Sentences without a subject
There are sentences in which we don't say who performs the action:
En España se cena muy tarde.
In Spain, dinner is eaten very late.
Cenan muy tarde en España.
They eat dinner very late in Spain.
To construct them, we can use:
- Se + verb in the 3rd person singular or plural, depending on the noun that goes with it.
Se busca camarero.
Waiter sought, Looking for a waiter.
Se buscan camareros.
Waiters sought, Looking for waiters.
- Verbs conjugated in the 3rd person plural
Cuentan muchas cosas sobre el Dr. Macías.
People say a lot of things about Dr. Macías.
Ahí reparan bicicletas.
They repair bicycles there.
Generally, we use these structures when:
- we don't want to reveal the identity of a person/people
Por ahí se dice que te vas a casar.
It's said that you're going to get married, Word is going round that you're going to get married. Note: por ahí literally means “over there”/“somewhere”, and in this kind of phrase has a distancing or blurring effect as regards who performs the action.
Por ahí me dijeron que te vas a casar.
People/A little bird told me that you are going to get married. Note: por ahí literally means “over there”/“somewhere”, and in this kind of phrase it has a distancing or blurring effect as regards who performs the action.
- we make a generalization.
Se dice que el amor es ciego.
It is said that love is blind.
Dicen que el amor es ciego.
They say that love is blind.
- we don't know who performs the action.
Me robaron el móvil.
They stole my cellphone.
Allí se venden cervezas.
Beers are sold there.
Notes:
- The verb that goes with se is conjugated in the singular when it is followed by a
Se entrevistó a la candidata. / Se entrevistó a las candidatas.
The candidate was interviewed./The candidates were interviewed.
- To make generalisations, there are other structures without a specific subject:
El hombre viajó a la Luna en 1969.
Man went to the Moon in 1969.
Uno vive bien en esa ciudad.
One lives well in that city.
Cualquiera puede hacer eso.
Anyone can do that.
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