Según él se efectúan las actividades diarias¿.Por qué es Se efectúan?

Question

I guess it´s not impersonal, because impersonal is SE + singular. but here's SE+ plural. I am confused.

• What is the previous sentence? For example, - CaliforniaDr Feb 8, 2012
• PLease use correct English. I have corrected your "cuz". - Eddy Feb 8, 2012
• Impersonal "se" can go with plural 3rd person verbs, e.g. "Se venden flores in esta tienda." - Jasmine101 Feb 8, 2012
• Jasmine, yours is an example of passive with 'se' not impersonal with 'se'. Impersonal 'se' can't be used with 3rd personal plural. Of that, I am sure! - billygoat Feb 8, 2012
• yes, billy, you are right. I confused impersonal "se" with the passive "se", thanks. - Jasmine101 Feb 8, 2012
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Answer 1

Again perhaps I am not fully qualified to answer this, so please be aware that these are my thoughts based on my understanding of 'se' and need verifying by a native or advanced speaker!!!

ok,

Según él se efectúan las actividades diarias = According to him, daily activities are carried out.

the 'se' here could be interpreted as a number of meanings. From what I have gleaned by reading Lazarus' explanations on 'se' this is a problem in the Spanish language where the usage of 'se' can be ambiguous.

• passive 'se'. the activites (subject and direct object).

but syntactically it could also be interpreted as:

• reciprocal 'se' where daily activities are carried out on each other, or with each other (as there are no people involved here though, this is highly unlikely)

or

• pronominal 'se' because efectuarse = take place

On balance though I think it is much more likely that this would be interpreted as passive 'se'/pronominal 'se' - ie according to him, daily activities are carried out or take place (same thing, I think!)

• Your explanation is the clearest and most articulate in my opinion. - Jubilado Feb 8, 2012
• thank you Jubilado. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this just about covers all bases lol. I'm waiting for one of our Spanish grammar experts to put me out of my misery! - - billygoat Feb 8, 2012
• I think some context from the original article would be helpful to figure out which of the above possible scenarios is the right one. - Jasmine101 Feb 8, 2012
• I certainly need to read more about "se" : for me, a most complex construction in Spanish language. - xocoyote Feb 8, 2012

Answer 2

because the activities effect him

Answer 3

"stress and bad health affect his daily activities". se efectúan = they affect (to him).

Perhaps "se" the indirect object to "efectuar".

(I'm just guessing!)

• Just an F Y I, SE can only be an indirect object when followed by la, lo, las, or los...in which case it is really LE converted into SE to prevent it from sounding funny (le lo, sounds funny, apparently). - webdunce Feb 8, 2012

Answer 4

I am going to take a big guess in trying to understand this, so bear with me:

The verb here appears to be the reflexive efectuarse (= to take place, ? occur ?) not efectuar (= to carry out, to execute [a task]). Also, the subject for "se efectúan" are "las actividades diarias" . . . I believe that this is another example of the verb coming before the subject [V + S] , hence the verb is plural to match the plurality of "las actividades diarias" This format of [verb] + [subject] instead of [subject] + [verb] appears to be common in Spanish; I see it a lot in newsmedia headlines and bylines, for example from today's La Opinión newspaper:

Testifican mexicanos que enfrentan la horca. ("Mexicans (who are) facing the gallows testify." Here, I believe the subject of 'testifican' is "mexicanos que enfrentan la horca" the entire phrase following "testifican")

Hallan 10 cuerpos en fosas en Veracruz. ("10 bodies found in graves in Veracruz." The subject is "10 cuerpos")

So, perhaps, the phrase Según él se efectúan las actividades diarias. probably means "Accordingly to him, daily activities took place."

• Well, I thought I was on the right track. According to Hecho_en_Mexico, I am wrong about this: The object is el and this is a verb like gustar, mostrar, dolor, faltar, etc. Live and learn and learn . . . - xocoyote Feb 8, 2012
• Ah Hecho_en_Mexico: so "Segun el se efectuan las actividades diaras" means "Accordingly, daily activities affect him." - xocoyote Feb 8, 2012
• No, según él = according to him. Se efectuan is most likely "are taking place" or "are being carried out". - webdunce Feb 8, 2012

Answer 5

I'm with Hecho_en_Mexico.

My understanding is, "se" = him, it is the direct object of the action "efectúan", and this action is performed by the plural subject "las actividades diarias." It is not "impersonal se" because we know clearly the subject performing the action; it is not "reflective verb", because the action is not performed on the subject. The "él" goes with "según", "él" is not acting as the subject of this sentence at all. I would understand this sentence as: "According to him, the daily activities affect him."

• SE is one of the most complex words in Spanish, I think. Just to let you know, SE can never be a direct object (that would be LO or LA). It can often be an indirect object, though...but only if followed by la, las, lo, or los...in which case it is... - webdunce Feb 8, 2012
• ...really just LE wearing a mask, so to speak. :) - webdunce Feb 8, 2012