When there is no subject
Some sentences have nobody acting in them: 'it's cold', 'you have to', 'they say'. Spanish puts the verb in the él form and stops there. For example: “Hace frío y hay niebla, mejor vamos en metro” — It's cold and foggy — better we take the metro. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Some sentences have nobody acting in them: 'it's cold', 'you have to', 'they say'. Spanish puts the verb in the él form and stops there.
Weather splits three ways. What you feel on your skin takes hacer: hace frío, hace calor. What you can see takes hay: hay niebla, hay nubes. Rain and snow have their own verbs: llueve, nieva. The form never moves, so hacen frío is wrong.
A duty with nobody's name takes hay que plus the plain verb: hay que validar el billete. 'They say', 'for sale' and 'not allowed' take se: se dice, se vende, se puede.
The trap sits in me parece and me gusta: the thing acts and the person stands aside. Hence me gustan las fiestas, plural after the parties.
Table
| turn of phrase | word for word | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| hace frío | it makes cold | it's cold |
| hay niebla | there is fog | fog |
| llueve | it rains | it's raining |
| hay que salir | one has to leave | you have to leave |
| se dice | it says itself | they say |
| se venden pisos | flats sell themselves | flats for sale |
| me parece bien | it seems good to me | I think it's fine |
By example
- Hace frío y hay niebla, mejor vamos en metroIt's cold and foggy — better we take the metro
- Aquí se dice que hay que llegar antes de las nueveHere they say you have to arrive before nine
- ¿Qué te parece la idea? — Me parece bienWhat do you think of the idea? — Seems fine to me
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
When there is no subject: how does it work in Spanish?
Some sentences have nobody acting in them: 'it's cold', 'you have to', 'they say'. Spanish puts the verb in the él form and stops there.
What does it look like in an example sentence Spanish?
“Hace frío y hay niebla, mejor vamos en metro” — It's cold and foggy — better we take the metro. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.