Sinne und Sätze: Verben der Wahrnehmung
bare infinitive für komplette Aktionen und die -ing form für laufende Momente.
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Use the base verb for a completed action and the -ing form for an action in progress when using sensory verbs.
- Use the bare infinitive (no 'to') for finished actions: 'I saw her cross the street.'
- Use the -ing form for ongoing or partial actions: 'I saw her crossing the street.'
- Never use 'to' after perception verbs in active voice: 'I heard him sing' (NOT 'to sing').
Overview
drop lässt. Oder vielleicht hörst du deinen Mitbewohner unter der Dusche singing, während du eigentlich lernen willst. Diese Alltagssituationen sind genau das, wofür diese Grammatikregel da ist.see, hear, watch, notice, feel und smell.cross the street' oder 'I saw him crossing the street'? Beides ist richtig. Aber sie erzählen eine leicht unterschiedliche Geschichte.bare infinitive oder ein gerund.bare infinitive ist einfach das Basisverb ohne to. Ein gerund ist die -ing-Form des Verbs. Wir benutzen dieses Muster, um über Dinge zu sprechen, die wir sehen oder hören.smell oder taste haben ihre Eigenheiten.How This Grammar Works
bare infinitive.gerund. Stell dir vor, ein Freund erzählt einen Witz. Wenn du den ganzen Witz gehört hast, sag: 'I heard him tell a joke.' Wenn du den Raum betreten hast, als er schon sprach, sag: 'I heard him telling a joke.' Es geht um Dauer und Abschluss.
Formation Pattern
I, You, We.
saw, heard, watched, felt.
him, her, the cat, my phone.
base form oder -ing.
Subject + Verb of Perception + Object + Bare Infinitive.
I heard the door slam. (Das ganze Geräusch).
Subject + Verb of Perception + Object + Gerund.
I heard the door slamming. (Vielleicht schlug sie mehrmals zu).
When To Use It
bare infinitive, wenn die Handlung kurz ist oder du sie von Anfang bis Ende gesehen hast. Das ist üblich bei schnellen Aktionen wie jump, drop oder hit. Wenn du einen ganzen Film schaust, hast du ihn watched it play out.gerund, wenn die Handlung lang ist oder bereits lief. Das ist typisch für Hintergrundgeräusche wie Vögel singing oder Regen falling. Es funktioniert auch bei wiederholten Aktionen.knocking. Im modernen Leben ist das nützlich für Technik: 'I saw the battery icon flashing.' Das impliziert, dass es eine Weile passierte. 'I saw the screen flicker.' Das impliziert ein einzelnes, schnelles Ereignis.
Common Mistakes
to. Sag niemals 'I saw him to dance.' Das klingt wie ein Roboter. Benutze nur das Basisverb oder die -ing-Form. Ein weiterer Fehler ist die Verwendung des bare infinitive bei smell. Wir sagen fast immer 'I smell something burning.' 'I smell something burn' klingt seltsam poetisch. Sei auch vorsichtig mit dem Passiv! Das ist eine B2-Falle. Wenn du 'They saw him leave' ins Passiv setzt, wird daraus 'He was seen to leave.' Das to taucht im Passiv plötzlich auf! Wie ein Grammatik-Gespenst. Verwechsle auch nicht see mit look at. see passiert oft zufällig, watch oder look at machen wir absichtlich.Contrast With Similar Patterns
verb + object + to-infinitive bei Verben wie want oder tell (z.B. 'I asked him to help'). Aber Wahrnehmungsverben sind speziell: Sie lassen das to weg.see that... Sätzen. 'I saw that he was angry' ist ein Fakt.looking angry' ist eine direkte Beobachtung. Das zweite wirkt lebendiger. Es ist der Unterschied zwischen einem Bericht und dem Dabeisein.watch mit see. Du schaust ein Spiel (watch), aber siehst einen Vogel vorbeifliegen (see). Die Grammatik ist gleich, die Absicht anders.Quick FAQ
Kann ich see mit to verwenden?
Nur im Passiv. 'He was seen to enter.'
Gibt es einen Unterschied zwischen notice und see?
notice bedeutet, dass man nicht aktiv geschaut hat, aber das Gehirn es registriert hat.
Warum nutzt smell meistens -ing?
Gerüche sind meist kontinuierlich ohne klaren Start und Ende.
Kann ich sagen 'I heard him crying'?
Ja! Es bedeutet, du hast einen Teil des Weinens gehört.
Was ist mit listen to?
Es funktioniert genau gleich! 'I listened to her play the piano.'
Active vs. Passive Perception Patterns
| Voice | Perception Verb | Object | Complement Form | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Active
|
saw
|
him
|
Bare Infinitive
|
I saw him leave.
|
|
Active
|
saw
|
him
|
Present Participle
|
I saw him leaving.
|
|
Passive
|
was seen
|
-
|
To-Infinitive
|
He was seen to leave.
|
|
Passive
|
was seen
|
-
|
Present Participle
|
He was seen leaving.
|
|
Active
|
heard
|
the bell
|
Bare Infinitive
|
I heard the bell ring.
|
|
Active
|
heard
|
the bell
|
Present Participle
|
I heard the bell ringing.
|
Meanings
Verbs of perception (see, hear, feel, watch, notice, smell) follow a specific pattern where they take an object followed by either a bare infinitive or a present participle to indicate the state of the action being perceived.
Completed Action (Bare Infinitive)
Used when the speaker perceives the entire action from start to finish.
“I saw the magician disappear.”
“We heard the bomb explode.”
In-Progress Action (Present Participle)
Used when the speaker perceives only a part of the action or emphasizes that it was ongoing at the time.
“I saw the children playing in the park.”
“Can you smell something burning?”
Passive Perception
When the perception verb is used in the passive voice, the 'to' infinitive returns.
“He was seen to enter the building.”
“The suspect was heard to shout at the guard.”
Reference Table
| Verb | Muster 1 (Komplette Aktion) | Muster 2 (Laufende Aktion) | Beispiel |
|---|---|---|---|
|
See
|
Object + Bare Infinitive
|
Object + -ing
|
I saw him run / I saw him running
|
|
Hear
|
Object + Bare Infinitive
|
Object + -ing
|
We heard her sing / We heard her singing
|
|
Watch
|
Object + Bare Infinitive
|
Object + -ing
|
They watched the movie end / They watched the movie playing
|
|
Feel
|
Object + Bare Infinitive
|
Object + -ing
|
I felt the ground shake / I felt the ground shaking
|
|
Notice
|
Object + Bare Infinitive
|
Object + -ing
|
She noticed him pack / She noticed him packing
|
|
Observe
|
Object + Bare Infinitive
|
Object + -ing
|
Police observed the suspect enter / Police observed the suspect entering
|
Formalitätsspektrum
He was observed to depart from the premises. (Workplace observation)
I saw him leave the office. (Workplace observation)
I caught him heading out. (Workplace observation)
I seen him bounce. (Workplace observation)
Wahrnehmungsverben: Sehen, Hören, Fühlen
Bare Infinitive (Komplette Aktion)
- see I saw him leave.
- hear We heard the bell ring.
- feel She felt the car swerve.
-ing Form (Laufende Aktion)
- watch I watched her dancing.
- notice Did you notice him shouting?
- observe They observed the birds flying.
Bare Infinitive vs. -ing Form
Wahl des richtigen Musters
Hast du die *gesamte* Aktion von Anfang bis Ende wahrgenommen?
(Für Bare Infinitive) Ist der Satz im Aktiv?
Häufige Wahrnehmungsverben
Sehen
- • see
- • watch
- • notice
- • observe
Hören
- • hear
- • listen to
Fühlen
- • feel
Andere Sinne
- • smell
- • taste
Beispiele nach Niveau
I see him run.
I see him run.
I hear her sing.
I hear her sing.
We watch the cat play.
We watch the cat play.
Did you feel the rain fall?
Did you feel the rain fall?
I saw them eating lunch.
I saw them eating lunch.
She heard someone calling her name.
She heard someone calling her name.
We watched the sun going down.
We watched the sun going down.
I felt the wind blowing.
I felt the wind blowing.
I watched him fix the car.
I watched him fix the car.
I watched him fixing the car.
I watched him fixing the car.
Can you smell the bread baking?
Can you smell the bread baking?
I noticed her leave the room quietly.
I noticed her leave the room quietly.
I heard the floorboards creak in the middle of the night.
I heard the floorboards creak in the middle of the night.
He was seen to enter the building through the back door.
He was seen to enter the building through the back door.
I felt my skin crawling as he told the ghost story.
I felt my skin crawling as he told the ghost story.
We observed the chemicals react in the test tube.
We observed the chemicals react in the test tube.
I perceived a slight tremor shake his hands.
I perceived a slight tremor shake his hands.
The witness was heard to testify that the light was red.
The witness was heard to testify that the light was red.
I watched the ink slowly bleeding into the parchment.
I watched the ink slowly bleeding into the parchment.
She felt herself being pulled into the argument.
She felt herself being pulled into the argument.
One could hear the distant thunder rumbling across the plains for hours.
One could hear the distant thunder rumbling across the plains for hours.
The suspect, having been seen to discard the weapon, was immediately detained.
The suspect, having been seen to discard the weapon, was immediately detained.
I watched the seasons shift from the window of my study.
I watched the seasons shift from the window of my study.
He felt the weight of the world pressing down upon his shoulders.
He felt the weight of the world pressing down upon his shoulders.
Leicht verwechselbar
Learners confuse 'I smell the bread burning' (perception) with 'The bread smells burnt' (linking verb + adjective).
Learners don't know when to use 'I saw him leave' vs 'I saw that he left'.
Learners forget to add 'to' in passive sentences because they are so used to the active 'no-to' rule.
Häufige Fehler
I saw him to go.
I saw him go.
I hear her sang.
I hear her sing.
I see him is running.
I see him running.
I watch the movie.
I watch him play.
I felt the house to shake.
I felt the house shake.
Did you see him left?
Did you see him leave?
I smelled the cake to burn.
I smelled the cake burning.
I saw him cross the street for ten minutes.
I saw him crossing the street for ten minutes.
He was seen enter the bank.
He was seen to enter the bank.
I noticed him to be angry.
I noticed that he was angry.
I observed the star to explode.
I observed the star explode.
She was heard singing the whole song.
She was heard to sing the whole song.
Satzmuster
I saw ___ ___ (base verb).
I heard ___ ___ (verb-ing).
___ was seen to ___ (base verb).
I felt ___ ___ (verb-ing) ___.
Real World Usage
I saw the suspect enter the building at 9 PM.
We see him driving toward the hoop, he shoots, he scores!
POV: You hear your mom calling your name from downstairs.
You'll see the sugar start to caramelize and turn brown.
Have you noticed your joints swelling in the morning?
I watched the team's productivity increase after we implemented the new system.
Bare vs. -ing
bare infinitive bedeutet, dass du die *ganze* Aktion gesehen hast. Die -ing-Form zeigt, dass du nur einen *Teil* oder den Verlauf mitbekommen hast: I saw him crossing the street.
Kein 'to' vor dem Infinitiv!
I saw him *to leave*). Lass es im Aktiv einfach weg: I saw him leave.
Kontext ist alles
I heard the bomb explode.
Augenzeugen-Berichte
I watched the sun rise over the ocean.
Smart Tips
Use the bare infinitive to emphasize the suddenness and completion.
Use the passive 'was seen to' to sound more objective and professional.
Be careful! This rule only applies to physical perception. For emotions, use 'that' clauses.
Use the -ing form to show that the action happened over and over.
Aussprache
Stress on the Action
In these sentences, the primary stress usually falls on the second verb (the action being perceived), not the perception verb itself.
Reduced 'him/her'
The object pronouns 'him' and 'her' are often reduced in natural speech, making the perception verb and the object sound like one word.
Falling Intonation for Facts
I saw him ↘cross.
Conveys a completed, factual observation.
Einprägen
Eselsbrücke
Perception verbs are 'to-free' zones in the active voice.
Visuelle Assoziation
Imagine a camera. The bare infinitive is a 'Wide Shot' showing the whole scene. The -ing form is a 'Zoom' showing a close-up of the action happening.
Rhyme
If you see or hear or feel, skip the 'to' to keep it real.
Story
I watched a bird land on a branch (whole action). While I was watching, I saw it eating a worm (ongoing). Suddenly, I heard a cat meow (sudden/whole), and I felt the bird fly away (whole).
Word Web
Herausforderung
Look out your window for 2 minutes. Write 3 sentences using 'I see...' and 2 sentences using 'I hear...', alternating between the base form and the -ing form.
Kulturelle Hinweise
In some UK dialects, especially in the North, you might hear 'I seen him do it' instead of 'I saw him do it'. While common, this is considered non-standard in formal writing.
Southern American English often uses 'watch' or 'see' with a present participle to describe long, habitual actions in a storytelling context.
In legal contexts across the English-speaking world, the passive 'was seen to' is the standard way to report evidence without attributing it to a specific witness.
The bare infinitive after perception verbs is a remnant of Old English, where certain 'light' verbs did not require the 'to' marker (which was originally a preposition meaning 'towards').
Gesprächseinstiege
Have you ever seen something truly strange happen in public?
What's the most beautiful thing you've ever watched someone do?
Describe a time you heard a mysterious noise at night.
If you were a witness to a crime, how would you describe what you saw to the police?
Tagebuch-Impulse
Häufige Fehler
Test Yourself
I heard the baby ___ (cry/crying) from its room all night.
Find and fix the mistake:
She watched him to walk away without saying goodbye.
Choose the correct sentence:
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
Score: /4
Ubungsaufgaben
8 exercisesI saw the bird ___ from the tree and fly away.
I could hear her ___ in the shower for over twenty minutes.
Find and fix the mistake:
He was seen leave the building late at night.
Active: They heard him shout. Passive: He ___.
I noticed him to be very quiet during the meeting.
A: Did you see the accident? B: Yes, I saw the car ___ the wall.
Select the correct form.
1. I saw him cross. 2. I saw him crossing.
Score: /8
Practice Bank
12 exercisesWe often smell delicious food ___ (cook/cooking) from that new restaurant next door.
Did you ever feel the earth ___ (shake/shaking) during a minor tremor?
The audience watched the magician performed a trick flawlessly.
I distinctly heard my alarm to go off this morning.
Choose the correct sentence:
Which sentence best conveys a continuous observation?
Translate into English: 'Ich sah die Lehrerin das schwierige Thema erklären.' (Betonung auf dem laufenden Vorgang)
Translate into English: 'Ich spürte den kalten Wind wehen.'
Arrange these words into a sentence:
Arrange these words into a sentence:
Match the verbs of perception with the correct complement type for complete actions.
Match the sentences that highlight continuous observation.
Score: /12
FAQ (8)
Only in the passive voice (e.g., `He was seen to leave`). In active voice, it is always incorrect.
`I saw him run` means you saw the whole action from start to finish. `I saw him running` means you saw him while he was in the middle of the action.
Yes, but they almost always take the `-ing` form because smells and tastes are usually perceived as ongoing states.
No. Perception verbs don't work with perfect infinitives. Use a 'that' clause: `I saw that he had gone`.
This is a quirk of English history. When the verb becomes passive, it loses its 'light' status and requires the standard infinitive marker `to`.
Yes, `I watched him perform` is correct and implies you saw the whole performance.
No. The second verb must be the base form (`sing`) or the `-ing` form (`singing`).
Yes, they follow the same pattern: `I noticed him leave` or `I noticed him leaving`.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Ver/Oír + Infinitivo
Spanish doesn't have a direct equivalent to the -ing participle in this specific perception structure.
Voir/Entendre + Infinitif
French never uses the gerund (en partant) in this perception pattern.
Sehen/Hören + Infinitiv
German lacks a present participle (-ing) equivalent for this pattern, so the infinitive covers both completed and ongoing actions.
Verb + no/koto + o mita
Japanese requires a nominalizer, whereas English connects the verb directly to the object.
Ra'a / Sami'a + Present Tense
Arabic uses a conjugated verb rather than an infinitive or participle.
Kànjiàn / Tīngjiàn + Verb
Chinese has no morphological markers like -ing, so context determines if the action is complete or ongoing.
Learning Path
Prerequisites
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