LingoflyWho did it doesn't matter: the passive and se
The language of offices and news gets by without naming who acts: 'applications are accepted until Friday', 'two were detained'. Spanish has three ways to do it. For example: “Se necesita el certificado de empadronamiento para la solicitud” — The registration certificate is required for the application. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The language of offices and news gets by without naming who acts: 'applications are accepted until Friday', 'two were detained'. Spanish has three ways to do it.
Ser plus a participle, agreeing in gender and number: la solicitud fue rechazada. The author comes in with por: fue detenido por la policía. This is the voice of newspapers, not of conversation.
Se plus the verb is the everyday one, and the verb agrees with the thing: se firma el contrato, se venden pisos. Every notice is written this way: se alquila piso, se prohíbe fumar.
In speech the third way wins: the ellos form with nobody named. Me han robado la cartera. Han cancelado el vuelo. Who did it is unknown and beside the point.
Table
| construction | where it lives | example | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ser + participle | newspaper, protocol | la ley fue aprobada | the law was passed |
| ser + participle + por | when the agent is named | fue detenido por la policía | he was detained by the police |
| se + verb (about things) | signs, instructions | se venden pisos | flats for sale |
| se + singular verb + a (about people) | bureaucracy | se detuvo a dos personas | two people were detained |
| 3rd-person plural | conversation | me han robado el móvil | my phone got stolen |
| no se puede / está prohibido | a ban | aquí no se puede fumar | no smoking here |
By example
- The registration certificate is required for the application
- El detenido fue puesto en libertad por el juezThe detainee was released by the judge
- Here you are seen by appointment only
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
Who did it doesn't matter: how does it work in Spanish?
The language of offices and news gets by without naming who acts: 'applications are accepted until Friday', 'two were detained'. Spanish has three ways to do it.
What does it look like in a Spanish example sentence?
“Se necesita el certificado de empadronamiento para la solicitud” — The registration certificate is required for the application. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.