Some Uses of Se

You have seen Se used as a reflexive pronoun in Spanish, but it also has some other uses:

l. As the impersonal subject æyou,Æ æone,Æ æpeopleÆ: Se come bien en este restaurante (æOne eats well in this restaurantÆ); ¿Cómo se dice ætodayÆ en español? (æHow does one say today in Spanish?Æ); Nunca se sabe (æOne never knowsÆ). Notice that in this construction, the verb is always in the third person singular.

2. In passive constructions: Aquí se habla español (æSpanish is spoken hereÆ); Se venden libros (æBooks are soldÆ). Notice that in these constructions the verb may be in the third person singular or plural, depending on whether the thing youÆre referring to (the grammatical subject) is singular or plural.

Note that the formal command of dar, , loses the accent mark when a single pronoun is added to form the affirmative command: Deme el libro (æGive me the bookÆ).