Verbs That Take a Bare Infinitive

While the standard way to link verbs is using te + infinitive, certain verbs bypass this rule. These verbs are placed in the main verb position, while the second verb (the bare infinitive) moves to the end of the sentence.

1. Modal Verbs
Most modal verbs like kunnen (can), moeten (must), willen (want), mogen (may/be allowed), and zullen (shall/will) never take te. However, the verb hoeven (to need) is a major exception: it normally takes te and is a negative polarity item, meaning it normally appears with a negation like niet or geen, or a limiting word like nauwelijks (hardly). In some verb groups, te can or must be omitted; compare Je hoeft niet te komen with Je zult niet hoeven komen.
Example: Ik wil een appel eten. (I want to eat an apple.)

2. Verbs of Perception
When you directly experience someone else doing something, use zien (see), horen (hear), or voelen (feel) without te. While ruiken (smell) and vinden (find) can occasionally appear in this structure, they are much less common and usually describe finding someone in a specific state.
Example: Ik hoor hem zingen. (I hear him singing.)

3. Verbs of Motion and Aspect
Verbs like gaan (go), komen (come), and blijven (stay/remain) are bare. Note that unlike these motion verbs, positional verbs like staan, liggen, and zitten normally take te in simple constructions. In certain larger verb groups, te is omitted, as in Ik heb zitten lezen.
Example: Zij gaat morgen zwemmen. (She is going swimming tomorrow.)

4. Causative, Help, and Learning Verbs
The verb laten (to let/have something done) always triggers a bare infinitive. The causative verb doen (to make/cause) also takes a bare infinitive; while often formal, it is very common in everyday collocations like doen lachen (make laugh) or doen inzien (make realize). Additionally, helpen (to help) and leren (to learn/teach) often take a bare infinitive. While the bare infinitive is preferred for short complements, the use of te becomes more common when the complement is long or complex. The verb durven (to dare) also frequently appears without te, especially in the perfect tense.
Example: Ik help hem de auto wassen. (I help him wash the car.)

5. The IPP Rule (Infinitivus Pro Participio)
In the perfect tense, many of these verbs use an infinitive instead of a past participle when they govern another infinitive. This is required with common groups such as heb horen zingen and ben gaan zwemmen; other verbs, including helpen and leren, have additional patterns. This is the double infinitive. Note that while most use hebben, motion verbs like gaan, komen, and blijven use zijn.
Example: Ik ben gaan zwemmen. (I went swimming.)