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CAPÍTULO 1 Grammar
CAPÍTULO 1 Grammar
INVENTARIO PERSONAL
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I Passive voice:
I
. A different way to shift the emphasis in a sentence from the
subject to the action is by using the passive voice. There are two
ways to do this in Spanish.
The first is with ser + past participle + por. English speakers
have a tendency to overuse this structure. Only use this
construction when the sentence states by whom the thing was
done with the word por.
Los tamales son preparados por el chef.
The tamales are prepared by the chef.
The following wording is a better choice in both languages, since
it uses the active voice:
El chef prepara los tamales.
The chef prepares the tamales.
The other and most common way to form the passive voice in
Spanish (when there is no subject listed with por) is with
the passive se construction:
se + third-person singular verb + singular noun
se + third-person plural verb + plural noun
En este restaurante se prepara la comida todos los das.
In this restaurant the food is prepared every day.
En este restaurante se preparan los tamales todos los das.
In this restaurant the tamales are prepared every day.
The passive se and the impersonal se are very important in
writing and speaking, along with helping you sound more natural
in Spanish. Remember: when faced with the passive voice, native
Spanish speakers will use the passive se and so should you.
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Ojo!
Spanish is spoken.
Se habla espaol.
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Passive se
Se piden las bebidas en el bar.
Drinks are ordered at the bar.
(non-human subject that agrees in number with the verb)
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