se le viera

Question

This sentence is puzzling me:

El muchacho se aficionó tanto a aquellas incursiones nocturnas, que pasó mucho tiempo antes de que se le viera en la tienda de Catarino.

I think it means:

The boy became so fond of those night raids, that many time passed before he was seen at Catarino's shop.

I understand that "se viera" is the pronominal verb "Verse" (to see oneself) , third person subjonctive imperfect. But I just can't explain the use of the indirect object pronoun "le" in this sentence.

Answer 1

I don't think the se is reflexive but impersonal or passive ( was seen) and the le (him) is the object that was seen. I would have used lo as in English I think it would be a direct object, but Spanish makes many d.o.'s in English sentences into i.o.'s (or it is a leísmo).

se dice español

se viera (le)

Thank you very much gfreed - planf, Feb 25, 2010

Don't take my word for it. I'm a beginner too. - 0074b507, Feb 25, 2010

Answer 2

Yes, you are correct that it means "he was seen". I am embarrassed that I cannot explain the use of "le" in there (I should be able to), but - you know - some things in language are a certain way "just because".

I just wanted to confirm your translation...I am also wondering if that line is out of a particular book or story? It seems like something that I would enjoy reading. Mil gracias!

Answer 3

i think that u r right because i looked up viera and it means "see" and se means "himself" so "seen himself" le refers to him-"se"

Thank you teddylu07 :-) - planf, Feb 25, 2010

Answer 4

Thank you gfreed for your valuable explanation. You solved the mystery. It is clear now. I checked the word "leísmo" in the dictionary and there it was:

leísmo sm 1. GRAM use of le as direct object instead of lo

Super !!! I will go to bed less ignorant tonight

Answer 5

El muchacho se afligio tanto de aquellas incursiones nocturnas, que pasó mucho tiempo antes de que se le viera en la tienda de Catarino

"....... , that spent a lot of time before he was seen in the shop of Catarino"

Answer 6

Thank you mountaingirl for taking the time to confirm this translation. That line is indeed coming from a novel: Cien años de soledad de Gabriel García Márquez. I have heard a lot about this author but I never thought I would be reading one of his novels in Spanish. I must say it's giving me quite a challenge. Sometimes it is like being a detective. I need to analyze the sentences, read them over and over and constantly search for words on my Ipod touch. But slowly I am getting used to the writer's style, reading flows better and I notice that it becomes easier for me to read Spanish news paper articles so I guess it is worth the effort.