Impersonal "se" with direct and indirect objects.
I have been studying my Spanish grammar books regarding using impersonal se with direct and indirect objects. And yet, I am not completely solid what is correct. Specifically, I would like to convert these to the form using impersonal se:
Hacerlas a fuego lento durante 40 minutos.
Hay que removerlas a menudo.
Salarlos.
Dejarla en el fuego.
Darle la vuelta.
I am not sure of the position of se with las, los, la and le in any of these examples.
For example, with the first one, is this correct? Se las hace a fuego.... Or maybe it is Las se hace a fuego....
2 Answers
Se las hace a fuego. ....... Or maybe it is Las se hace a fuego....
Let's do the 2nd one first because it is the easiest.
The order of object pronouns before or attached to the verb is RID. [reflexive, indirect object, direct object] You will never have las se as las can only be direct object pronoun and is always the one closest to the verb (if there is one). This holds true whether the se is a reflexive or 3rd person, i.o. pronoun (le, les).
...se las hace a fuego lento. (one makes them over a slow/low fire). Looks possible to me, but I am not so sure that it is used. Remember that hacerse has the pronominal meaning of to become. To avoid this possible confusion Spanish may opt to use the impersonal uno or the impersonal they or "you" and avoid the ambiguity of the impersonal se.
Also remember that Spanish rarely (almost never) uses all 3 pronouns at one time. To avoid it, it employs different constructions like the intransitive "se me olvidaron los llaves" dropping the object of a transitive sentence and making it the subject. The passive se voice where the agent/subject is suppressed (or, again, where the object of the transitive sentence becomes the subject of an intransitive sentence) is another technique.
So I would say that the se las hace...is correct, but not what I would suggest as hacerse may be misunderstood or the se may be mistaken for 3rd person, le, les indirect object pronoun and that the las se....is definitely incorrect.
All of it is correct
