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1.5 - Estructuras - Impersonal se
Estructuras
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In Spanish, to make general comments about unspecified people there is a special verb construction called the “se impersonal” that we will use. It is used:
- to make recommendations or generalizations
- when the subject (who is doing the action) is unspecified.
In English we see this in phrases that start with “one”, “you”, or “they”. For example:
- They speak English in Canada.
- You should eat breakfast every day.
- Can you / one swim in the lake?
The way we form this in Spanish is simple:
se + 3rd person singular verb in present tense
The examples from above in Spanish would be:
- Se habla inglés en Canadá.
- Se debe comer desayuno cada dĂa.
- ÂżSe puede nadar en el lago?