Spanish 3 / Unit 10: The Passive Voice, Se Constructions and Review
10.4 Accidental Se
Notes
Accidental se (unplanned events) makes accidents feel like "it happened to me." Pattern: se + indirect object (me, te, le, nos, les) + verb, and the verb agrees with the thing.
| Spanish | Literal | Natural English |
|---|---|---|
| Se me olvidó la tarea. | The homework forgot itself to me. | I forgot the homework. |
| Se me perdieron las llaves. | The keys got lost on me. | I lost my keys. |
| Se le cayó el vaso. | The glass fell on him. | He dropped the glass. |
| Se nos acabó la leche. | The milk ran out on us. | We ran out of milk. |
| Se te rompieron los lentes. | The glasses broke on you. | You broke your glasses. |
- Common verbs: olvidar, perder, caer, romper, acabar, quedar, ocurrir.
- Add a + person to clarify: A Pedro se le perdió el pasaporte.
- It implies the action was not intentional.
Practice
Se me ___ (perder) las llaves.
Llaves is plural, so the verb is plural: perdieron.
A mi hermano se le ___ (caer) el vaso.
Vaso is singular, so the verb is singular: cayó.
¿Qué significa "Se me rompió la computadora"?
Accidental se presents the event as unintentional.
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