Breakdown of Je le vois parvenir à bloquer le coup.
je
I
voir
to see
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
parvenir à
to manage to
Questions & Answers about Je le vois parvenir à bloquer le coup.
Why do we need the word à after parvenir?
The verb parvenir requires the preposition à when it is followed by an infinitive verb. Together, parvenir à means to manage to or to succeed in doing something. Since bloquer (to block) is an infinitive, the à is the necessary bridge connecting the two verbs.
Why is the pronoun le placed before vois instead of before parvenir?
With verbs of perception like voir (to see) and entendre (to hear), an object pronoun that acts as the doer of the second verb must be placed before the conjugated perception verb. That is why le goes right before vois, even though he is the one managing to block the blow.
What is the difference between parvenir à and réussir à?
In this context, they mean exactly the same thing: to manage to or to succeed in. Both require the preposition à before an infinitive. Parvenir à can sound slightly more formal or imply that a bit more effort was required to achieve the goal, but you can safely swap them here.
Does parvenir always mean to manage to?
No. In other contexts, parvenir simply means to reach or to arrive (like a letter arriving at a destination). It takes on the meaning of managing or succeeding specifically when it is followed by à and an action.