The verb counts the thing
Two signs in Spanish shop windows look almost identical: SE VENDE PISO and SE VENDEN PISOS. The verb counts what is being sold — one flat or several. This is the se pasivo, the everyday way of saying that something gets done without saying who does it.
The trap for English speakers is the reading you give the sentence. Se vende looks active, so you translate it as they sell or one sells, and then pisos feels like the object of that verb. It is not. Pisos is the subject, which is why the verb has to change with it. English does the same in one place: there is a flat for sale against there are flats for sale.
Same verb, two numbers
Se vende un piso en el centro.
A flat in the centre is for sale.
one object — singular
Se venden pisos en el centro.
Flats are for sale in the centre.
several objects — plural
Thing after or before the verb
Se organizan visitas guiadas.
Guided tours are organised.
Las visitas se organizan cada sábado.
The tours are organised every Saturday.
When the se-passive does not work
The se-passive needs a verb that takes an object and a thing as its subject. Verbs without an object (vivir, trabajar) and sentences without a thing stay singular — that is the impersonal se. With specific people the verb also stays singular, and a goes in front of them.
Thing versus specific person
Se buscan pisos de alquiler.
Rental flats wanted.
thing in the plural — verb in the plural
Se busca a los dos sospechosos.
The two suspects are being sought.
specific people with a — verb stays singular
Se contratan tres traductores.
Three translators are being hired.
unspecific people count like a thing
The same sum in every tense
Agreement holds in every tense. In compound tenses the auxiliary carries the number and the participle stays unchanged.
Six tenses, one verb
| Tense | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Presente | se vende el piso | se venden los pisos |
| Indefinido | se vendió el piso | se vendieron los pisos |
| Imperfecto | se vendía el piso | se vendían los pisos |
| Pretérito perfecto | se ha vendido el piso | se han vendido los pisos |
| Futuro | se venderá el piso | se venderán los pisos |
| Condicional | se vendería el piso | se venderían los pisos |
The verb vender with one object and with several.
A compound tense and modals in sentences
Se han agotado las entradas en dos horas.
The tickets sold out in two hours.
Se pueden pagar las entradas en la web.
The tickets can be paid for on the website.
Se deben presentar dos documentos.
Two documents must be submitted.
