Breakdown of Vigila al rehén sin que nadie te vea.
ver
to see / to look / appear
que
that / than
te
to you / you (direct object)
nadie
no one
sin
without
el rehén
the hostage
vigilar
to guard / to watch (monitor, keep an eye on)
a
personal 'a' (marks a human direct object)
Questions & Answers about Vigila al rehén sin que nadie te vea.
Why is the subjunctive vea used here instead of the indicative ve?
The phrase sin que (without) is a conjunction that always triggers the subjunctive in Spanish. It introduces a condition or an outcome that the speaker wants to avoid or hasn't happened yet.
Why do we say al rehén instead of just el rehén?
This is the personal a combining with the masculine article el to form al. Whenever a specific person, or a noun referring to a person like rehén, is the direct object of a verb, you must put an a in front of it.
Doesn't sin que nadie literally mean 'without nobody'? Why use a negative word here?
Is vigila in the present tense here?
No, it is the affirmative imperative (command) form for tú. While it looks exactly like the present tense for él or ella, here it is a direct order telling the listener to guard or watch the hostage.
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