Jan 12, 2011
• I think it's reflexive, YCA is the one that is changed, and again it's the one that changed it. - culé Jan 12, 2011
• Passive reflexive is the same as passive with 'se', and whether it is a medial construction or a passive one depends on the context, so it is not that important. - lazarus1907 Jan 12, 2011
• The important idea is that the 'se' makes the verb intransitive, and the YCA simply turned into something else. - lazarus1907 Jan 12, 2011

Answer 2

It's convertir + reflexive pronoun se (convertirse). "convertirse en" means to turn into, to become.

(Better be careful, Q might say I'm treating convertir & convertise as different verbs again)

• Exaclty. You could sit beside me in the Dunce Corner if you referred to them as separate verbs. - qfreed Jan 12, 2011
• I actually didn't, but I guess I failed to clarify. OK, to the DC we go, I guess.. Jeje - Deanski Jan 12, 2011
• I realize that you did not. I was just hypothesizing about if you had. - qfreed Jan 12, 2011

Answer 3

I was also wondering because the reference said the pronoun "se" is used in passive sentences where the object to which the noun refers is also the subject of the verb such as "Se necesita un doctor con 5 años de exerience."but in the phrase 'YCA"se convirtió" en una excelente fuente de captación de efectivo para Allstate por cobrar a" YCA is not a pronoun. Sorry still confused.

Answer 4

Maybe I have it right now, since convertise is a reflexive verb, they are using "se" even though YCL is not an object or indirect pronoun. I have to get more familiar with the reflexive verbs.

Answer 5

I was also wondering because the reference said the pronoun "se" is used in passive sentences where the object to which the noun refers is also the subject of the verb such as "Se necesita un doctor con 5 años de exerience."but in the phrase 'YCA"se convirtió" en una excelente fuente de captación de efectivo para Allstate por cobrar a" YCA is not a pronoun. Sorry still confused

Se necesita un doctor con 5 años de experiencia.

the object to which the noun refers=doctor [is needed...a doctor (the object)]

Doctor is also the subject of the verb.

A doctor with... (the subject) is needed.

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'YCA "se convirtió"

is converted ...YCA (the object)

YCA (subject) is converted ... (it does not matter if YCA is a noun or pronoun. The pronoun they are discussing is the reflexive pronoun "se")

What they are saying is that in passive voice that the noun (YCA) serves as both the object (receiver of the action) and the subject of the verb.

This is easier for English speakers to understand. Spanish puts the subject on either side of the verb so it is hard for them to consider it as holding a subject or object position (typical SVO English sentence)

Actually, that (the article's) is a very poor explanation, because in the passive voice the subject (doer of the verb action) is usually not mentioned. Who needs the doctor? We don't know?

Who converted the YCA? We don't know. The whole purpose of passive voice is the downplay the doer of the verb's action and to emphasize what was done. That goes back to intransitive vs transitiive. We are not interesting in subject of a transitive sentence. The city needs a doctor. (transitive) The intransitive form (a doctor is needed...no DO) emphasizes what is needed, not who needs it.