Object Pronouns with Perder

Question

¡Hola!

He visto la frase "Se me perdieron las llaves." Pienso que la frase significa "I lost my keys." Entendí que una forma de "perderse" fue utilizado para expresar la frase en la voz pasiva. ¿Qué significa la palabra "me" en este contexto? ¿Y qué significa la frase literalmente?

También, mi profesora nos dijo "Me estoy perdiendo la voz." ¿Qué significa la palabra "me" en ese contexto?

¡Gracias!

Concerning your question about "Me estoy perdiendo la voz" this sentence is grammatically wrong, the right one is "Estoy perdiendo la voz" - juaner, Dec 15, 2016

Answer 1

Significa "I lost my keys (from myself)" como no las perdieron de otra persona pero las perdieron de me! Espero que te ayuda!

Actually... it means "I lost my keys (unintentionally or unexpectedly)". This is a very important use of the Spanish reflexive that is misunderstood severely because people think that it relieves the speaker of responsibility. However, the principle behind this concept is that it states that they didn't mean to do it, but it happened anyway and that they happened to be involved. Examples include, but aren't limited to:

El cepillo se cayó (The brush fell)
El cepillo se me cayó (I dropped the keys unintentionally)

Se rompió el vaso (The glass broke)
Se me rompió el vaso (I broke the glass unintentionally)

El capitán se murió (The captain died)
El capitán se nos murió (Our captain suddenly died)

Espero que te ayuda!

Also, I'm pretty sure that the subjunctive can't be used here. The subject of both verbs can't match. (i.e. "Quiero que yo coma" means "I want that I might eat". It would just be easier to say "Quiero comer"). I would say: "Espero haber(te) ayudado"

Quick question: just to clarify - does saying "Perdí las llaves" mean that "I (intentionally) lost the keys"? - KRavishankar19, Dec 15, 2016

We don't intentionally lose anything. But when you use the "se" construction you are saying: "The keys G O T lost.. - Daniela2041, Dec 15, 2016

Okay, thanks, Daniela! - KRavishankar19, Dec 15, 2016

Answer 2

Significa "I lost my keys (from myself)" como no las perdieron de otra persona pero las perdieron de me! Espero que te ayuda!