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Yo miraba las huellas, pero no vi a nadie.

Yo miraba las huellas, pero no vi a nadie.
I was looking at the footprints, but I didn't see anyone.
From Lesson 149:Indefinite pronouns for people (alguien, nadie)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Yo miraba las huellas, pero no vi a nadie.

Why are there two negatives in no vi a nadie? Doesn't that mean 'I didn't see nobody'?
In Spanish, double negatives are perfectly correct and required here! When a negative word like nadie (nobody/anybody) comes after the verb, you must put a no before the verb. So, no vi a nadie is the standard way to say 'I didn't see anyone.'
Why is there an a before nadie?
That is the 'personal a'. In Spanish, when the direct object of a verb is a person, you must put an a right before it. Even though nadie means 'nobody', it still refers to people grammatically, so it requires the personal a.
Why does the sentence use miraba and vi instead of the same past tense for both?
This sentence perfectly shows the difference between the two Spanish past tenses. Miraba is the imperfect tense, which sets the scene for an ongoing background action (I was looking). Vi is the preterite tense, which focuses on a specific, completed event (I didn't see anyone in that moment).
Why does the sentence use two different verbs, mirar and ver, for looking and seeing?
Just like in English, looking and seeing are two different actions. Mirar means to look at or watch something on purpose (like examining the footprints). Ver means to see, which is the physical act of noticing something with your eyes.

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