The Impersonal and Passive se(El se impersonal y pasivo)

Se dice que nuestro piloto tiene mucha experiencia.

¡Menos mal! Me da miedo

viajar en avión.

The impersonal seYou will remember using the reflexive pronoun se to talk about what people do to or for themselves.

Marta se lava el pelo los lunes.Marta washes her hair on Mondays.

Spanish often uses this se in an impersonal sense, that is, without mentioning a particular person.

Aquí se lava la ropa los martes.Here you wash clothes on Tuesdays.

Some English equivalents would be:

Here one washes clothes on Tuesdays.

Here they wash clothes on Tuesdays.

The impersonal seFollowing are other examples of this type of usage:

Se dice que hay oro al final del arco iris.They say that there is gold at the end of the rainbow.People say that there is gold at the end of the rainbow.It is said that there is gold at the end of the rainbow.

¿Aquí se permite fumar?Is smoking permitted here?Do they permit smoking here?Can you smoke here?

The passive seThe pronoun se may also be used with the third-person singular or plural form of the verb as a substitute for the passive voice in Spanish. The agent, or person who does the action, is not mentioned in this type of construction since the speaker is making a general reference.

SeThe lost soccer ball was found this morning.

Use se plus the third-person singular when the noun acted upon is singular.

encontróel balón perdido esta mañana.

The passive seThe pronoun se may also be used with the third-person singular or plural form of the verb as a substitute for the passive voice in Spanish. The agent, or person who does the action, is not mentioned in this type of construction since the speaker is making a general reference.

No seTickets are not sold on Sundays.

Use se plus the third-person plural when the noun acted upon is plural.

venden

entradas los domingos.

You can use this construction with se in all tenses. Por ejemplo:

Se hizo mucho.A lot was done.

Se habá hecho mucho.A lot had been done.

Se hará mucho.A lot will be done.