Understanding reflexive verbs / pronouns quickly in conversation
I have a general question for native / advanced speakers about listening comprehension.
I am still a beginner / intermediate speaker, and one thing that confuses me is the extra "se", "me", "te", etc that gets added for verbs to change their meaning...
For example:
"Sam me preguntaba que se tiene que poner..."
"Sam was asking me what he has to wear..."
For me, the what throws me off when hearing this sentence is "se". Its meaning is revealed only when we get to the very end of the sentence.
How does a listener come to understand that the "se" isn't going to mean other things while someone is speaking to you. What if the person had said instead...
"Sam me preguntaba que sé tiene que ir."
"Sam was asking me that I know he has to leave."
It may not be the best example, but here the meaning of "se" changes completely, but only until you reach the end of the sentence.
I think other native English speakers would agree, it would be much less confusing to hear...
"Sam me preguntaba que tiene que ponerse."
That way, there isn't a lone "se" in the middle of the sentence that isn't revealed why it is needed until the end of the sentence. Often times in spoken Spanish, I have come to notice that they are separated apart.
My question is how do Spanish speakers come to understand these kinds of sentences quickly enough? And how do you decide where to place things like "se" when you have options. Are you aware of some process going on? I would love some insight into this. For me right now, I am still slow, so I have to go back and analyze why certain grammatical structures are present.
I do find myself getting faster as my Spanish progresses, but one of the main things that I remain stuck being slow on are sentences like the above. Maybe some advanced speakers can help me with how to get better at understanding these kinds of sentences at a conversational speed.
Thank you!
3 Answers
My question is how do Spanish speakers come to understand these kinds of sentences quickly enough? And how do you decide where to place things like "se" when you have options. Are you aware of some process going on? I would love some insight into this. For me right now, I am still slow, so I have to go back and analyze why certain grammatical structures are present.
There is no difference for us , we place the pronouns either before or attached to the verb...it doesn't make any difference and we would not confuse it. There might be some regional preferences, but not an understanding issue.
Let's take your sentences:
Sam me preguntaba que sé que se tiene que ir.
sam me preguntaba que se tiene que ir.
I am still a beginner / intermediate speaker, and one thing that confuses me is the extra "se", "me", "te", etc that gets added for verbs to change their meaning...
Hi Joe, def not a beginner, if you have a problem with se, me etc you are beyond the beginner level, trust me 
"Sam me preguntaba qué se tiene que poner..."
"Sam was asking me what he has to wear..."
In the first sentence the accent is missing, that is important because it could be confused with "que", like in "tener que". It wouldn't make any sense, but anyway.
How does a listener come to understand that the "se" isn't going to mean other things while someone is speaking to you. What if the person had said instead...
"Sam me preguntaba que sé tiene que ir."
"Sam was asking me that I know he has to leave."
You cannot come to that conclusion, as the conjunction would have to be expressed in Spanish, unlike in English.
In order to mean : ...that I know (that) he has to leave., the conjunction that needs to appear in the sentence.
Sam me preguntaba que sé que se tiene que ir.
I believe you get confused when the "se" is placed before the verb. Remember it is just as common to place it after the verb.
I think other native English speakers would agree, it would be much less confusing to hear...
"Sam me preguntaba qué tiene que ponerse."
Indeed, for a non native speaker that is easier to see, I guess.
I know what you mean, Joe, because I have the same problem, but I think it is the same issue for non-native English speakers when they try to figure out English homonyms on the fly. We have a ton more of them than they do, and I think that we just have to pick up the difference between sé and se strictly from context, just like they have to between to, two and too.
