6

When are the object pronouns le/les replaced with se?

aparente001
  • 10,747
  • 7
  • 32
  • 55
Amit Dash
  • 293
  • 2
  • 10
  • 1
    I have removed the second sentence from your question... it would make for a better question all on its own. – Flimzy Aug 04 '14 at 10:30

2 Answers2

5

The indirect object pronouns le & les change to se when preceding the direct object pronouns lo, la, los & las.

I give it to him- Se lo doy.

(can't be Le lo doy)

She tells her mom the truth--She tells it to her. Se la dice.

Se is also used "impersonally" when it means "one" (in general).

One can buy milk here= Se puede comprar leche aquí.

aparente001
  • 10,747
  • 7
  • 32
  • 55
toni
  • 74
  • 3
  • To say "se" means "one" is inaccurate. "Se puede" is the reflexive construction. "Milk is sold here" would be "La leche se vende aquí" which is the same verb construction, but there's obviously no "one" to be translated in this case. – Flimzy Aug 03 '14 at 19:53
  • 1
    @Flimzy Se puede comprar leche aquí it's perfect valid, and for me what I'd use in a normal conversation, I think is a differences between cultures – Emilio Gort Aug 04 '14 at 01:46
  • @Toni thanks for answering. Can you also tell more about passive voice usage like in the sentence Flimzy mentioned "Milk is sold here" or "The door is being opened by me" etc? – Amit Dash Aug 04 '14 at 05:05
  • @EmilioGort: Of course it's valid. I'm not saying it's not. I'm saying that 'se' doesn't translate to 'one'. – Flimzy Aug 04 '14 at 09:26
  • @Curious: What do you want to know about such sentences? – Flimzy Aug 04 '14 at 09:27
  • @Flimzy, thanks for the reply! I would like to know if se can be used in passive voice sentences like these. – Amit Dash Aug 04 '14 at 10:28
  • @Curious: The short answer: "Yes!" For a longer answer, I would suggest asking a question on how to use 'se' in passive expressions, as that is a separate question than the one asked here. – Flimzy Aug 04 '14 at 10:29
  • I understand the objection to saying that "se" means "one". However, I think it's right to say that the reflexive construct often expresses, in Spanish, the same thing that, in Britain, the use of the impersonal pronoun "one" expresses. Note that the use of the impersonal "one" is unusual in the US, and would probably only be recognized by people who read some British writings. The impersonal "one" may be derived from the the French "on". – Walter Mitty Aug 04 '14 at 11:52
  • @Flimzy thanks, I'll go ahead and add that question. – Amit Dash Aug 04 '14 at 14:48
  • Toni, I think you meant "preceding," not "proceeding." (And "proceding" isn't a word.) "Preceding" means "coming before." – aparente001 Jun 29 '18 at 04:20
3

As @toni mentioned the use of le/les or se depends on the type of the Object Pronouns (direct vs. indirect ):

DO Pronouns: me, te, lo/la, nos, os, los/las

IO Pronounce: me, te, le, nos, os, les

When both are used in the same sentence, like here:

Ella te los dan.
She gives them to you.
IO: te
DO: los

Él me lo dice.
He tells it to me.
IO: me
DO: lo

change the first pronoun to 'se' if both start with an 'l':

Incorrect: No le lo tengo.
Correct: No se lo tengo.
I don't have it.

Incorrect: Él le los muestra a ella.
Correct: Él se los muestra a ella.
He shows them to her.

In such cases you should always try to avoid ambiguous meanings, like:

Él se los muestra. To whom??? - "a ella"

Here se can refer to Él, Ella or even Ellos or Ellas.

Additional examples (mind I'm not native and can be wrong):

Mi gato está loco por su cola. Siempre se le persigue!
My cat is crazy about its tail. It always chases it!
IO: le
DO: se

But:
Mi gato tiene un pelaje bueno. Los cazadores lo persiguen para matarlo.
My cat has a nice fur. Hunters chase it to kill it.
DO: le
DO: matarlo

Community
  • 1
Nat Naydenova
  • 329
  • 3
  • 15
  • Or even usted or ustedes, adding to the potential confusion. – user0721090601 Aug 02 '14 at 13:54
  • @Nat thanks for answering. Can you also tell more about passive voice usage like in the sentence "The door is being opened by me", "The mouse is chased by it (a cat)"? etc. – Amit Dash Aug 04 '14 at 05:06
  • @Curious I would rather translate the two sentences you gave with Present Participle (Gerund): "El gato está persiguiendo al ratón. (El ratón está persiguiendo por el gato.)", because they imply continuous actions. You could actually use DO/IO by saying "The cat chases it" -> "El gato se le persigue.", but you'll need to have "the mouse" mentioned and defined earlier in the speech. – Nat Naydenova Aug 04 '14 at 14:21
  • Note for anyone reading this old thread: Nat's comment has problems (but his answer looks good to me). – aparente001 Oct 25 '17 at 02:43
  • Except for "No se lo tengo," which makes no sense to me. Better: "No se lo doy." – aparente001 Jun 29 '18 at 04:19