The use 'se' in a sentence

Question

Hi SpanishDict Community!
I haven't been online for quite some time but I have been learning some Spanish in the background! Es un idioma interesante!

One question, in the example for the word mostrar, this definition for the word 'show' is given...
Muéstrame cómo se juega

I thought that seeing as it should be 'Show me how to play', it would be:
Muéstrame cómo jugar

My question is, why am I wrong? And the other question I have too... what is the purpose of the 'se' not only in this context but also other contexts too?

Thanks,
thatahmad.

Answer 1

Hello Thatahmad,

Welcome to the SpanishDict forum

In the example sentence you gave us:

Muéstrame como se juega.

....it means: Show me how the game is played.

The word se is used to form the impersonal construction: to mean how something is done! (The French use the word 'On' to indicate the same thing: On ne sait jamais = One never knows!/You never know!)

¿Cómo se dice, 'to learn', en espanol? = How do you say/ How does one say/ How is it said to 'learn', in Spanish?

Se habla español (francés, Italiano etc...) aquí = Spanish (French, Italian) is spoken here!

I hope this helps