Direct & indirect object pronoun question

Question

Hi guys, I came across this phrase in an article recently:

Miguel se le apareció a Josué.

Michael appeared to Joseph.

but I was wondering why the 'se' was needed? I would have thought the 'le' would suffice? What am I missing? :(

Answer 1

Hi Kiwi, this is what the "bible" says:

1. intr. Manifestarse, dejarse ver, por lo común, causando sorpresa, admiración u otro movimiento del ánimo. U. t. c. prnl.

2. intr. Dicho de una cosa que estaba perdida u oculta: Encontrarse, hallarse. U. menos c. prnl.

Which means, when it is a sudden appearance like a ghost or something, we use the pronominal form with se, otherwise, we find something lost, we say: aparecer only.

awesome. thanx Heidi :) - Kiwi-Girl, Nov 20, 2010