Questions & Answers about Yo era tímido, pero ahora dejo el regalo sin que ella me vea.
Why does the sentence use sin que ella me vea instead of sin verme?
Because there are two different subjects. Yo (I) am leaving the gift, but ella (she) is the one who might see. When the subject changes after 'without', Spanish requires sin que followed by a conjugated verb. If the subject stayed the same (like 'I leave the gift without looking'), you would just use sin followed by an infinitive like sin mirar.
Why is the verb vea in the subjunctive instead of the regular present tense ve?
The phrase sin que always triggers the subjunctive. This is because it introduces an action that is not happening or is being actively avoided. You are leaving the gift specifically so that her seeing you remains a hypothetical event that does not actually occur.
Why use the imperfect era instead of the preterite fui for 'I was shy'?
You use the imperfect era because being shy was an ongoing description or background state in the past, basically meaning 'I used to be shy'. If you used fui, it would sound like you were shy for a single, specific, and completed event.
Why is the pronoun me placed before vea?