To say that you see, hear or feel something happen, put a plain infinitive (the dictionary form of a verb, like _lopen_) at the end, after _zien_, _horen_ or _voelen_, with no _te_: _Ik zie hem lopen_. The person you perceive sits in between, in the object form (_hem_, not _hij_). In the perfect tense (the past with _hebben_), the verb of the senses becomes an infinitive too: _Ik heb hem zien lopen_, not _gezien_.
The pattern
After _zien_, _horen_ and _voelen_, the action you perceive is a plain infinitive at the end of the clause, without _te_. In the perfect, the verb of the senses turns into an infinitive as well: _Ik heb haar horen zingen_.
- Present or past: _Ik hoor de kinderen lachen_, _Ik voelde iets langs mijn been kruipen_.
- The person or thing you perceive is the object, so pronouns take the object form: _Ik zag hem vallen_, _Ik hoorde haar roepen_.
- No _te_ here, unlike after _proberen_ or _vergeten_ (see [infinitives with te](#/lesson/infinitive-with-te)).
- Perfect: _hebben_ + _zien_, _horen_ or _voelen_ + the other infinitive. The auxiliary stays _hebben_ even when the second verb normally takes _zijn_: _Ik heb de bus zien vertrekken_.
- In a subordinate clause (a clause with _dat_, _omdat_ and so on), all the verbs gather at the end: _Ze zegt dat ze hem heeft zien lopen_.
- _Kijken_ and _luisteren_ do not combine with an infinitive like this. For "I watched him cycle off", use _zien_ or a clause with _hoe_: _Ik keek hoe hij wegfietste_.
Examples
| Ik zie hem elke ochtend langs het kanaal lopen. | I see him walking along the canal every morning. |
|---|---|
| Gisteravond hoorde ik de buren weer ruzie maken. | Last night I heard the neighbours arguing again. |
| Vlak voor een presentatie voel ik altijd mijn hart kloppen. | Just before a presentation I always feel my heart pounding. |
| Ik zag mijn trein vertrekken terwijl ik nog naar het perron rende. | I watched my train leave while I was still running to the platform. |
| Hoorde je Priya net over de reorganisatie praten? | Did you just hear Priya talking about the reorganisation? |
| Ik heb hem nog nooit zo hard zien fietsen. | I have never seen him cycle so fast. |
| Mei heeft de pakketbezorger niet horen aanbellen. | Mei didn't hear the delivery driver ring the bell. |
| De buren vertelden dat ze de vloer hadden voelen trillen. | The neighbours said they had felt the floor shake. |
| De huisarts vroeg of ik mijn hart weleens een slag voelde overslaan. | The GP asked whether I ever felt my heart skip a beat. |
Why it works this way
This pattern usually reports something you perceive yourself, while it happens. A _dat_ clause after the same verb often means something quite different:
- _Ik hoorde Joris zingen._ You heard the singing yourself.
- _Ik hoorde dat Joris gaat verhuizen._ Someone told you the news.
- _Ik voel mijn hart kloppen._ A physical sensation.
- _Ik voel dat er iets niet klopt._ A hunch.
English often uses an -ing form here (I heard the baby crying). Dutch uses the infinitive for both "cry" and "crying"; the _-end_ form has other jobs (see [the present participle](#/lesson/present-participle)).
Grammatically, _zien_, _horen_ and _voelen_ behave like modal verbs and [laten](#/lesson/laten): they take a bare infinitive and form a verb cluster (a group of verbs together). In the perfect, verbs of this group appear as an infinitive instead of a past participle when another infinitive depends on them. You met this in [verb clusters](#/lesson/verb-clusters) with _Ik heb kunnen komen_. With no second verb, the normal participle returns: _Ik heb hem gezien_.
When you do see _te_ after one of these verbs, it has another meaning: _De printer hoort gewoon te werken_ (the printer is supposed to just work), _We moeten de trein van acht uur zien te halen_ (we have to try to catch the eight o'clock train).
Remember: glue two sentences together. _Ik zie hem. Hij loopt._ becomes _Ik zie hem lopen_: _hem_ stays an object, _hij_ disappears, and _loopt_ turns back into the infinitive _lopen_, which moves to the end. In the perfect, two infinitives stand side by side and neither gets _ge-_.
Watch out
- Not: _Ik hoorde Daan te fluiten_ Say: _Ik hoorde Daan fluiten_ (no _te_ when you mean hearing something happen)
- Not: _Ik zag hij de fiets pakken_ Say: _Ik zag hem de fiets pakken_ (the person you see is the object)
- Not: _Ik heb haar gezien vertrekken_ Say: _Ik heb haar zien vertrekken_ (with a second verb, _zien_ stays an infinitive)
- Not: _Ik heb hem lopen zien_ Say: _Ik heb hem zien lopen_ (German puts the verb of the senses last; Dutch puts it first)
- Not: _Ik hoorde de baby huilend_ Say: _Ik hoorde de baby huilen_ (English "crying" becomes a plain infinitive here)
Quick check
- Choose: _Op het perron zag ik Ahmed naar de verkeerde trein ..._ (rennen, te rennen, rennend)
- Fill in _heeft_ or _is_: _Joris ... de kat van het dak zien springen._
- Choose: _Ik hoorde ... in de gang telefoneren._ (zij, haar)
- Fix the verb form and keep the perfect: _Tijdens de storm heb ik het hele huis gevoeld trillen._
Answers
- _rennen_: a plain infinitive, without _te_ and without _-end_.
- _heeft_: _zien_ takes _hebben_, whatever verb follows it.
- _haar_: the person you hear is the object of _horen_.
- _Tijdens de storm heb ik het hele huis voelen trillen._ With a second verb, _voelen_ stays an infinitive.
Use it today
Tonight, write three sentences about your day: something you saw, something you heard and something you felt, such as _Ik zag een man zijn fiets uit de gracht vissen_. Then rewrite one of them in the perfect, so that _zien_, _horen_ or _voelen_ turns into an infinitive.