Is this a typo?

Question

I am reading more and more Spanish now and it is really helping me to learn and better understand. However, I'm still at a level where if I see something that doesn't seem right, I am unsure whether it is because I haven't understood, or it's just a genuine typo!

I read the sentence below on another website. Shouldn't the verb 'agradecer' be conjugated to 'agradecieron' here and not 'agradeció' as stated in the text?

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Se le agradeció al señor cónsul que hubiera estado presente en la ceremonia de graduación.

They thanked the consul for having attended the graduation ceremony.

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Gracias de antemano, agradezco mucho tu ayuda.

The sentence is correct. It's not a typo. Hi Billy! - cogumela, Oct 1, 2011

hi cogu :-) Thank you for the clarification. Have a fantastic weekend! - billygoat, Oct 1, 2011

Answer 1

Hola mate.

I believe it's a passive se with indirect object.

So it's more of 'he was thanked that he had......' It's not stated who did the thanking, but it was done. Just like 'I was told: se me dijo', I'm not stating who told me that...

That's my take on it.

Edit:

The active construction should be ... le agradecieron su presencia or (le) la agradecieron ----> se la agradecieron

Very good, SP! (my only "quejita" is that lo should become la if you're referring to presencia) - Deanski, Oct 1, 2011

Thank you, Dean! - SpanishPal, Oct 1, 2011

thank you so much Sanishpal - your Spanish is far more advanced th.an mine!! - billygoat, Oct 1, 2011

You're so very welcome, mate. :) - SpanishPal, Oct 1, 2011

What if "they" was "la gente", "la familia", or some other group....? Entonces.... - Goldie_Miel, Oct 1, 2011