Learning Spanish: Se emphasizes the action

 Learning Spanish

How Can I use and 

understand Se.

Now is the turn for Se as an Ethical Dative pronoun. Speak Spanish the natural way!

Have you ever wanted to emphasize how much someone is affected by an action in Spanish, or how much effort someone is putting into something? That's where the dative ethic comes in, a special use of the pronoun "se" that adds an extra touch of interest or intensity to your sentence.

For English-speaking students learning Spanish, the ethical dative "se" can be a confusing concept because it doesn't have a direct translation into English. But don't worry! With a little practice, you'll master it in no time.

Ethical Dative: What is it?

The ethical dative Se is a pronoun that refers to the subject of the sentence and is added to emphasize his or her participation or interest in the action. Unlike a reflexive pronoun (such as "washes his hands"), the dative ethical Se does not change the basic meaning of the sentence if it is removed.

Hint: Generally you can omit the dative ethical Se without making the sentence ungrammatical.

Increasing your comprehension

• Fue de compras y compró un montón de ropa (Plain). He went shopping and bought a bunch of clothes.

• Fue de compras y se compró un montón de ropa (emphasis on the fact that the speaker enjoyed shopping for the clothes.). He went shopping and bought a lot of clothes.

• ¡No podía creer que hubiera robado todo el dinero! (Plain). I couldn’t believe he/she had stolen all the money!

• ¡No podía creer que se hubiera robado todo el dinero! (greater emphasis). I couldn’t believe he had stolen all the money!

• María está leyendo un libro (Plain action). Maria is reading a book.

• María se está leyendo un libro. (indicating that Mary is very concentrated or enjoying reading). Maria is reading a very long book.

The Natural Way: More examples

Luis se comió toda la pizza / Luis comió toda la pizza. Luis ate the whole pizza.

César se estudió todo el libro / César estudió todo el libro. Cesar studied all the book.

Dayana se ganó un carro en la lotería / Dayana ganó un carro en la lotería. Dayana won a car in the lottery.

Los vecinos se van a hacer una fiesta este fin de año. Los vecinos van a hacer una fiesta este fin de año. My neighbors will have a party this new year’s eve.

Se debe bañar al perro temprano* The dog must be bathed early or The dog needs to be bathed early (today). Debe bañar al perro temprano*- You(usted) must bathe your dog early

* (This sentence is an impersonal sentence, but SE can also be used to emphasize the fact that “this dog must be bathed early” The main difference would be on the intention of the sentence or phrase, but it doesn’t make an important difference to the meaning of the phrase. It is not recommended to put your effort in seeing the differences but in understanding what it means.

Se compraron unas pizzas para la cena. Compraron unas pizzas para la cena. They bought some pizzas for dinner.

Se pasó todo el fin de semana estudiando. Pasó todo el fin de semana estudiando. He spent all weekend studying.

Mi hermano se ganó la medalla de plata. Mi hermano ganó la medalla de plata. My brother won the silver medal.

Don’t forget to watch the video for this article at: Learning Spanish the Natural Way.

As you can see, the dative "se" adds an extra nuance to your sentences. Go ahead and use it and you will see how your Spanish becomes more expressive!