se
personal pronoun
1 (complemento indirecto) (a él) him; (a ella) her; (a ellos) them; (a usted, ustedes) you
voy a dárselo I'll give it to him o her o them o you; ya se lo dije I (already) told him o her o them o you
he hablado con mis padres y se lo he explicado I've talked to my parents and explained it to them
aquí tiene las flores, ¿se las envuelvo, señor? here are your flowers, shall I wrap them for you, sir?; no lo tenemos, pero se lo puedo encargar we haven't got it, but I can order it for you
(con doble complemento indirecto) dáselo a Enrique give it to Enrique; ¿se lo has preguntado a tus padres? have you asked your parents about it?
(con partes del cuerpo, ropa) se rompió la pierna he broke his leg; Pablo se lavó los dientes Pablo cleaned his teeth; Carmen no podía abrocharse el vestido Carmen couldn't do up her dress; han prometido no cortarse la barba they have sworn not to cut their beards; tiene que cortarse el pelo he must have a haircut
(uso enfático) se comió un pastel he ate a cake; no se esperaba eso he didn't expect that
2 (uso reflexivo) (masculino) himself; (femenino) herself; (plural) themselves; (de usted) yourself; (de ustedes) yourselves; (sujeto no humano) itself
Marcos se ha cortado con un cristal Marcos cut himself on a piece of broken glass; Margarita se estaba preparando para salir Margarita was getting (herself) ready to go out; ¿se ha hecho usted daño? have you hurt yourself?; se tiraron al suelo they threw themselves to the ground; la calefacción se apaga sola the heating turns itself off automatically
se está afeitando he's shaving; ¡siéntese! sit down; sírvase esperar un momento please wait a moment; vestirse to get dressed
(indefinido) oneself mirarse en el espejo to look at oneself in the mirror
3 (como parte de un verbo pronominal)
se durmió he fell asleep; se enfadó he got annoyed; se marchó he left; mi hermana nunca se queja my sister never complains; se retira he withdraws
4 (uso recíproco) each other; one another
se escriben a menudo they write to each other often; se quieren they love each other
hace un año que no se ven it's a year since they last saw each other; procuran no encontrarse they try not to meet each other; se miraron todos they all looked at one another
no se hablan they are not on speaking terms
5 (uso impersonal) (con sujeto indeterminado)
se registraron nueve muertos there were nine deaths; nine deaths were recorded
se dice que es muy rico he's said to be very rich; no se sabe por qué it is not known o people don't know why; se compró hace tres años it was bought three years ago; en esa zona se habla galés Welsh is spoken in that area; people speak Welsh in that area; se cree que el tabaco produce cáncer it is believed that smoking causes cancer
(referido al hablante) no se oye bien you can't hear very well; es lo que pasa cuando se come tan deprisa that's what happens when you eat so fast
¿cómo se dice eso en inglés? how do you say that in English?; se está bien aquí it's nice here; se hace lo que se puede we do what we can
se admiten sugerencias we welcome suggestions
"véndese coche" "car for sale"; se avisa a los interesados que ... those concerned are informed that ...
(en recetas, instrucciones) se pelan las patatas peel the potatoes
"sírvase muy frío" "serve chilled"
no se admiten visitas no visitors
se prohíbe fumar no smoking
