es (agent inespecífic)
Impersonal Es
Impersonal es leaves a human agent unspecified and commonly uses a third-person singular verb.
How It Works
Use impersonal es to speak about what people do without naming an actor: aquí es treballa molt. With an intransitive verb there is no direct object that could become a grammatical subject. The form is not an instruction that literally names a person called es.
A general description such as en aquesta feina es viatja molt applies to an unspecified class of workers. It does not identify a hidden plural subject with which the verb must agree. By contrast, es revisen expedients is passive and has a plural patient subject. In instructions, an active personal form can make responsibility clearer when a specific reader must perform the action; choose impersonality only when that generality is intended.
Examples (3)
- En aquesta feina es viatja molt.
This job involves a lot of travel.
- Aquí es parla amb calma.
People speak calmly here.
- A la biblioteca no es crida.
People do not shout in the library.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Recognize a genuinely unspecified agent before distinguishing passive agreement.