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Impersonal Constructions

How languages express actions without a specific agent in Spanish, English and Chinese.

Compare languages

Spanish uses se and third-person plural. English uses it, there, and passive. Chinese drops the subject entirely. Each language has distinct strategies for agentless statements.

Overview

Impersonal constructions express events, states, or obligations without identifying a specific agent.

Spanish: Uses se (impersonal/reflexive passive), third-person plural (dicen que), impersonal verbs (llueve, hace frío), and hay for existence. The subject is often omitted entirely.
English: Uses dummy subjects (it, there), passive voice, generic pronouns (you, one, they), and nominalizations. Cannot omit the subject.
Chinese: Omits the subject entirely when context permits. Uses implicit subjects for weather, time, and general statements. No dummy pronouns.

Spanish

Se + verb (impersonal)

The impersonal se replaces the subject:

Se habla español. (Spanish is spoken.)
Se vende coches. (Cars are sold.)
Se dice que… (It is said that…)
No se puede fumar. (One cannot smoke. / Smoking is not allowed.)

Note: When the object precedes the verb, se becomes a passive marker:

El español se habla aquí. (Spanish is spoken here.)

Impersonal verbs

Spanish verbs that only exist in third person:

Verb	Meaning
llover	to rain
nevar	to snow
tronar	to thunder
amanecer	to dawn
anochecer	to get dark
hacer + noun	to be (weather)

Weather expressions:

Llueve. (It’s raining.)
Nieva. (It’s snowing.)
Hace frío. (It’s cold.)
Hace calor. (It’s hot.)
Hace viento. (It’s windy.)
Hace sol. (It’s sunny.)

Third-person plural for “people”

Dicen que… (They say that… / People say that…)
En mi país comen tarde. (In my country, people eat late.)
Aquí bailan mucho. (Here they dance a lot.)

Hay / estar for existence

Hay un problema. (There is a problem.)
Hay mucha gente. (There are many people.)
No hay solución. (There is no solution.)

Impersonal expressions

Expression	Meaning
es necesario que	it is necessary that
es importante que	it is important that
es posible que	it is possible that
hay que + infinitive	one must
conviene que	it is advisable that
falta / sobra	there is lacking / there is excess

Se hace / se está haciendo

Se hace tarde. (It’s getting late.)
Se está haciendo tarde. (It’s getting late [progressive].)

English

Dummy it

English requires it for weather, time, and distance:

It is raining.
It is snowing.
It is cold.
It is 5 o’clock.
It is Tuesday.
It is a long way to Tipperary.

Dummy there

There introduces existence:

There is a problem.
There are many people.
There is no solution.
There seems to be a mistake.
There appears to be an error.

Generic you / one / they

You can’t smoke here. (general rule)
One must be careful. (formal, generic)
They say he’s rich. (unspecified people)
People say he’s rich. (explicit generic)

Passive for agent deletion

Spanish is spoken here. (by unspecified people)
The car was stolen. (by someone unknown)
It is believed that… (people believe that…)
It is known that… (everyone knows that…)

Impersonal it + adjective + to-infinitive

It is important to study.
It is necessary to leave.
It is easy to learn.
It is difficult to say.

It seems / appears / happens

It seems that he left.
It appears that we were wrong.
It happens that I know him.

Cleft it

It was John who broke the window.
It is here that we met.

Chinese

Subject omission (most common)

Chinese simply omits the subject when it is understood:

Weather:

下xià雨yǔ了le。(Raining. — “It’s raining.”)
下xià雪xuě了le。(Snowing.)
很hěn冷lěng。(Very cold. — “It’s cold.”)
天tiān气qì热rè。(Weather hot.)

Time:

八bā点diǎn了le。(Eight o’clock.)
明míng天tiān星xīng期qī一yī。(Tomorrow Monday.)

Obligation:

要yào走zǒu了le。(Need to go.)
该gāi吃chī饭fàn了le。(Time to eat.)

据jù说shuō / 听tīng说shuō (it is said)

据jù说shuō他tā很hěn有yǒu钱qián。(It is said that he is rich.)
听tīng说shuō下xià雨yǔ了le。(I heard it’s raining.)

好hǎo像xiàng / 似sì乎hū (it seems)

好hǎo像xiàng要yào下xià雨yǔ。(It seems like it’s going to rain.)
似sì乎hū没méi有yǒu问wèn题tí。(It seems there is no problem.)

有yǒu for existence

有yǒu问wèn题tí。(There is a problem.)
没méi有yǒu办bàn法fǎ。(There is no solution.)
有yǒu很hěn多duō人rén。(There are many people.)

被bèi passive (agentless)

车chē被bèi偷tōu了le。(The car was stolen. — agent unknown)
中zhōng文wén在zài这zhè里lǐ被bèi人rén说shuō。(Chinese is spoken here.)

禁jīn止zhǐ / 不bù许xǔ (prohibition)

禁jìn止zhǐ吸xī烟yān。(Smoking prohibited.)
不bù许xǔ停tíng车chē。(No parking.)
请qǐng勿wù触chù摸mō。(Do not touch.)

让ràng / 叫jiào for impersonal causative

让ràng我wǒ想xiǎng想xiang。(Let me think.)
叫jiào人rén怎zěn么me说shuō？(What can one say?)

Comparison at a glance

Construction	Spanish	English	Chinese
Weather	Llueve / Nieva	It rains / It snows	下xià雨yǔ / 下xià雪xuě
Time	Son las tres	It is three o’clock	三sān点diǎn了le
Temperature	Hace frío	It is cold	很hěn冷lěng
Existence	Hay un problema	There is a problem	有yǒu问wèn题tí
Obligation	Hay que estudiar	One must study	要yào学xué习xí
General statement	Se dice que	It is said that	据jù说shuō
Prohibition	No se puede fumar	Smoking is forbidden	禁jīn止zhǐ吸xī烟yān
Dummy subject	None (subject omitted)	It / There	None (subject omitted)

Examples

In Context

Spanish	English	Chinese
Llueve.	It’s raining.	下xià雨yǔ了le。
Hay un problema.	There is a problem.	有yǒu问wèn题tí。
Se dice que es rico.	It is said that he is rich.	据jù说shuō他tā很hěn有yǒu钱qián。

Common mistakes

English speakers learning Spanish: Using ello/esto for weather: Ello llueve → Llueve
English speakers learning Chinese: Using 它tā for weather: 它tā下xià雨yǔ了le → 下xià雨yǔ了le
Spanish speakers learning English: Omitting it: Is raining → It is raining
Chinese speakers learning English: Omitting there/it: Has a problem → There is a problem

Existence: How existence is expressed
Passive: How agentless passives work
Ellipsis: How subjects are omitted
Topic-Comment: How Chinese structures information without explicit subjects

Examples

It is raining

Llueve / Está lloviendo

One must study

Hay que estudiar / Se debe estudiar

They say / People say

Se dice / Dicen que

It seems that

Parece que

There is no solution

No hay solución

It is forbidden to smoke

Está prohibido fumar / No se puede fumar

It is cold

Hace frío / Está frío

Agent deletion strategy

Se + verb / Impersonal plural

Examples

It is raining

One must study

One must study / You have to study

They say / People say

They say / People say / It is said

It seems that

It seems that / It appears that

There is no solution

It is forbidden to smoke

Smoking is forbidden / No smoking

It is cold

Agent deletion strategy

Passive / It/There placeholder / Generic you/one

Examples

It is raining

下xià雨yǔ了le

One must study

要yào学xué习xí / 必bì须xū学xué习xí

They say / People say

听tīng说shuō / 据jù说shuō

It seems that

好hǎo像xiàng / 似sì乎hū

There is no solution

没méi有yǒu办bàn法fǎ

It is forbidden to smoke

不bù许xǔ抽chōu烟yān / 禁jīn止zhǐ吸xī烟yān

It is cold

很hěn冷lěng / 天tiān气qì冷lěng

Agent deletion strategy

Subject omission / 被bèi passive / implicit agent

Comparison at a glance

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
It is raining	Llueve / Está lloviendo	It is raining	下xià雨yǔ了le
One must study	Hay que estudiar / Se debe estudiar	One must study / You have to study	要yào学xué习xí / 必bì须xū学xué习xí
They say / People say	Se dice / Dicen que	They say / People say / It is said	听tīng说shuō / 据jù说shuō
It seems that	Parece que	It seems that / It appears that	好hǎo像xiàng / 似sì乎hū
There is no solution	No hay solución	There is no solution	没méi有yǒu办bàn法fǎ
It is forbidden to smoke	Está prohibido fumar / No se puede fumar	Smoking is forbidden / No smoking	不bù许xǔ抽chōu烟yān / 禁jīn止zhǐ吸xī烟yān
It is cold	Hace frío / Está frío	It is cold	很hěn冷lěng / 天tiān气qì冷lěng
Agent deletion strategy	Se + verb / Impersonal plural	Passive / It/There placeholder / Generic you/one	Subject omission / 被bèi passive / implicit agent

Side-by-side comparison

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
It is raining	Llueve / Está lloviendo	It is raining	下xià雨yǔ了le
One must study	Hay que estudiar / Se debe estudiar	One must study / You have to study	要yào学xué习xí / 必bì须xū学xué习xí
They say / People say	Se dice / Dicen que	They say / People say / It is said	听tīng说shuō / 据jù说shuō
It seems that	Parece que	It seems that / It appears that	好hǎo像xiàng / 似sì乎hū
There is no solution	No hay solución	There is no solution	没méi有yǒu办bàn法fǎ
It is forbidden to smoke	Está prohibido fumar / No se puede fumar	Smoking is forbidden / No smoking	不bù许xǔ抽chōu烟yān / 禁jīn止zhǐ吸xī烟yān
It is cold	Hace frío / Está frío	It is cold	很hěn冷lěng / 天tiān气qì冷lěng
Agent deletion strategy	Se + verb / Impersonal plural	Passive / It/There placeholder / Generic you/one	Subject omission / 被bèi passive / implicit agent

Examples in context

It is raining

Spanish

Llueve / Está lloviendo

English

It is raining

Chinese

下xià雨yǔ了le

One must study

Spanish

Hay que estudiar / Se debe estudiar

English

One must study / You have to study

Chinese

要yào学xué习xí / 必bì须xū学xué习xí

They say / People say

Spanish

Se dice / Dicen que

English

They say / People say / It is said

Chinese

听tīng说shuō / 据jù说shuō

It seems that

Spanish

Parece que

English

It seems that / It appears that

Chinese

好hǎo像xiàng / 似sì乎hū

There is no solution

Spanish

No hay solución

English

There is no solution

Chinese

没méi有yǒu办bàn法fǎ

It is forbidden to smoke

Spanish

Está prohibido fumar / No se puede fumar

English

Smoking is forbidden / No smoking

Chinese

不bù许xǔ抽chōu烟yān / 禁jīn止zhǐ吸xī烟yān

It is cold

Spanish

Hace frío / Está frío

English

It is cold

Chinese

很hěn冷lěng / 天tiān气qì冷lěng

Agent deletion strategy

Spanish

Se + verb / Impersonal plural

English

Passive / It/There placeholder / Generic you/one

Chinese

Subject omission / 被bèi passive / implicit agent

Key Takeaways

Spanish: Uses se (impersonal/reflexive passive), third-person plural (dicen que), impersonal verbs (llueve, hace frío), and hay for existence. The su.

English: Uses dummy subjects (it, there), passive voice, generic pronouns (you, one, they), and nominalizations. Cannot omit the subject.

Chinese: Omits the subject entirely when context permits. Uses implicit subjects for weather, time, and general statements. No dummy pronouns.

Key concepts compared: It is raining, One must study, They say / People say.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Spanish use the verb alone for weather while English requires a dummy 'it' subject?

Spanish is a pro-drop language where rich verb conjugation makes the subject recoverable. Weather verbs like *llueve* and *hace frío* are inherently impersonal and require no subject. English is a non-pro-drop language where every finite clause must have an explicit subject. When no real subject exists, English inserts the dummy pronoun 'it': 'It is raining.' Chinese, like Spanish, drops the subject entirely: <ruby>下<rt>xià</rt></ruby><ruby>雨<rt>yǔ</rt></ruby><ruby>了<rt>le</rt></ruby> (down-rain-[change]). An English speaker learning Spanish will produce *Ello llueve* or *Está lloviendo* (acceptable but less common), while a Spanish speaker learning English will struggle to remember that 'it' is obligatory even when it refers to nothing.

How does Chinese impersonal construction differ from Spanish 'se' and English passive strategies?

Chinese simply omits the subject when the agent is unknown or unimportant: <ruby>要<rt>yào</rt></ruby><ruby>吃<rt>chī</rt></ruby><ruby>饭<rt>fàn</rt></ruby><ruby>了<rt>le</rt></ruby> (time to eat — literally 'want eat rice [change]'). Spanish uses the impersonal *se* construction: *Se habla español* (Spanish is spoken) or the third-person plural: *Dicen que...* (They say that...). English uses the passive: 'It is said that...' or the generic 'you/one/they.' A Chinese speaker learning Spanish must learn that *se* is not optional but grammatically required for impersonal statements. An English speaker learning Chinese must abandon passive constructions and accept that the subject can simply disappear.

Why do English speakers overuse passive voice in Spanish where Spanish would use an active or impersonal construction?

English uses passive voice far more frequently than Spanish. In formal English, 'The report was submitted' is natural. In Spanish, the active is preferred: *Entregaron el informe* (They submitted the report). When the agent is truly unknown, Spanish prefers the impersonal *se*: *Se entregó el informe*. English speakers learning Spanish will produce *El informe fue entregado* (grammatically correct but stylistically heavy) because English habitually suppresses the agent. Spanish speakers learning English, conversely, must learn that passive voice is a standard register tool, not a grammatical error.

References

Nueva gramática de la lengua española — Real Academia Española / Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, 2010
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language — Huddleston & Pullum, Cambridge University Press, 2002
A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Chinese Language — Li & Thompson, 1981

Read this first

verb-tenses passive

Last updated: June 4, 2026

Overview

Spanish

Se + verb (impersonal)

Impersonal verbs

Third-person plural for “people”

Hay / estar for existence

Impersonal expressions

Se hace / se está haciendo

English

Dummy it

Dummy there

Generic you / one / they

Passive for agent deletion

Impersonal it + adjective + to-infinitive

It seems / appears / happens

Cleft it

Chinese

Subject omission (most common)

据jù说shuō / 听tīng说shuō (it is said)

好hǎo像xiàng / 似sì乎hū (it seems)

有yǒu for existence

被bèi passive (agentless)

禁jīn止zhǐ / 不bù许xǔ (prohibition)

让ràng / 叫jiào for impersonal causative

Comparison at a glance

Examples

In Context

Common mistakes

Related topics

Examples

Examples

Examples

Comparison at a glance

Side-by-side comparison

Examples in context

Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions

References