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Course: French English Spanish Greek
Explanations in: Greek English French Spanish
B2

The «no-fault» se: se me olvidó

Se me cayó, se nos rompió: accidental actions without a culprit.

For things that happen by accident, Spanish uses: se + indirect object + verb + thing. The thing is the grammatical subject.

StructureEnglish
Se me olvidó la llave.I forgot the key (it slipped my mind).
Se te cayeron los papeles.You dropped the papers.
Se le rompió el móvil.His phone broke.
Se nos acabó la leche.We ran out of milk.
Se les perdió el perro.Their dog got lost.

Nuance: Rompí el vaso (I broke it, maybe on purpose) / Se me rompió el vaso (it broke on me, not my fault).

  • Perdona, se me olvidó llamarte.
    Sorry, I forgot to call you.
  • Se nos ha estropeado la lavadora.
    Our washing machine has broken down.

Test yourself

  1. Translate: «I dropped the keys.»
    Show answer
    Se me cayeron las llaves.
  2. Translate: «She missed the bus.» (escaparse)
    Show answer
    Se le escapó el autobús.
  3. Correct: «Me se olvidó.»
    Show answer
    Se me olvidó.
  4. Fill in: Se ___ acabó el café. (we)
    Show answer
    nos