Impersonal Construction with se

Question

A conjugar Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the verb in parentheses using an impersonal construction with se. 1.) _____ libros en la librería. (vender)

2.) En esta tienda___comprar ropa barata. (poder)

what does "impersonal construction with se" mean? Can someone please explain?

Answer 1

In Spanish there's a type of expression that means "One _____".

For example "Se compra ropa aquí" => "One buys clothes here.

Basically the verb becomes 3rd person singular (conjugate it like "él" or "ella") and add "se" to the front.

"En esta escuela se toma clases de danza cada día" => In this school you/one take(s) dance classes every day.

The impersonal expression is often confused with the passive-se so Once you wrap your head around this (i.e. practice it and understand it fully), google the "passive-se" and learn that too. The 2 often go hand-in-hand.

nice job :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 17, 2013

Or just: Clothes are sold/bought here. - annierats, Dec 17, 2013

Answer 2

It's a fine line between passive voice and impersonal, but I'll throw out an example.

Active Voice - They sell books. Amazon sells books. Ellos venden libros.

Passive Voice - Books are sold. Se venden libros. Car for sale. Se vende coche.

Note that passive can be expressed singular or plural, and is used for objects and not generally, people.

Impersonal - One sells books. Se vende libros.

Note impersonal voice deals with an unspoken or unknown speaker, but generally refers to a person (and less to another entity such as a government, organization, or company, but as in English, native speakers will often play that loosely). It generally uses third person singular present indicative. "vende". Se habla español. Also good for questions. ¿Cómo se dice? How does one say?

Again, in many cases, especially the singular, passive and impersonal will look about the same in Spanish.

Last note, there is another impersonal method one sees a lot with rules or habits: Hay que.

Hay que estudiar. One must study. Hay que comer equilibradamente. One must eat a balanced diet. Hay que evitar estar pendejo. One must avoid acting like a jerk.

Oh, and there are some good extra examples on this site here Just scroll down to or search for passive and impersonal. I think there are 2 or 3 articles.

Suerte!

Answer 3

Hi there,

An impersonal construction with se translates as follows:

Books are sold in the bookshop rather than they sell books in the bookshop or

In this shop one can buy cheap clothes rather than in this shop they sell cheap clothes.

I think that would be the passive construction, looks identical but slightly different meaning. Impersonal, as hacker says is more along the lines of 'one' sells without saying who that person exactly is - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 17, 2013