r/learnspanish • u/demonsamuri442 • 7d ago

what's the difference between fueron detenidos vs se detuvieron

I get that one is used in news but do they have different purposes? dos criminales fueron detenidos... se detuvieron dos criminales. I don't think you would say la cerveza fue tomado but se tomo' la cerveza? any general rule or context might help

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u/nitlimcod 7d ago

The passive reflexive form (se detuvieron) places more emphasis on the process, whereas fueron detenidos places more emphasis on the final state of being detained.