The se-constructions
Lesson opening
This is the first part of the lesson. The rest, the exercises and the reviews are in the app.
Constructions with se: one little word, seven jobs
You have met se in a hundred sentences: Kako se zoveš?, Vidimo se!, Bojim se, Vrata se otvaraju, Ovde se ne puši, Kuća se gradi, Spava mi se. It is always the same two-letter word, doing a different job each time. The lesson “Reflexive verbs (se)” looked at se from the side of the verb, “Passive voice” showed it in the passive, and “Dative impersonals” in the “feel like it” pattern. Today we put it all on one map and learn to tell the jobs apart: to see a sentence with se and know quickly what the se is doing in it.
Why does it matter? Because the meaning depends on the job. Is Vrata se otvaraju “the door opens by itself” or “the doors are opened at eight”? Is Deca se peru “the children are washing” or “the children are being washed”? The form is the same; context and a few simple tests tell you which. Along the way we settle two more questions: when the verb next to se goes into the plural and when it stays frozen in the singular, and why English “oneself” is such a poor guide to which verbs take se.
The map: seven jobs for one word
First the view from above. The “test” column is a substitution or a question that fits only its own type; each is explained below.
1. Truly reflexive: se means “oneself”
The clearest case: the subject acts on itself, and se, in the slot of the direct object, means “oneself”. This se can always be swapped for the stressed full form sebe, and for emphasis you add sam “oneself, on one’s own”, just as English says “himself” and “he himself”.
The sign of this type is a twin with a different object: oblačim dete “I dress the child” next to oblačim se “I get dressed”, branim prijatelja “I defend my friend” next to branim se “I defend myself”. The verb stays transitive; its object just happens to be the doer. English often drops the “myself” (“I get dressed”); Serbian never drops the se. This is also where se most easily turns into the full form, and the meaning only gets stronger: Vidim sebe u ogledalu “I see myself (and not someone else) in the mirror”. But never both at once: sebe takes the place of se, it does not join it, so Kaznio je sam sebe, not “Kaznio se sam sebe”. When to use the short form and when the full one was covered in “Reflexive sebe/se”.
2. Reciprocal: se means “each other”
Two or more people act on one another. The test is to insert jedno drugo / jedan drugog “each other” or the adverb međusobno “mutually”: if the sentence survives, you are looking at reciprocal se.
The subject of reciprocal se is usually plural or two people: Ana i Marko se dopisuju “Ana and Marko write to each other”, Rastali su se “they parted”, Vidimo se! “see you!”. But the other person can also be named on their own, with sa and the instrumental, and then the subject can be singular: Našao se sa bratom “he met up with his brother”, Svađam se sa bratom “I argue with my brother”. And remember the trap: here se is no longer “oneself”. Vole se is “they love each other”, while “they love themselves” is Vole sebe. Swapping the short form for the full one changes the meaning completely.
Cheat sheet
The cheat sheet — everything essential from the lesson on one page. In the app it opens at any time.
Constructions with se: one word, seven jobs
se: an unstressed second-place clitic (originally “oneself”). Seven jobs, one form; meaning and a test tell them apart.
Order of questions: fused → 6; dative and wanting → 7; no subject → 5; sam sebe → 1; jedno drugo → 2; sam od sebe → 3; hidden doer → 4. When ambiguous, context decides: the more alive the subject, the likelier “oneself” (Deca se peru “the children are washing”).
By itself: pairs, getting into a state
“The glass broke” = čaša se razbila. zaljubiti se, naljutiti se, umoriti se, razboleti se, probuditi se, smiriti se: fall in love, get angry, get tired, fall ill, wake up, calm down.
Passive, impersonal, feeling like it
- Agreement: knjiga se prodaje, knjige se prodaju; kuća se gradila, kuće su se gradile. Number from the Serbian noun: povrće se prodaje, novine se prodaju. Process, rule; for a result, the participle: Kuća je sagrađena.
- Impersonal: Radi se do pet. Ovde se lepo živi. Past: neuter, je drops: Ovde se nekad pušilo. Pričalo se da je otišao. But Ovde se nije pušilo.
- With moći, morati: Ne može se ovde parkirati. Mora se raditi.
- Feeling like it: Ne radi mi se danas. I don’t feel like working today. Ne spava mi se “I’m not sleepy”; “I can’t sleep” is Ne mogu da zaspim.