Reflexive verbs in the present perfect

Question

I heard someone talking about an English phrase, and the said "Es dos palabras que se han juntado" - It is two words that have been joined. But I don't get why he has used the verbs in a reflexive way. Is it because it is less formal to reflexify normal verbs?

Are you sure it was not "que se han juntado"? - bosquederoble, Dec 25, 2016

Oh yeah my mistake - Quincyhopper, Dec 25, 2016

Answer 1

"Es dos palabras que se han juntado"

It is two words that have been joined.

or It is words that have joined together.

Or It is two words that have joined to each other.

In the first, you actually could call it passive se, the second/third is actually reflexive, but they are conceptually similar.

Juntar without the pronominal use gives the sense of gathering something else together.

Juntarse more a sense of uniting together.

So Junté todos mis recuerdos de ese viaje en la repisa.

I put all my souvenirs of that trip together on the mantle.

I am doing this to other things.

But in the this case the words are being united together (passive se) or are uniting with each other (reflexive)- it's a matter of perspective. But there is no other actor doing it, as there was in my sentence. I was putting the things on the mantle.

If I said:

Se juntaron todos mis recuerdos de ese viaje en la repisa.

Then I have removed myself as the actor. I am just saying that the things were put together on the mantle. I don't want to say who did it, that is not important to my message.

Basically the difference between I gathered them together, and they were gathered together/ they gathered (themselves) together.

Thanks, bosque! It all looks accurate to me. It's always good for me to review these principals. - Sassette, Dec 26, 2016