Se tocan translate
Why is the word "se" used in the sentence, "en los cemetarios, se tocan música y bailan para honrar los espíritus de los muertos"?
3 Answers
This is a case of where the reflexive pronoun "se" is used to express the English passive voice construction.
In the cemeteries, music is played and people dance to honor the spirits of the dead.
In the sentence there is an error. It should be, "se toca" música.
I agree with Daniela that se can be used to indicate passive voice, however if you simply eliminate se from this sentence it´s perfect: "En los cemetarios, tocan música y bailan para honrar los espíritus de los muertos". It is still impersonal, but not passive voice because the unwritten subject is ellos.
The se should not be shared by the two verbs, so to say this in passive voice it should be: "En los cemetarios, se toca música y se baila para honrar los espíritus de los muertos".
The sentence can be also stated as:
En los cementerios, música es tocada (...) (= be + past participle to construct the passive)
but it's a weird construction. However it's used sometimes depending on the sentence:
Las pelotas son lanzadas a la cancha. (= se lanzan a la cancha.)
