Spanish se for Unplanned Events (se me cayó, se me olvidó)

Spanish tells an accident as something that happened to you, not something you did:

• Se me cayó el vaso. - I dropped the glass. (literally: the glass fell on me)
• Se me olvidaron las llaves. - I forgot the keys.

The accidental se at a glance

Three pieces always come in the same order: se, a pronoun for the unlucky person, then the verb. The thing that fell, broke or got lost is the subject:

The pronouns are the indirect object set from object pronouns. This se is not the reflexive one of reflexive verbs: nobody does anything to themselves here.

The verb agrees with the thing

The thing is the subject, so the verb matches it: one thing, a singular verb; two or more, a plural verb. The person changes nothing:

An infinitive or a whole clause counts as one thing, so the verb stays singular:

• Se me olvidó llamarte. - I forgot to call you.
• Se me olvidó que hoy no había clase. - I forgot there was no class today.

Whose fault? Three ways to say it

The same broken glass can be told three ways, and the grammar decides how much of it is yours:

Rompí el vaso is correct, but it says you did it and takes the blame. For a genuine accident, Spanish reaches for the middle one. Forgetting works the same way, and all three of these are correct:

• Olvidé las llaves. - I forgot the keys. (plain olvidar)
• Me olvidé de las llaves. - I forgot the keys. (olvidarse de)
• Se me olvidaron las llaves. - I forgot the keys. (it slipped my mind)

The verbs that take it

The verbs of accidents, losses and sudden thoughts:

Note the article: Spanish says la cartera, las gafas, where English says "my". The me already says whose. Se me ocurrió is the everyday way to say "I had an idea", a thought that happened to you.

A Pedro se le cayó: naming the person

Le and les do not say who. Add a + the person, as with any indirect object:

A Pedro is not the subject: the glasses are, which is why the verb is plural. One person is le; two or more is les.

Mistakes English speakers make

What to do next

1. Tell three small accidents from your week with se me cayó, se me olvidó and se me rompió.
2. Do the story and spot-the-error drills below.
3. Then reciprocal verbs: se quieren, nos vemos.