се (безлично)
Impersonal Constructions
Impersonal constructions with се describe general actions, social conventions, or states where the actor is a generalized, unspecified human agent (like 'one', 'you', or 'people' in English). There is no grammatical subject, and the verb is fixed in the 3rd person singular (neuter -ло in past compound tenses).
How It Works
Impersonal sentences with се (безличне реченице са речцом „се“) are widely used across all registers in Serbian, from administrative notices and scholarly writing to everyday gossip and common idioms.
1. Structural Rules:
- No Nominative Subject: There is no subject noun phrase in the nominative case. If a nominative noun appears, the structure becomes an agreeing reflexive passive rather than an impersonal construction.
- No Accusative Direct Objects: Standard Serbian does not permit an accusative direct object in impersonal се constructions (unlike Polish or Spanish). An utterance like *Овде се пије кафу is ungrammatical; whenever a transitive patient is expressed, it must become the nominative subject in an agreeing reflexive passive: Овде се пије кафа.
- Strict Agreement Forms: The verb appears exclusively in the 3rd person singular in simple tenses, and in the neuter singular (-ло) in past compound tenses. The 3rd person clitic auxiliary је is omitted specifically in the past tense (перфекат са се), e.g., путовало се (not *путовало се је). However, other compound forms and moods retain their auxiliaries, such as the conditional (О томе би се причало) or future II (Ако се буде радило).
- No Agent Phrases: Unlike English passive sentences ('by workers') or Russian instrumental agents, standard Serbian strictly prohibits adding an agent phrase with од стране... to an impersonal се sentence.
2. Distinguishing Similar Structures:
- Impersonal се: Овде се добро једе. ('One eats well here' — intransitive/absolute use, no subject).
- Reflexive Passive: Овде се једу колачи. ('Cakes are eaten here' — колачи is a nominative plural subject; verb agrees in the plural).
- Experiencer Dative: Не спава ми се. ('I don't feel like sleeping' — dative pronoun ми denotes an internal urge, not a generic human rule).
- True Reflexive: Дечак се купа. ('The boy bathes himself' — nominative subject acting upon himself).
Examples (5)
- Овде се не пуши.
Smoking is not permitted here.
Word by Word: Here self not smokes.
A classic public prohibition using a transitive verb absolutely with 'се' to express a generic rule.
- Како се живи?
How is life? / How are things going?
Word by Word: How self lives?
A common informal greeting inquiring about general life using the intransitive verb 'живети' in the impersonal present.
- Радило се до касно у ноћ.
People worked until late into the night.
Word by Word: Worked-neuter self until late into night.
In compound past forms, the participle takes the neuter singular ending '-ло', and the auxiliary 'је' is omitted.
- О томе се дуго говорило.
People talked about that for a long time.
Word by Word: About that self long spoke-neuter.
Shows an intransitive verb with a prepositional complement expressing widespread human discussion.
- У овом раду полази се од претпоставке да су подаци тачни.
In this paper, one proceeds from the assumption that the data are correct.
Word by Word: In this work proceeds self from assumption that are data accurate.
Academic register using impersonal 'се' to maintain objective, scholarly detachment.
Common Mistakes
Using the masculine '-о' ending instead of neuter '-ло' in the past tense.
Радио се много целе недеље.Радило се много целе недеље.Subjectless impersonal verbs in compound tenses must agree in the neuter singular ('-ло'), never the masculine ('-о').
Adding an overt agent phrase ('од стране...') to an impersonal construction.
Овде се добро радило од стране свих радника.Овде се добро радило.Standard Serbian does not allow agent complements with 'од стране' in impersonal 'се' structures; the agent must remain unexpressed.
Failing to make the verb agree when an overt nominative plural subject is present.
У овој продавници се продаје књиге.У овој продавници се продају књиге.If a nominative object/subject is expressed (here plural 'књиге'), the sentence is a reflexive passive and requires full agreement ('продају се'), not an impersonal singular predicate.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To form impersonal statements with 'се' (such as 'Овде се не пуши'), you need to know how to conjugate verbs in the 3rd person singular present tense, how the clitic particle 'се' behaves with verbs, and how to negate verbs.
- се (повратни глаголи)Verbs That Require Se
Understanding the function and placement of the particle 'се' with verbs is essential before learning its impersonal, subjectless use.
Level 3 - не + Verb / нисам / немам / нећуVerb Negation
Impersonal expressions are very frequently negative (e.g., 'овде се не пуши'), requiring familiarity with basic verb negation.
Level 1
Related Patterns
- се (пасив и безлично)Passive Se and Impersonal Se
Contrasts subjectless impersonal 'се' with passive 'се', which takes a nominative subject and requires numerical agreement.
Level 4 - може се / мора сеImpersonal Possibility and Obligation
Covers impersonal modal constructions expressing generalized possibility or obligation.
Level 4 - Passive Constructions
Contrasts the impersonal 'се' construction with canonical passive forms built using passive participles.
Level 4 - се (перфекат)Reflexive Past Tense
Explains clitic behavior and the omission of the auxiliary 'је' when forming compound past tenses with 'се'.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice се (безлично) in Bubblegum
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