Impersonal vs. Passive

Question

I have never quite understood the difference between the impersonal and the passive verb forms in Spanish. I know they both use "se" and a third-person verb to de-emphasize the subject of the verb, but I have heard various things regarding the use of plurals with plural objects vs. singular in all cases, and whether these verbs can be transitive or not. Does anyone have any good tips to help me understand the distinction, or any links to point me in the right direction on this one?

Answer 1

This question has been posted at least several times in the past. You might try doing a search of the forum archives for this topic. The threads below offer a few good responses:

passive se vs impersonal se

impersonal and passive sentence, what is the difference?

Good old Lazurus:) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 8, 2014

Excellent teacher. :) - rac1, Jul 9, 2014

Answer 2

The explanation of Lazarus in Observers first link is fantastic and if you'd like a little more this article might be helpful although it deals with a number of other uses if se as well.

Answer 3

I'm bumping this up. Anyone?