SPAN 004 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Infinitive, Cerrado, Present Perfect
8 May 2018
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Spanish 4 Chapter 6 Grammar Review
6.1 The Passive Voice and Constructions with se
The passive voice
● In the active voice (la voz activa), a person or thing (the agent
) performs an action on
an object (the recipient
). The agent is emphasized as the subject of the sentence.
Statements in the active voice usually follow the pattern [agent
] + [verb
] + [recipient
].
- El policía (agent = subject) vigila (verb) la frontera (recipient = direct object)
- The police officers guards the border.
- El departamento de inmigración (subject) ha detenido (verb) a diez personas
(recipient = direct object).
- The department of immigration has detained ten people.
● In the passive voice (la voz pasiva), the recipient of the action becomes the subject of
the sentence. Passive statements emphasize the thing that was done or the person that
was acted upon. They follow the pattern [recipient
] + ser + [past participle
] + por +
[agent
].
- La frontera (recipient = subject) es vigilada (ser
+ past participle) por el policía (por
+
agent).
- The border is guarded by the police officer.
- Diez personas (recipient = subject) han sido detenidas (ser
+ past participle) por el
departamento de inmigración (por
+ agent).
● Note that singular forms of ser (es, ha sido, fue, etc.) are used with singular recipients,
and plural forms (son, han sido, fueron, etc.) are used with plural recipients.
- La manifestación es organizada por un grupo de activistas.
- The demonstration is organized by a group of activists.
- Los dos candidatos fueron rechazados por el comité.
- The two candidates were rejected by the committee.
● In addition, the past participle must agree in number and gender with the recipient(s).
- La disminución de empleos fue prevista por el Secretario de Economía.
- The decline in jobs was predicted by the Secretary of the Treasury.
- Los problemas han sido resueltos por el jefe.
- The problems have been resolved by the boss.
● Note that por + [agent
] may be omitted if the agent is unknown or if the speaker wants to
de-emphasize that information.
- Las metas fueron alcanzadas. (The goals were reached.)
- El maltrato no ha sido eliminado. (Abuse has not been eradicated.)
The passive se
● The pronoun se is often used to express the passive voice when the agent performing
the action is not stated. The third-person singular verb form is used with singular nouns,
and the third-person plural form is used with plural nouns. The passive se is used only
with transitive verbs (verbs that can take a direct object).
- Se subirán los impuestos a final de año. (Taxes will be raised at the end of the year.)
● When referring to an undefined person, use the passive se and make sure the verb
agrees with the object.
- Se busca secretaria bilingue. (Bilingual secretary wanted.)
- Se necesitan voluntarios. (Volunteers needed.)
The impersonal se
● Se is also used with the third-person singular verbs in impersonal constructions where
the subject of the sentence is undefined. In English, the words one, people, we, you,
or
they
are often used for this purpose. The impersonal se is used with intransitive verbs
(verbs that cannot take a direct object.)
- ¿Se puede vivir sin dinero? (Can one live without money?)
- No se debe invertir todo en la bolsa de valores. (You shouldn’t invest everything in the
stock market.)
Se
to express unexpected events
● Se is also used to describe accidental or unplanned incidents. In this
construction, the agent is de-emphasized, implying that the incident is not his or
her responsibility.
- Se me (Indirect object pronoun) perdió (verb) el reloj (subject).
● In this construction, the person(s) to whom the event happened is/are expressed
as an indirect object. What would be the direct object of the English sentence
becomes the subject of the Spanish sentence. These verbs are frequently used
with se to describe unplanned events.
acabar - to finish, to run out
olvidar - to forget
caer - to fall, to drop
perder (e:ie) - to lose
dañar - to damage, to break
quedar - to leave behind
ocurrir - to occur
romper - to break
- Se les quedó el pasaporte en la frontera. (They left the passport at the border.)
Document Summary
6. 1 the passive voice and constructions with se. In the active voice ( la voz activa ), a person or thing (the agent ) performs an action on an object (the recipient ). The agent is emphasized as the subject of the sentence. Statements in the active voice usually follow the pattern [ agent ] + [ verb ] + [ recipient ]. El polic a (agent = subject) vigila (verb) la frontera (recipient = direct object) El departamento de inmigraci n (subject) ha detenido (verb) a diez personas (recipient = direct object) . The department of immigration has detained ten people. In the passive voice ( la voz pasiva ), the recipient of the action becomes the subject of the sentence. Passive statements emphasize the thing that was done or the person that was acted upon. They follow the pattern [ recipient ] + ser + [ past participle ] + por +
