Question 1

Why is cerrando used here instead of the infinitive cerrar?

Accepted Answer

With perception verbs like ver, using the gerund (cerrando) emphasizes that you caught the action in progress—you saw him while he was in the middle of closing it. If you used the infinitive (Vimos al vendedor cerrar la taquilla), it would imply you saw the completed action from start to finish (you saw him close it).

Question 2

Why do we need the al (a + el) before vendedor?

Accepted Answer

The verb ver requires the "personal a" when its direct object is a specific person. Even though the seller is doing the action of closing, grammatically he is the direct object of what "we saw." Because el vendedor is masculine singular, the personal a merges with el to form al.

Question 3

How would the pronoun placement work if I wanted to replace the nouns and say "We saw him closing it"?

Accepted Answer

The pronouns split up based on which verb they belong to. The seller is the direct object of what you saw, so its pronoun (lo) goes before the conjugated verb vimos. The ticket booth is the direct object of the closing, so its pronoun (la) attaches to the gerund cerrando. The full sentence would be: Lo vimos cerrándola. (Notice that adding a pronoun to the end of a gerund requires a written accent mark to maintain the original stress).

Question 4

Is taquilla the only word for ticket booth in Latin America?

Accepted Answer

While taquilla is widely understood, you will frequently hear boletería in many Latin American countries (such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru). This is because a ticket is often called a boleto in Latin America, whereas Spain uses billete.

Vimos al vendedor cerrando la taquilla.

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