Levanté la mirada al cielo y lo vi lleno de estrellas.

I lifted my gaze to the sky and saw it full of stars.

Breakdown of Levanté la mirada al cielo y lo vi lleno de estrellas.

• yo: I
• de: of
• y: and
• a: to

Questions & Answers about Levanté la mirada al cielo y lo vi lleno de estrellas.

What verb form is levanté and what does it mean?

levanté is the first person singular preterite of levantar. Literally it means I lifted or I raised, but in levanté la mirada it’s idiomatically I lifted my gaze, or more naturally in English, I looked up.

What does la mirada mean?

la mirada is a feminine noun meaning the look or the gaze—the act or direction of looking. It’s a bit more abstract than los ojos (the eyes) and emphasizes the action of seeing.

Why is al used in al cielo instead of a el cielo?

In Spanish, when a (to) is followed by el (the, masculine singular), they contract to al. So al cielo = a el cielo, meaning to the sky.

What does lo refer to in lo vi?

lo is a masculine singular direct-object pronoun that replaces el cielo (the sky). Thus lo vi means I saw it, with it referring to the sky.

Why is vi used instead of ?