Use of "se" in "se sientan"
I don't understand why there needs to be a "se" in "Aquí se sientan un rey y una reina."
6 Answers
Have a look at the DRAE entry for the word sentir:
Poner o colocar a alguien en una silla, banco, etc., de manera que quede apoyado y descansando sobre las nalgas.
This translates roughly to:
To put or place someone in a chair or on a bench, etc., in such a way that the person ends up supported and resting on their rear end.
Grammatically, the verb is classified as "transitive," a term used to describe verbs that require a direct object. Without a direct object to act upon, the verb's action cannot be completed. While such grammatical terminology might sound unfamiliar or even confusing, the actual use of transitive verbs is fairly intuitive. Consider, for example, the English verb "to place." This verb, like the Spanish verb "sentar" is also transitive and requires a direct object. What this means is that sentences such as the ones that follow would be considered ungrammatical:
- I placed under the bed.
- We placed at the table.
- They placed on the floor.
Each of the example sentences above raises the question, "What was placed?" We can answer this question by adding an appropriate noun phrase (our direct object) for our verb to act upon:
- I placed the box under the bed/I placed it under the bed.
- We placed the children's chairs at the table/We placed them at the table.
- They placed the books on the floor/They placed them on the floor.
The pronoun "se" that appears before the verb in our original sentence informs us who is being seated. In this case, the pronoun is considered "reflexive" because it reflects the action back upon the verbs subject. Put another way, the "se" informs us that the King and Queen are indeed seating themselves.
It's because 'sentar' by itself means 'to sit' or 'to seat' and can only be used if one person is seating another, like a nurse seating an elderly person in a wheel chair for example.
But when the person doing the seating is the same person who is sitting then you use the reflexive pronoun. If you don't use the pronoun the person you are speaking to will be listening out to find out who you are seating.
The reflexive pronoun 'se' is the one that gets attached to the verb in the dictionary to mean 'to seat oneself' but when the verb gets conjugated the 'se' gets moved round to the front and changed to suit the person who is sitting themselves down.
me siento - myself I sit
te sientas - yourself you sit
etc
In Spanish there are verbs called "reflexive" verbs which use a reflexive pronoun along with the verb. The verb sentarse is one and means to sit (down). We don't have this in English which is why you do not understand why the "se" is there. Literally one would translate the sentence you gave as "Here a king and a queen seat themselves". But you can't learn a language by literally translating everything; therefore, you have to just "allow" certain things to be what they are and learn their equivalent (not literal) meaning in English.
So conjugating the verb sentirse in the present indicative you would have:
- me siento - I sit
- te sientas - you sit
- se sienta - he, she, you (usted) sit
- nos sentamos - we sit
- os sentáis - you sit
- se sientan - they, you (ustedes) sit
If you get used to these types of conjugations you'll just use them without wondering why.
This is not the final word on "reflexive" pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os) being used with verbs but it is the beginning step.
Good luck in your studies!
Anyway:
Aquí se sientan ... = Here are seated..... meaning that those are the seats that correspond to them when they go to that place. The seats are reserved for/assigned to them.
Would that help?
@Observer:
what's your native language?
Everyone said what I would say. I'd recommend looking up reflexive verbs or pronominal verbs if you're still confused. That's the official name for this type of grammar.
