Verbs of perception are verbs which, logically enough, indicate a perception or sensation. There are six common French verbs of perception:
apercevoir to catch a glimpse of
écouter to listen to
entendre to hear
regarder to watch
sentir to feel
voir to see
These verbs may be followed by a noun or an infinitive. For example:
J'aperçois un arbre
I see (a glimpse of) a tree
J'aperçois tomber un arbre
I see (a glimpse of) a tree falling
J'écoute les enfants
I'm listening to the children
J'écoute parler les enfants
I'm listening to the children talking
J'entends les étudiants
I hear the students
J'entends arriver les étudiants
I hear the students arriving
Je regarde l'équipe
I'm watching the team
Je regarde jouer l'équipe
I'm watching the team play
Je sens le vent
I feel the wind
Je sens souffler le vent
I feel the wind blowing
Je vois le chien
I see the dog
Je vois courir le chien
I see the dog running
Note: In this construction, the French infinitive following the verb of perception is often translated by the English present participle.
Page 1: Introduction to French verbs of perception
Page 2:Word order with verbs of perception
Page 3:Agreement with verbs of perception
apercevoir to catch a glimpse of
écouter to listen to
entendre to hear
regarder to watch
sentir to feel
voir to see
These verbs may be followed by a noun or an infinitive. For example:
J'aperçois un arbre
I see (a glimpse of) a tree
J'aperçois tomber un arbre
I see (a glimpse of) a tree falling
J'écoute les enfants
I'm listening to the children
J'écoute parler les enfants
I'm listening to the children talking
J'entends les étudiants
I hear the students
J'entends arriver les étudiants
I hear the students arriving
Je regarde l'équipe
I'm watching the team
Je regarde jouer l'équipe
I'm watching the team play
Je sens le vent
I feel the wind
Je sens souffler le vent
I feel the wind blowing
Je vois le chien
I see the dog
Je vois courir le chien
I see the dog running
Note: In this construction, the French infinitive following the verb of perception is often translated by the English present participle.
Page 1: Introduction to French verbs of perception
Page 2:Word order with verbs of perception
Page 3:Agreement with verbs of perception