Mi abuela me miró con ternura cuando me vio tan nerviosa antes del examen.

My grandmother looked at me with tenderness when she saw me so nervous before the exam.

Breakdown of Mi abuela me miró con ternura cuando me vio tan nerviosa antes del examen.

• mi: my
• con: with
• me: me
• cuando: when

Questions & Answers about Mi abuela me miró con ternura cuando me vio tan nerviosa antes del examen.

Why is me used twice in Mi abuela me miró con ternura cuando me vio...?

Because both verbs have me as their object:

• me miró = she looked at me
• me vio = she saw me

In Spanish, object pronouns are often repeated with each verb if the same person is affected by both actions. English does the same in a way: She looked at me when she saw me.

Here, me is a direct object pronoun in both cases.

Why is it miró in one part and vio in the other? Don’t both mean saw?

They are related, but not identical:

• ver = to see
• mirar = to look at

So:

• me miró con ternura = she looked at me tenderly / with tenderness
• me vio tan nerviosa = she saw me so nervous

A useful contrast is:

• ver = noticing with your eyes
• mirar = directing your gaze at something/someone

Why are both verbs in the preterite: miró and vio?