My text has a section called "Constructions with se." It's calling the passive voice "impersonal constructions." Weird.
Then they also talk about "unplanned events." I think I wrote about this before because it amuses me greatly. This is where you say things like something broke or fell down or got lost. Yes, maybe you did it, but not on purpose. Examples from my book: * Se me perdió el teléfono de la farmacia = I lost the pharmacy’s phone number. (Or as I like to say, the number lost itself on me.) * Se nos olvidaron los pasajes = We forgot the tickets. (Or the tickets lost themselves on us.) * A mí se me cayeron los cuadernos = I dropped the notebooks. * Al paciente se le perdió la receta = The patient lost his prescription.
I suddenly wanted to go around saying that the homework cheated itself and the money stole itself. (The same way I want to run around complimenting everyone's clothing after sexual harrassment trainings.)
I guess that's like the "get" construction above: the phone number got lost, the tickets got forgotten, the notebooks got dropped, (the money got stolen).
There's also a thing called "reciprocal reflexives" which you use to talk about when people do things to each other. In this case, English uses "each other" or "one another" instead of "ourselves," "yourselves," "themselves." Examples from my book: * Cuando nos vimos en la calle, nos abrazamos = When we saw each other on the street, we hugged [one another]. * Nos ayudamos cuando usamos la computadora = We help each other when we use the computer. * Ustedes se van a encontrar en el cibercafé, ¿no? = Y’all are meeting [each other] at the cybercafé, right? * Las amigas se saludaron y se besaron = the friends greeted each other and kissed [each other].
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ninetydegrees
More uses
on 2016-01-19 10:19 pm (UTC)My text has a section called "Constructions with se." It's calling the passive voice "impersonal constructions." Weird.
Then they also talk about "unplanned events." I think I wrote about this before because it amuses me greatly. This is where you say things like something broke or fell down or got lost. Yes, maybe you did it, but not on purpose. Examples from my book:
* Se me perdió el teléfono de la farmacia = I lost the pharmacy’s phone number. (Or as I like to say, the number lost itself on me.)
* Se nos olvidaron los pasajes = We forgot the tickets. (Or the tickets lost themselves on us.)
* A mí se me cayeron los cuadernos = I dropped the notebooks.
* Al paciente se le perdió la receta = The patient lost his prescription.
I suddenly wanted to go around saying that the homework cheated itself and the money stole itself. (The same way I want to run around complimenting everyone's clothing after sexual harrassment trainings.)
I guess that's like the "get" construction above: the phone number got lost, the tickets got forgotten, the notebooks got dropped, (the money got stolen).
There's also a thing called "reciprocal reflexives" which you use to talk about when people do things to each other. In this case, English uses "each other" or "one another" instead of "ourselves," "yourselves," "themselves." Examples from my book:
* Cuando nos vimos en la calle, nos abrazamos = When we saw each other on the street, we hugged [one another].
* Nos ayudamos cuando usamos la computadora = We help each other when we use the computer.
* Ustedes se van a encontrar en el cibercafé, ¿no? = Y’all are meeting [each other] at the cybercafé, right?
* Las amigas se saludaron y se besaron = the friends greeted each other and kissed [each other].