Help :D ......

Question

Generalmente _____ añade sal antes de hervir el agua.

A. me

B. te

C. le

D. se

My answer was B.

Thank you for your help u guys :D - Fu3goLe3go, Oct 19, 2012

Did you want to add 'me' because you thought you were saying 'Normally 'I' add salt before boiling the water.'? In this case the sentence is just giving a general rule that 'salt is usually added before boiling the water' but this is done by so many - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 19, 2012

different people so often that they can't say who does it - this is where 'se' comes in, it's very handy to just say that something is done that way without specifying by whom exactly. :) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 19, 2012

Answer 1

Hey Fuego,

I agree with Hokuten that it should be 'se'.

If you'd like to learn more about the impersonal 'se' which you will see a lot this lesson may be interesting to you. Se and its many uses.

Here's an excerpt ....

3) 'Se' used in impersonal constructions

For impersonal expressions to indicate that people in general, or no person in particular, performs the action, without stating who's doing the action of the verb, you can use the impersonal 'se' construction. It's similar to the impersonal English expressions 'one', 'you' (without any particular 'you' in mind) or 'they' (without any particular 'they' in mind).

One can always buy fresh vegetables at the local market.

They say he's really successful now.

You can take a bus to the city from that shopping centre.

In Spanish impersonal constructions the verb is always in 3rd person singular, and there is no grammatical subject, but there can be objects.

¿Se puede nadar en el mar aquí?

Can you swim in the sea here? / Can one swim in the sea here?

Se dice que hay cocodrilos en el mar aquí.

They say that there are crocodiles in the sea here.

Se maneja rápidamente en Quito. People drive fast in Quito.

No se debe comer con prisa. You shouldn't eat quickly.

Se habla español en Nicaragua. They speak Spanish in Nicaragua.

Answer 2

What does your sentence say in English? Run it by the dictionary and I will help you from there.

Answer 3

The correct answer is D. "se". You have to use that pronoun because is an impersonal action. For "te" think of actions that you perform on yourself, for example "te lavas las manos", "te peinas el cabello".

And by the way, se is not the only correct answer. There's a better answer. - francobollo, Oct 19, 2012

Sorry to intereject. I was trying for him to figure out the answer. We don't do homework here. - francobollo, Oct 19, 2012

Oh sorry, I was just doing the same you did on the other topic. But I'll have it in mind for future questions. But I think "se" is better than "le" as an isolated sentence as it is, "se" refers to a general rule or customs. - Hokuten, Oct 19, 2012

Not a problem. If you go back to my postings, you'll see I never gave him the answer. He figured it out on his own. - francobollo, Oct 19, 2012

I don't wanna be nitpicking or pointing out things because that is not why we come here, but you actually give him the answer, and I quote: "D. Ha (has) should be followed by the past participle of the verb escribir (escrito). Just like in English". - Hokuten, Oct 19, 2012

lol - francobollo, Oct 19, 2012

now, now boys ;) - (sorry if you're not a boy Hokuten - there isn't much info on your profile so I'm guessing jeje) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 19, 2012