"Se me rompió el reloj." How does the "me" function in this sentence?

Question

Wordref.com has a great Spanish-English Dictionary. But I do not understand their example for "romperse", the reflexive Spanish verb for "to break". The example it provides is "My watch broke" and gives the Spanish version as "Se me rompió el reloj". I understand reflexive verbs, but when I see examples like this, I am always dismayed. I don't understand how the "me" comes to be "my" in the English equivalent. Please explain how "me" functions in the Spanish sentence: "Se me rompió el reloj."

Good question :) - ian-hill, Oct 23, 2012

Answer 1

"Se me rompió el reloj."

Including the "me" simply personalizes the experience, as in English "My watch broke on me." It doesn´t indicate the watch breaking itself or the user breaking it. In this case, the "se" indicates that the watch broke on its own account.

In English we often say ," my watch stopped on me ". Or " my car broke down on me " . - ray76, Oct 23, 2012

:) - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 23, 2012

Thanks to both JulianChivi and espantador for your responses. Now I remember that Spanish lesson about absolving oneself from responsibility. I guess I needed a refresher. - Esteban3304, Oct 23, 2012

Answer 2

I don't believe "me" becomes "my" in the English equivalent of "se me rompió el reloj." It is something that has no exact english equivalent. It is saying that although YOU actually broke the watch, it is the watch's fault. It removes the doer from the action and places fault on the object. It is similar to "se me olvidó mi móvil." In actuality, I forgot my phone, but I am saying the phone lost itself from me.

If one day your watch just stops working on its own, then you would say "se rompió el reloj," the doer, you, having no involvement.

Hope that helps!

Nice job :) Welcome to the forum. - Kiwi-Girl, Oct 23, 2012