Why do we use reflexive verbs instead of passive voices?
When we use limpiar as a reflexive verb (limpiarse) it means you clean yourself ,but when i write 'it was cleaned ' on google translation ,it translates it as'' se limpió''. I got really confused ,doesnt se limpió mean ''she cleaned herself''.Shouldn't it be ''fue limpiado'' Why do we use reflexive verbs as passive voices?
2 Answers
Voice is a grammatical term which indicates the relationship between a subject and verb. There are three different voices in Spanish (and English): active (what you might call normal), reflexive, and passive.
Calling them pronominal verbs might be less confusing than calling them reflexive verbs.
When the verb is using the reflexive pronoun se to form the passive voice or when using ser+p.p., the verb's action is done to the subject by an agent.
When the verb is using the reflexive pronoun se to form the reflexive voice the subject is both the doer and receiver of the verb's action.
When the verb is used in active voice the subject is the doer of the verb's action.
So passive voice and reflexive voice are two different voices; not to be confused with each other.
se limpió could mean she cleaned herself using reflexive voice or it could mean she was cleaned if using passive voice. Recognizing which voice is being used is usually gotten from context.
Passive voice can be formed using se (pronominal verb) or ser+p.p. optionally. Usually if the agent is being included the ser+p.p. is used along with por+agent, but is can be expressed with the pronominal verb also.
Why do we use reflexive verbs as passive voices?
If you are asking why isn't the passive voice always formed using ser+p.p. then you probably need to do a historical search of how the use of pronominal verbs became a part of passive voice.
It may have arisen from mixing the impersonal se with the classical ser+pp. In the impersonal se, the subject is the receiver of the verbs action as in the passive voice, but the doer of the verb action isn't defined.
The impersonal se is sometimes looked at as a reflexive verb usage as well as a passive verb usage so all of these forms tend to intermingle.
Se habla español aquí. Spanish is spoken here (passive/impersonal) It speaks itself Spanish here (literal, but meaningless) reflexive use.
Or here is another example 'se mató en un bar' . Why is it not ''fue matado en un bar ''?
