Spanish language Q&A Forum

I think I've managed to wrap my head around how the passive works in a basic sense, but I'm wondering if anyone can offer, or refer me to, any guidance on WHEN to use different passive/impersonal forms, or how the nuances change? I know this is a rather broad question, so I'll try to narrow it down to a couple examples:

When is it prefered to use the true passive versus the se refleja form? for example, I was reading an article that said "las piedras habían sido extraídas de rocas que se formaron hace miles de millones de años." Here we have two different forms used in the same sentence! Could the writer have instead said "las piedras se habían extraído de rocas que fueron formado"--or some other combination--and if so are there different nuances?! Is one simply more formal? Or is there another specific reason the se pasiva wasn't use for one but it was used for the other? 

Also, I know this is a lot at once, but I'm struggling to grasp how the use of the passive with "se" differs from the use of the "ellos" impersonal construction. For example, if a house is under construction down the street, would you say "se construye una casa" or "construyen una casa" and if both are equally valid, how are the nuances different? And are there cases where one is possible but the other isn't? For instance, I've often noticed that when the object of an action is a person rather than a thing the action is often not expressed with se--the ellos form seems to be the choice in some cases like "le robaron" (but not "se robó"?). And yet... we do have "se buscan secretarias"? I can't quite see what is going on here...

Mil gracias in advance for any help on any of these questions... 

The question did not specify to use the tú or usted form, and in a later question, it did specify "tú."  So I typed "leyó", but was marked wrong. I had "leiste" until I saw "tú" specified later, so I changed it.  Either both should be right or it should be specified, to reduce frustration.  I can see if you were talking to a family member or close friend (in an obvious context), then it should be expected to be "tú." But this was quite ambiguous- you could have loaned a book to a friend or a colleague or boss.

I don't want to quibble about details with native teachers but I was puzzled by the tip box at the bottom of this lesson saying "Remember that after poder(conjugated in any tense) you will always find an infinitive. "

I'm unsure what to make of this given that I have not always found an infinitive after poder. The example that immediately came to mind was "No puedo más." Which I stuck out in my mind precisely because  I found it odd that "puedo" was NOT followed by another verb.

Hi Kwiziq experts,

In the phrase "Lo que más me gustó de la gastronomía local fue deleitarme con..."  I wrote "Lo que más me gustó de la gastronomía local ERA deleitarme con..."   I was marked wrong and corrected "era DELEITARSE con"  and I'm not sure why that is. Is it down to whether one uses fue or era in the sentence?

Many thanks

Dee

Hi,

In many lessons and responses to questions, I have read that when deciding if you are to use imperfecto or indefinido, it is up to how the speaker thinks about the event. If the speaker thinks the event had a clear start and end, you should use indefinido, and if not you use imperfecto. Does this mean that it is entirely up to the speaker to decide which past tense is correct? I understand that there are situations where it is clear which is right and wrong, but I feel like in many cases it is a bit more ambiguous. 

Is it correct that Mama Quilla era la hermana AND la esposa del dios Sol Inti?

Gracias,

Pati Ecuamiga

In the case of the broken radio, using 'es' suggests the radio is irreparable, whereas 'está' suggests it can be repaired

It appears from your examples that “se” is optional, although I don’t see that explicitly stated.  For example, “ Ayer me depilé las piernas.” doesn't have “se” in it.

Re les vs los below.. les is incorrect because ver is a transitive verb, correct?