See / Hear Someone Do (se ham komme)

Level 4

Use a bare infinitive (no at) after verbs of perception (see, hear, feel) or the verb lade (let/make) when they have an object. Example: Jeg så ham løbe (I saw him run).

How It Works

This pattern is used to express direct sensory experience or causation. It consists of three parts: Governing Verb + Object + Bare Infinitive.

1. Governing Verbs
Only a specific set of verbs triggers this construction:

  • Perception: se (see), høre (hear), mærke (feel), føle (feel).
  • Causative: lade (let/make).

Note: While the verb bede (ask) historically used this pattern, in modern Danish it almost always requires om at (e.g., Jeg bad ham om at gå).

2. The Object
If the object is a pronoun, it must be in the objective case (e.g., ham, dem).

3. Passive Meaning with 'Lade'
A unique feature of lade is that the active infinitive can carry a passive meaning. For example, Jeg lod huset male means 'I had the house painted' (by someone else).

4. Bare Infinitive vs. Participle
Danish uses the bare infinitive for the action itself (e.g., Jeg så ham løbe). To describe the manner of the action, a present participle can be added after the infinitive (e.g., Jeg så ham komme løbende).

5. Nuance vs. 'At'-clauses
Compare Jeg så, at han kom (I saw that he came - reporting a fact) with Jeg så ham komme (I saw him come - describing the physical experience of seeing him).

Examples (6)

  1. Jeg så ham gå over gaden.

    I saw him cross the street.

    Word by Word: I saw him go over street-the.

    Here, 'ham' is the object of 'så' and the logical subject of 'gå'. No 'at' is used before 'gå'.

  2. Vi hørte barnet græde i nat.

    We heard the child cry last night.

    Word by Word: We heard child-the cry in night.

    The bare infinitive 'græde' describes the action the child was performing.

  3. Hun lod mig vente i en time.

    She let me wait for an hour.

    Word by Word: She let me wait in an hour.

    The verb 'lade' follows this pattern when someone is allowed or forced to do something.

  4. Jeg lod bilen reparere på værkstedet.

    I had the car repaired at the workshop.

    Word by Word: I let car-the repair on workshop-the.

    In this construction, 'lade' + active infinitive often has a passive meaning: the car is being repaired by someone else.

  5. Jeg mærkede hjertet slå hurtigere.

    I felt my heart beat faster.

    Word by Word: I felt heart-the beat faster.

    Verbs of physical sensation like 'mærke' use the bare infinitive to describe the perceived action.

  6. Jeg så ham komme løbende ned ad trappen.

    I saw him come running down the stairs.

    Word by Word: I saw him come running down of stairs-the.

    This example shows a double construction: the ECM 'ham komme' followed by a present participle describing the manner.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the infinitive marker 'at' with perception verbs or 'lade'.

    Jeg så ham at løbe.
    Jeg så ham løbe.

    Perception verbs and 'lade' are exceptions to the general rule; they never take 'at' in this construction.

  • Confusing 'lade' with 'få'.

    Jeg fik ham gå.
    Jeg fik ham til at gå.

    While 'lade' takes a bare infinitive, the verb få (to get someone to do something) requires til at.

  • Using a subject pronoun instead of an object pronoun.

    Jeg lod han gå.
    Jeg lod ham gå.

    The person performing the action is grammatically the object of the first verb, so it must be ham, not 'han'.

How It Connects

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

See / Hear Someone Do (se ham komme)Level 4

Learn This First

To understand ECM (Exceptional Case Marking) constructions like 'Jeg så ham komme', you need to be comfortable with object pronouns, as the person performing the action is in the object case. You also need to understand how infinitives work in Danish, specifically that these perception verbs (and 'lade') are exceptions that take a bare infinitive without the particle 'at'.

Words in This Pattern

sehørelade