---
title: "Zien, horen, voelen plus an infinitive"
level: B2
chapter: "Verbs in time"
canonical: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/perception-verbs
updated: 2026-10-09
author: Dutch Fluency
license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
---

# Zien, horen, voelen plus an infinitive

To say that you see, hear or feel something happen, put a plain infinitive (the dictionary form of a verb, like _lopen_) at the end, after _zien_, _horen_ or _voelen_, with no _te_: _Ik zie hem lopen_. The person you perceive sits in between, in the object form (_hem_, not _hij_). In the perfect tense (the past with _hebben_), the verb of the senses becomes an infinitive too: _Ik heb hem zien lopen_, not _gezien_.

## The pattern

> After _zien_, _horen_ and _voelen_, the action you perceive is a plain infinitive at the end of the clause, without _te_. In the perfect, the verb of the senses turns into an infinitive as well: _Ik heb haar horen zingen_.

- Present or past: _Ik hoor de kinderen lachen_, _Ik voelde iets langs mijn been kruipen_.
- The person or thing you perceive is the object, so pronouns take the object form: _Ik zag hem vallen_, _Ik hoorde haar roepen_.
- No _te_ here, unlike after _proberen_ or _vergeten_ (see [infinitives with te](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/infinitive-with-te)).
- Perfect: _hebben_ + _zien_, _horen_ or _voelen_ + the other infinitive. The auxiliary stays _hebben_ even when the second verb normally takes _zijn_: _Ik heb de bus zien vertrekken_.
- In a subordinate clause (a clause with _dat_, _omdat_ and so on), all the verbs gather at the end: _Ze zegt dat ze hem heeft zien lopen_.
- _Kijken_ and _luisteren_ do not combine with an infinitive like this. For "I watched him cycle off", use _zien_ or a clause with _hoe_: _Ik keek hoe hij wegfietste_.

## Examples

| Ik **zie** hem elke ochtend langs het kanaal **lopen**. | I see him walking along the canal every morning. |
| Gisteravond **hoorde** ik de buren weer ruzie **maken**. | Last night I heard the neighbours arguing again. |
| Vlak voor een presentatie **voel** ik altijd mijn hart **kloppen**. | Just before a presentation I always feel my heart pounding. |
| Ik **zag** mijn trein **vertrekken** terwijl ik nog naar het perron rende. | I watched my train leave while I was still running to the platform. |
| **Hoorde** je Priya net over de reorganisatie **praten**? | Did you just hear Priya talking about the reorganisation? |
| Ik **heb** hem nog nooit zo hard **zien fietsen**. | I have never seen him cycle so fast. |
| Mei **heeft** de pakketbezorger niet **horen aanbellen**. | Mei didn't hear the delivery driver ring the bell. |
| De buren vertelden dat ze de vloer **hadden voelen trillen**. | The neighbours said they had felt the floor shake. |
| De huisarts vroeg of ik mijn hart weleens een slag **voelde overslaan**. | The GP asked whether I ever felt my heart skip a beat. |

## Why it works this way

This pattern usually reports something you perceive yourself, while it happens. A _dat_ clause after the same verb often means something quite different:

- _Ik hoorde Joris zingen._ You heard the singing yourself.
- _Ik hoorde dat Joris gaat verhuizen._ Someone told you the news.
- _Ik voel mijn hart kloppen._ A physical sensation.
- _Ik voel dat er iets niet klopt._ A hunch.

English often uses an -ing form here (I heard the baby crying). Dutch uses the infinitive for both "cry" and "crying"; the _-end_ form has other jobs (see [the present participle](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/present-participle)).

Grammatically, _zien_, _horen_ and _voelen_ behave like modal verbs and [laten](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/laten): they take a bare infinitive and form a verb cluster (a group of verbs together). In the perfect, verbs of this group appear as an infinitive instead of a past participle when another infinitive depends on them. You met this in [verb clusters](https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar/verb-clusters) with _Ik heb kunnen komen_. With no second verb, the normal participle returns: _Ik heb hem gezien_.

When you do see _te_ after one of these verbs, it has another meaning: _De printer hoort gewoon te werken_ (the printer is supposed to just work), _We moeten de trein van acht uur zien te halen_ (we have to try to catch the eight o'clock train).

Remember: glue two sentences together. _Ik zie hem. Hij loopt._ becomes _Ik zie hem lopen_: _hem_ stays an object, _hij_ disappears, and _loopt_ turns back into the infinitive _lopen_, which moves to the end. In the perfect, two infinitives stand side by side and neither gets _ge-_.

## Watch out

- Not: _Ik hoorde Daan te fluiten_ Say: _Ik hoorde Daan fluiten_ (no _te_ when you mean hearing something happen)
- Not: _Ik zag hij de fiets pakken_ Say: _Ik zag hem de fiets pakken_ (the person you see is the object)
- Not: _Ik heb haar gezien vertrekken_ Say: _Ik heb haar zien vertrekken_ (with a second verb, _zien_ stays an infinitive)
- Not: _Ik heb hem lopen zien_ Say: _Ik heb hem zien lopen_ (German puts the verb of the senses last; Dutch puts it first)
- Not: _Ik hoorde de baby huilend_ Say: _Ik hoorde de baby huilen_ (English "crying" becomes a plain infinitive here)

## Quick check

1. Choose: _Op het perron zag ik Ahmed naar de verkeerde trein ..._ (rennen, te rennen, rennend)
2. Fill in _heeft_ or _is_: _Joris ... de kat van het dak zien springen._
3. Choose: _Ik hoorde ... in de gang telefoneren._ (zij, haar)
4. Fix the verb form and keep the perfect: _Tijdens de storm heb ik het hele huis gevoeld trillen._

## Answers

1. _rennen_: a plain infinitive, without _te_ and without _-end_.
2. _heeft_: _zien_ takes _hebben_, whatever verb follows it.
3. _haar_: the person you hear is the object of _horen_.
4. _Tijdens de storm heb ik het hele huis voelen trillen._ With a second verb, _voelen_ stays an infinitive.

## Use it today

Tonight, write three sentences about your day: something you saw, something you heard and something you felt, such as _Ik zag een man zijn fiets uit de gracht vissen_. Then rewrite one of them in the perfect, so that _zien_, _horen_ or _voelen_ turns into an infinitive.

## Questions learners ask

**Do you use te after zien and horen in Dutch?**

No, not when you mean seeing or hearing something happen: say "Ik hoor de kinderen lachen", with a plain infinitive. Te only appears when these verbs have another meaning, as in "Dat hoort te werken" (that is supposed to work).

**Is it "ik heb hem zien lopen" or "ik heb hem gezien lopen"?**

The correct form is "ik heb hem zien lopen". When zien, horen or voelen has another infinitive depending on it, the perfect uses the infinitive instead of the participle, just like modal verbs; without a second verb you say "ik heb hem gezien".

**How do you say "I heard him singing" in Dutch?**

Say "Ik hoorde hem zingen". Dutch uses a plain infinitive where English often uses an -ing form, and the person you hear takes the object form, so hem rather than hij.

From the Dutch Fluency Grammar: https://www.dutchfluency.com/grammar. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.