Use of the Reflexive to Express an Impersonal
Spanish: AQA A Level, topic 16.27.1
Oraciones impersonales con 'se' - Impersonal Sentences
The reflexive pronoun se is used in impersonal sentences.
Impersonal sentences
- When we don't know who carried out an action, in Spanish we use the pronoun se.
- Se + verb in the 3rd person singular.
- It's always singular.
Examples
- ¿Cómo se llega a la catedral? ¿Se puede ir andando?
- How do you get to the cathedral? Can you walk there?
- Para preparar una buena paella, se debe añadir el azafrán en el caldo.
- In order to make a good paella, you must add saffron to the stock.
- ¿Es verdad que no se puede viajar en tren hoy por la huelga?
- Is it true that you cannot travel by train today due to the strikes?
Test yourself on Use of the Reflexive to Express an Impersonal
What's the main rule to use impersonal sentences in Spanish?