Reflexive pronoun questions
In one of my lessons there is a picture of three children in bed and the sentence reads:
Están acostados en la cama. They are lying in the bed.
Is there a need for a reflexive pronoun here? Se estån acostados en la cama?
Están sentados en la cama. They are sitting on the bed .
Is this sentence Ok, or does it need a reflexive pronoun.
Thank you.
3 Answers
Están acostados en la cama. They are lying in the bed.
Is there a need for a reflexive pronoun here? Se están acostados en la cama?
You can't use a reflexive pronoun here, because it is just a state, not an action. "Acostarse" is a verb that indicates a brief movement towards a horizontal position, but it must indicate motion. Once you reach the position, the action is finished, and that "se" has no place in the sentence (there is a colloquial use that allows it, but for beginners it is best to stick to a more standard Spanish).
Están sentados en la cama. They are sitting on the bed .
Is this sentence Ok, or does it need a reflexive pronoun.
The sentence is perfect. Again, "sentarse" is a brief movement, not a state like in English "I'm sitting here". Once you touch the seat, you are seated (sentado), which is the result of your finished action (sentarse). Again, there exists the possibility of using "se" more colloquially, but I don't recommend its use unless you are close to fluency in Spanish.
The only verb in those sentences is estar.
I would use the reflexive "se" in both cases.
