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  1. One cannot see himself/herself in the dark.

When only the reflexive se is being used. the sentence.

no se puede ver en la oscuridad means he/she cannot see himself/herself in the dark

When only the impersonal se is being used, the sentence,

no se puede ver en la oscuridad means one cannot see in the dark.

However, I don't understand how to construct sentences when both the reflexive pronoun and the impersonal se is required.

likewise, I would translate sentences 2 and 3 in a similar manner which isn't the desired construction.

  1. One should be happy with himself/herself.

  2. One should judge himself/herself before judging others.

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  • One does not simply walk into Mordor. Sorry, couldn't resist. What have you tried so far?
    – Charlie
    Mar 16, 2018 at 7:27
  • no se puede ver en la oscuridad he/she cannot see himself/herself in the dark or one cannot see in the dark. but i can't combine them to get the desired answers. btw, Mordor i think is related to lord of the rings maybe, i don't know. Not really a fan. Mar 16, 2018 at 7:39
  • Yes, it's a reference to The Lord of the Rings. You should add your attempts to the question and explain why you think you need help. Doing so will help us to give you better answers. I imagine you do not only want the translations, but also an explanation about them.
    – Charlie
    Mar 16, 2018 at 7:41
  • Sentences 2 and 3 would be easier to translate if you use "oneself" that goes easily to "uno mismo". One should be happy with oneself = Uno debe ser feliz con uno mismo. A word by word translation works in this case.
    – DGaleano
    Mar 16, 2018 at 14:18
  • @ DGaleano I like the way you rephrased it. very helpful :) Mar 17, 2018 at 0:46

1 Answer 1

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In such cases, the impersonal se is impossible, and uno is needed. The addition of a sí mismo (meaning oneself) is optional:

Uno no se puede ver [a sí mismo] en la oscuridad.

Uno debe quererse [a sí mismo].

Uno debe juzgarse [a sí mismo] antes de juzgar a otros.

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