Loading lesson...
Conjugation
Objective: Construct sentences with verbs of perception followed by a direct object and an infinitive, and distinguish the perception structure from the que-clause structure.
| Perception verb | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| voir | Je vois Marie danser. | I see Marie dancing. |
| entendre | J'entends les oiseaux chanter. | I hear the birds singing. |
| écouter | Elle écoute son frère jouer du piano. | She listens to her brother playing the piano. |
| regarder | Nous regardons les enfants jouer. | We watch the children playing. |
| sentir | Je sens le vent souffler. | I feel the wind blowing. |
| voir | Ils ont vu le train partir. | They saw the train leave. |
The perception verb takes a direct object followed by a bare infinitive. No preposition appears between the direct object and the infinitive.
The second verb appears in the infinitive, not in a conjugated form. The perception verb carries the tense, and the infinitive carries the meaning of the perceived action.
The direct object Marie sits between the perception verb and the infinitive danser, with no preposition.
The plural direct object les oiseaux precedes the infinitive chanter. The second verb is not conjugated.
Écouter is a perception verb and takes the same structure as voir and entendre.
Regarder presents the action as directly seen. The direct object and the infinitive follow the same pattern as the other perception verbs.
Sentir covers physical sensation through touch or smell. The infinitive souffler describes what the wind is doing.
7 exercises · about 11 minutes
Regarder presents the action as directly perceived, so it takes a direct object and an infinitive. The que-clause belongs to verbs of statement or conclusion.
The infinitive partir stays in its base form even after the passé composé of the perception verb. No auxiliary is added to the second verb.
The perception verb is in the passé composé, but the infinitive partir stays in its base form. The two verbs do not share the tense.
The que-clause reports a conclusion rather than a direct observation. The same verb voir takes a different structure here.
The pronominal infinitive se fermer keeps its reflexive pronoun, which agrees with the direct object la porte.