Accidental se: se me cayó, se te olvidó (Unplanned Events)
For accidents, Spanish says the thing happened to you: Se me cayó el vaso (I dropped the glass; literally "the glass fell", with me showing who it happened to). It takes the blame off the person.
The rule at a glance
se + me/te/le/nos/os/les + verb (3rd person) + thing
The verb agrees with the thing, not the person; Se always comes first
Singular thing
se me cayó
I dropped
Se me cayó el teléfono
I dropped my phone
Plural things
se te olvidaron
you forgot
Se te olvidaron las llaves
You forgot your keys
Running out
se nos acabó
we ran out of
Se nos acabó la leche
We ran out of milk
- It removes blame: Rompí el plato (I broke the plate) puts the blame on you; Se me rompió el plato says it just happened.
- Common verbs: caer, olvidar, romper, perder, acabar, quemar, ocurrir.
Forms
Three parts: se, an indirect object pronoun for the person it happens to, and the verb in the 3rd person.
| Pronoun | Who it happens to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| me | me | Se me cayó |
| te | you (informal) | Se te olvidó |
| le | him, her, you (formal) | Se le rompió |
| nos | us | Se nos perdió |
| os | you all (Spain) | Se os acabó |
| les | them, you all (formal) | Se les quemó |
The verb agrees with the thing
The thing that fell, broke or got lost is the grammatical subject, so the verb is singular or plural to match it. The person is just the "victim".
| Thing | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | Se me cayó la taza | I dropped the cup |
| Plural | Se me cayeron las tazas | I dropped the cups |
| Singular | Se te olvidó el libro | You forgot the book |
| Plural | Se te olvidaron los libros | You forgot the books |
When to use it
For unplanned events, mostly with these verbs: caer, olvidar, romper, perder and acabar. As with passive se, the thing becomes the subject (se me rompieron las gafas: the verb agrees with it).
1. Caer: dropping things
Se me cayó el teléfono – I dropped my phone
Se te cayó la cartera – You dropped your wallet
Se le cayeron los huevos – He/She dropped the eggs
Se nos cayó el portátil – We dropped the laptop
2. Olvidar: forgetting
Se me olvidó tu cumpleaños – I forgot your birthday
Se te olvidaron las llaves – You forgot your keys
Se le olvidó la reunión – He/She forgot the meeting
Se nos olvidó dónde aparcamos – We forgot where we parked
3. Romper: breaking
Se me rompió la pantalla – I broke my screen
Se te rompió el plato – You broke the plate
Se le rompió la taza – His/Her cup broke
Se nos rompió la ventana – Our window broke
4. Perder: losing
Se me perdió el pasaporte – I lost my passport
Se te perdieron los documentos – You lost the documents
Se le perdió el perro – He/She lost the dog
Se nos perdieron las llaves – We lost the keys
5. Acabar: running out
Se me acabó la batería – My battery died
Se te acabó la paciencia – You ran out of patience
Se le acabó el dinero – He/She ran out of money
Se nos acabó la gasolina – We ran out of petrol
6. Quemar: burning
Se me quemó la cena – I burnt dinner
Se te quemó el arroz – You burnt the rice
Se le quemó la comida – His/Her food burnt
Se nos quemaron las tostadas – Our toast burnt
7. Ocurrir and escapar: ideas and slips
Se me ocurrió una idea – An idea occurred to me
Se le escapó el nombre – He/She let the name slip
Common mistakes
Not this (incorrect): Me cayó el vaso
But this (correct): Se me cayó el vaso – I dropped the glass. The se is required: it marks the accidental construction.
Not this (incorrect): Me se cayó el vaso
But this (correct): Se me cayó el vaso – I dropped the glass. Se always comes before the indirect object pronoun (me, te, le).
Not this (incorrect): Se me cayó las llaves
But this (correct): Se me cayeron las llaves – I dropped the keys. The verb agrees with the thing (las llaves, plural), not the person.
Not the reflexive
Not this (incorrect): Me caí el vaso
But this (correct): Se me cayó el vaso – I dropped the glass. "Me caí" means "I fell over" (reflexive caerse).
Quick check
8 questions1. How do you say 'I dropped the glass' (accident)?
'Se me cayó el vaso' uses the accidental se pattern: se + me + verb (singular, agreeing with 'vaso').
2. 'You (informal) forgot your books' - choose the correct form:
The verb must agree with 'los libros' (plural), so use 'olvidaron'. Also, 'se' comes before 'te'.
3. 'The food burnt (on us)' - which is correct?
'Se nos quemó la comida' follows the pattern: se + nos + verb (singular, matching 'comida').
4. 'We lost the keys' - which is correct?
'Se nos perdieron las llaves' - 'se' before 'nos', and verb must be plural to match 'las llaves'.
5. 'His/Her cup broke' - choose the right option:
'Se le rompió la taza' - 'se' comes first, then 'le' (not 'lo'), and the verb is singular to match 'la taza'.
6. 'An idea occurred to me' - select the correct form:
'Se me ocurrió una idea' - you need 'se' before 'me', and the verb must be singular to match 'una idea'.
7. Which shows the person as the 'victim' of circumstances?
The accidental se construction 'se me quemó la comida' softens responsibility and shows it as an accident.
8. 'They ran out of battery' - which is correct?
'Se les acabó la batería' - 'se' before 'les', and the verb is singular because 'la batería' is singular.
Going further
Why it removes blame, and why it is only for accidents
Why use it: taking the blame away
Native speakers use it constantly for accidents. It presents you as the one it happened to, softens responsibility and implies it was beyond your control.
Rompí el plato – I broke the plate (sounds like you did it)
Se me rompió el plato – The plate broke (on me): an accident
Only for unplanned events
For something you did on purpose, use the normal verb: Quemé las fotos viejas. Se me quemaron las fotos would make it an accident.
Quemé las fotos viejas – I burnt the old photos (on purpose)
More examples
Se nos perdió el perro – We lost our dog
Se me quemó la comida – I burnt the food