Perception Verbs + Infinitive
In Italian, when you see or hear someone performing an action, you use a perception verb (like vedere or sentire) followed by the infinitive of the action being performed.
How It Works
This construction, known as the costruzione infinitiva, is the standard way to describe sensory experiences in Italian.
1. Common Perception Verbs:
- Vedere (to see)
- Sentire (to hear/feel)
- Guardare (to look at)
- Ascoltare (to listen to)
- Notare (to notice)
2. The 'No Preposition' Rule:
Perception verbs take a bare infinitive. Do not use a or di between the perception verb and the following action.
Example: Sento bussare (I hear [someone] knocking).
3. Pronoun Placement and Agreement:
If the person being perceived is a pronoun, it becomes a direct object pronoun and is placed before the perception verb. In the passato prossimo, the past participle must agree with 3rd-person pronouns (lo, la, li, le). For 1st and 2nd-person pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi), agreement is optional but very common in spoken Italian.
Example: L'ho vista ballare (I saw her dance).
4. Word Order with Nouns:
When the object is a noun, the word order is flexible. You can say Ho visto Marco uscire or Ho visto uscire Marco.
5. Passive Meaning:
The infinitive can sometimes carry a passive sense depending on the context. For example, L'ho visto premiare can mean "I saw him being rewarded."
6. Spoken Alternative:
In natural conversation, Italians often replace the infinitive with a relative clause using che + indicative or imperfetto.
Example: L'ho visto che usciva (I saw him as he was leaving).
Examples (5)
- Ho visto Maria entrare in biblioteca.
I saw Maria enter the library.
Word by Word: I have seen Maria to enter in library.
Here, 'Maria' is the direct object and 'entrare' is the infinitive describing her action.
- Ti ho sentito gridare ieri sera.
I heard you scream last night.
Word by Word: You I have heard to scream yesterday evening.
The pronoun 'ti' (you) is placed before the perception verb 'sentito'.
- Le abbiamo viste ballare in piazza.
We saw them (fem.) dancing in the square.
Word by Word: Them we have seen (fem. pl.) to dance in square.
Note the agreement of 'viste' with the feminine plural pronoun 'le'.
- Ascolto gli uccelli cantare ogni mattina.
I listen to the birds sing every morning.
Word by Word: I listen the birds to sing every morning.
Standard use of 'ascoltare' followed by the object and the infinitive.
- L'ho visto mangiarla.
I saw him eat it.
Word by Word: Him I have seen to eat it.
If the infinitive has its own object (it), the pronoun attaches to the end of the infinitive.
Common Mistakes
Adding a preposition like 'di' or 'a' before the infinitive.
Ho visto di correre Marco.Ho visto correre Marco.Unlike many other verb + infinitive constructions, perception verbs are followed directly by the infinitive without any preposition.
Using the gerund (-ando/-endo) instead of the infinitive to describe the object's action.
Ho visto lui correndo.L'ho visto correre.In Italian, the gerund usually refers to the subject. 'Ho visto lui correndo' implies you were the one running while you saw him.
Failing to agree the past participle with 3rd-person direct object pronouns.
Maria? L'ho visto uscire.Maria? L'ho vista uscire.When using 3rd-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le) in the passato prossimo, the participle must agree in gender and number. For 1st and 2nd-person pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi), this agreement is common but optional.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn perception verbs followed by an infinitive, a learner needs to understand how direct objects function in Italian, as the person performing the action in the infinitive is the direct object of the perception verb. Additionally, familiarity with basic verb-plus-infinitive constructions and past participle agreement rules is necessary for correct usage in various tenses.
- Verb + Infinitive
Understanding how one verb can be followed directly by an infinitive is the foundational syntactic structure for this pattern.
Level 1 - Past Participle Agreement with a Preceding Direct Object Pronoun
When perception verbs are used in compound tenses (like the passato prossimo) with direct object pronouns, the past participle must agree with the object being perceived.
Level 3
Related Patterns
- mi / ti / lo / la / ci / vi / li / leDirect Object Pronouns
Perception verbs use direct object pronouns to represent the person being seen or heard.
Level 1 - Clitic Pronoun Placement with the Infinitive
Explains how pronouns attach to the end of the infinitive if the perceived action has its own object.
Level 3 - lasciare + Infinitive'Lasciare' + Infinitive (To Let)
A similar construction used to express 'letting' someone do something.
Level 3 - fare + InfinitiveCausative 'Fare' + Infinitive
Another common 'verb + infinitive' structure used to express making someone do something.
Level 3 - Regular Gerund Formation
Important to distinguish from the infinitive construction to avoid English-influenced errors.
Level 1
Practice Perception Verbs + Infinitive in Bubblegum
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