Ocurrir vs. Ocurrirse

Attribute	Ocurrir	Ocurrirse
Definition	To happen or occur	To come to mind or occur to someone
Transitivity	Can be used as a transitive or intransitive verb	Is always used as a pronominal verb
Subject	The subject is the event or action	The subject is the person to whom the idea occurs
Usage	Used to describe events or actions	Used to describe ideas or thoughts

Definition

Ocurrir and ocurrirse are two commonly used Spanish verbs that are often confused due to their similar meanings. Ocurrir is a regular verb that means "to happen" or "to occur." It is used to describe events or situations that take place. Ocurrirse, on the other hand, is a reflexive verb that means "to occur to someone" or "to come to mind." It is used to express the idea of a thought or idea occurring to someone.

Usage

When using ocurrir, the subject of the sentence is typically the event or situation that is happening. For example, "El accidente ocurrió ayer" translates to "The accident happened yesterday." Ocurrir is often followed by a noun or pronoun that represents the event or situation. Ocurrirse, on the other hand, is used when the subject of the sentence is the person to whom the thought or idea occurs. For example, "Se me ocurrió una idea brillante" translates to "A brilliant idea occurred to me."

Conjugation

Ocurrir is a regular -ir verb, so its conjugation follows the typical pattern for verbs ending in -ir. The conjugation of ocurrir in the present tense is as follows: yo ocurro, tú ocurres, él/ella/usted ocurre, nosotros/nosotras ocurrimos, vosotros/vosotras ocurrís, ellos/ellas/ustedes ocurren. Ocurrirse, being a reflexive verb, is conjugated with the reflexive pronoun se. The conjugation of ocurrirse in the present tense is as follows: yo me ocurre, tú te ocurre, él/ella/usted se ocurre, nosotros/nosotras nos ocurrimos, vosotros/vosotras os ocurrís, ellos/ellas/ustedes se ocurren.

Examples

Here are some examples to illustrate the difference between ocurrir and ocurrirse:

• Ocurrir: El terremoto ocurrió en la madrugada. (The earthquake happened in the early morning.)
• Ocurrirse: Se me ocurrió una solución al problema. (A solution to the problem occurred to me.)

Common Mistakes

One common mistake that Spanish learners make is using ocurrir when they should be using ocurrirse. For example, saying "Se me ocurrió un accidente" instead of "Un accidente ocurrió" would be incorrect. It's important to pay attention to whether the subject of the sentence is the event or situation itself (ocurrir) or the person to whom the thought occurs (ocurrirse).

Context

The choice between ocurrir and ocurrirse often depends on the context in which the sentence is being used. If you are talking about a specific event or situation that happened, ocurrir would be the appropriate verb to use. If you are discussing a thought or idea that came to mind, ocurrirse would be the better choice. Understanding the nuances of these two verbs can help you communicate more effectively in Spanish.