POST: Week 5, Day 1, Friday, September 26,2008

Today we worked more on how to attack "se" verbs when we find them. Here are some techniques that work:

Example: El acuario, que se ha reconocido de largo como una de las instalaciones marinas más importantes de la investigación del mundo, está iniciando las nuevas estrategias para proteger los océanos del planeta.

1. Identify the infinitive of the main verb (the right-most piece of the verb). In this case, the verb is "reconocido." Since it ends in IDO, the verb is either "reconocer" or "reconocir." Check the dictionary. The verb is "reconocer."

2. Identify the tense of the verb in Spanish. In this case it is a perfect (we know this because there is the word "ha" there -- a form of "haber"). "Ha" is present tense. Thus the tense is "present perfect."

3. Write down the possible meanings of the verb: recognize, admit, examine.

4. Write the past participle form of the verb in ENGLISH. In most cases this will be the -ed form of the verb: recognized, admitted, examined.

5. Change the verb into the English equivalency of the tense: has recognized, has admitted, has examined.

6. Try to make the verb passive. This will require you to add the appropriate form of "be." With perfects, the form is "been." has been recognized, has been admitted, has been examined.

7. Look to both the right of the Spanish verb AND the left of the Spanish verb to figure out WHAT has been recognized, admitted, or examined. In this case, the logical word is "que" (that) "that has been recognized/admitted/examined." The "que" refers to "el acuario" -- the aquarium. The aquarium that has been recognized . . . .

But the passive interpretation won't work always. Consider this example:

Existe una infinidad de historias en las que se cita o se habla de ballenas, animales que por su gran talla y peculiar forma han llamado la atención desde tiempos muy remotos.

If you move through the steps above, the passive interpretation doesn't seem to work:

There exist an infinite number of stories in which are cited or are spoken of whales. . . .

Thus, it is time to try another way to look at the verb: as an impersonal.

1. Rework the sentence to interpret the word "se" as "they" or "one."

There exist an infinite number of stories in which they cite or speak of whales. . . .

Perhaps in more formal English, we might rewrite this as follows:

There exist an infinite number of stories that cite or speak of whales . . . .

HW: Read and translate these three sentences and have them ready for class on Friday. We'll have a little in-class exercise as well on Friday:

El descenso se ha hecho patente en los últimos tres años, según el coordinador de la campaña de océanos y costas de Greenpeace en México, Alejandro Olivera.

En años anteriores la media era de 3.000 ballenas anuales, pero en la temporada 2006-2007 únicamente se registró un millar, agregó.

La Secretaría de Medio Ambiente mexicana (Semarnat), el ministerio del área, confirmó el descenso en la llegada de esos ejemplares, pero aclaró que no se debe a causas originadas en el país, sino al camino que siguen los cetáceos para llegar hasta él.