French Verbs of Perception

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

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