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84 A SPANISH REFERENCE GRAMMAR

farmers. However, as in the case of the real passive, the agent with por may be expressed with this use of the reflexive: la hierba se corta por los campesinos. 390.

c. The impersonal reflexive is not admissible when the subject in English is a thing: se le corta a la hierba, the grass is cut, is not a construction to be recommended. 391.

(c) When the expression is impersonal from the English standpoint.

  1. Transitive and intransitive verbs may be used in the personal reflexive form in the place of the passive: se dice, it is said; se prohibe fumar, it is forbidden to smoke; aqui no se entra, no entrance here; no se sabe quien es, it is not known who he is. 392.

  2. Verbs normally reflexive can not be used as a substitute for the passive. Se levanta temprano means he (she, you) get(s) up early. If we wish to say one gets up, people get up, we must say uno se levanta or la gente se levanta. 393.

  3. Substitutes for this personal reflexive used in impersonal expressions, such as no se sabe quien es; are (I) the active indefinite 3rd person plural: no saben quien es ; (2) the active with uno as sub-

ject: uno no sabe quien es; or (3) the real passive: no es sabido quien es. 394.

  1. The infinitive of any form of reflexive verb may be used with impersonal significance: es bueno levantarse temprano, it is well to rise early; eso es de esperarse, that is to be hoped, expected. 395.

  2. Some verbs are reflexive in Spanish that are not so in English. This is particularly true of intransitives. The reflexive form of such verbs frequently denotes the completion or the continuity of an action: morir, to die, morirse, to die, to be dying; dormir, to sleep, dormirse, to fall asleep; llegar, to arrive, llegarse, to approach; estar, to be, estarse, to stay; marchar, to walk, march, marcharse, to walk away; ir, to go, irse, to go away; escapar, to escape, escaparse, to run away; caer, to fall, caerse, to tumble down; venir, to come, venirse, to come along. 396.

  3. Some verbs may be used as ordinary transitives, or as personal reflexives, or as impersonal reflexives: olvide hacerlo, or me olvide de hacerlo, or se me olvidO hacerlo, I forgot to do it. 397.

.(f) Some verbs may be used reflexively or non-reflexively with no particular difference in meaning: quedar or quedarse, to remain; reir or reirse, to laugh; pelear or

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