sien/hoor + Infinitive

Seeing and Hearing Something Happen

Level 3

Ek sien hom kom. (I see him coming.) After sien, hoor and voel, the second verb is a plain infinitive at the end.

How It Works

1. The pattern. Sien, hoor or voel + who or what + plain infinitive:

  • Ek sien hom kom. (I see him coming.)
  • Ons hoor die kinders sing. (We hear the children singing.)
  • Sy voel die grond bewe. (She feels the ground shaking.)

English uses an -ing form here. Afrikaans uses the plain verb, with no te.

2. The past. Het stands second. Sien, hoor or voel and the infinitive go to the end, both plain: Ek het hom sien kom. (I saw him coming.) Ons het haar hoor sing. (We heard her singing.) In informal Afrikaans you may also hear gesien or gehoor here, but the plain form is standard. The last verb never takes ge-.

3. Separable verbs. A separable verb stays in one piece at the end: Ons het die son sien opkom. (We saw the sun come up.)

4. Seeing a fact. To report something you notice, rather than an action you watch happen, use dat: Ek sien dat jy moeg is. (I can see that you are tired.)

Tip: Laat and gaan and kom follow the same plain-form pattern after het.

Examples (6)

  1. Ek sien hom kom.

    I see him coming.

    Word by Word: I see him come.

  2. Ons hoor die kinders sing.

    We hear the children singing.

    Word by Word: We hear the children sing.

  3. Sy voel die grond bewe.

    She feels the ground shaking.

    Word by Word: She feels the ground shake.

  4. Ek het hom sien kom.

    I saw him coming.

    Word by Word: I have him see come.

    In the past, sien and kom both stay plain.

  5. Ons het die son sien opkom.

    We saw the sun come up.

    Word by Word: We have the sun see up-come.

    The separable verb opkom stays in one piece.

  6. Het jy haar al Afrikaans hoor praat?

    Have you ever heard her speak Afrikaans?

    Word by Word: Have you her already Afrikaans hear speak?

Common Mistakes

  • Adding te before the second verb.

    Ek sien hom te kom.
    Ek sien hom kom.

    After sien, hoor and voel, the second verb is a plain infinitive with no te.

  • Adding ge- to the last verb in the past.

    Ek het hom sien gekom.
    Ek het hom sien kom.

    The last verb stays plain. Only het shows that this is the past.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

sien/hoor + InfinitiveLevel 3Seeing and Hearing Something Happen

Learn This First

Sien and hoor can be followed by an infinitive, like laat.

Words in This Pattern

hoorvoel