There is a small set of Afrikaans verbs that behave alike in two precise ways: they take a bare infinitive complement (no om te), and they form a double-infinitive perfect (a cluster of two verb forms at the end, with no ge-). The perception verbs sien, hoor, voel, the causative laat, the helper help, and the five modals all belong to this one class. Recognising them as a group is far more efficient than learning each verb's quirks separately. This page is the unifying table; the mechanics live elsewhere — the perception verbs page, the causative laat, and the double infinitive.
The reference table
Every verb in this table shares the same two-part signature: a bare-infinitive complement in the present, and a double-infinitive cluster in the perfect (the verb itself never takes ge-).
| Verb | Type | Present (bare infinitive) | Perfect (double-infinitive cluster) |
|---|---|---|---|
| sien | perception (see) | Ek sien hom kom. | Ek het hom sien kom. |
| hoor | perception (hear) | Ek hoor haar sing. | Ek het haar hoor sing. |
| voel | perception (feel) | Sy voel die trein bewe. | Sy het die trein voel bewe. |
| laat | causative (let/make) | Sy laat my wag. | Sy het my laat wag. |
| help | helper (help) | Hy help my dra. | Hy het my help dra. |
| kan / kon | modal (can) | Ek kan swem. | Ek het kon swem. |
| moet / moes | modal (must) | Sy moet werk. | Sy het moes werk. |
| wil / wou | modal (want) | Hy wil help. | Hy het wou help. |
Read the two right-hand columns together and the shared logic jumps out: the governing verb (sien, laat, kan…) appears in its plain form even in the perfect — never gesien, gelaat, gekan — and the second verb stays a bare infinitive. The two stack at the clause end, in the order governing verb → infinitive. This stacking is the "double infinitive" (sometimes called the IPP effect, infinitivus pro participio — "infinitive in place of the participle").
Perception verbs: sien, hoor, voel
You perceive someone doing something, so the perceived action attaches as a bare infinitive. In the present the order is subject – perception verb – object – infinitive.
Ek sien die son agter die berge sak.
I see the sun setting behind the mountains.
Ons het die hele nag die reën op die dak hoor val.
We heard the rain falling on the roof all night.
Sy het die trein onder haar voete voel bewe.
She felt the train shaking under her feet.
In the perfect, watch the order carefully: het + object + perception verb + infinitive — het haar hoor sing, not het haar gehoor sing and not het hoor haar sing. The two verbs sit together at the very end. The full set of cases is on the perception verbs page.
Causative laat and helper help
Laat is the Afrikaans causative — "to make / let / have someone do something." It governs a bare infinitive just like the perception verbs, and forms the same double-infinitive perfect.
Die fliek het my laat huil.
The film made me cry.
Sy het my gisteraand twee uur lank laat wag.
She made me wait two hours last night.
Ons het die dak laat regmaak.
We had the roof repaired.
Help joins the same class — help dra ("help carry"), help soek ("help look for") — with the bare infinitive and no om te.
Kan jy my help dra met die sakke?
Can you help me carry the bags?
Die bure het ons help pak toe ons getrek het.
The neighbours helped us pack when we moved.
For the meaning range of laat (permission vs. compulsion vs. delegation), see the causative laat.
The modals belong here too
The five modals — kan, moet, mag, wil, sal — share the exact same syntax: bare infinitive complement, and a double-infinitive perfect (het kon kom, het moes werk, het wou help). That is why a learner who has internalised sien/hoor/laat already half-knows the modals. The one footnote is sal, which has no perfect cluster (its past is simply sou).
Ek het nie die vergadering kon bywoon nie.
I wasn't able to attend the meeting.
Sy het die hele naweek moes werk.
She had to work the whole weekend.
The modals get their own full treatment in the modals table; the point here is simply that they share the perception/causative class, so all of these verbs can be drilled with one pattern.
Why grouping beats memorising one by one
If you learn sien, hoor, voel, laat, help and the modals separately, you will relearn the same two facts six times over and probably still slip an om te or a stray ge- into one of them. Learned as one class, the rule is portable: meet a new verb of this type and you already know it takes a bare infinitive and a double-infinitive perfect. The cluster order — governing verb first, then the infinitive, both at the clause end — is identical across every member.
Ek het hom die hele aand sien dans en haar hoor sing.
I saw him dancing and heard her singing all evening.
Common mistakes
❌ Ek sien hom om te kom.
Incorrect — perception verbs take a bare infinitive, no om te.
✅ Ek sien hom kom.
I see him coming.
❌ Ek het hom gehoor sing.
Incorrect — the governing verb takes no ge-; use the double infinitive hoor sing.
✅ Ek het hom hoor sing.
I heard him sing.
❌ Sy het my gelaat wag.
Incorrect — laat takes no ge- in the perfect cluster.
✅ Sy het my laat wag.
She made me wait.
❌ Ek het hoor hom sing.
Incorrect word order — object before the verb cluster: het hom hoor sing.
✅ Ek het hom hoor sing.
I heard him sing.
❌ Kan jy my om te dra help?
Incorrect — help takes a bare infinitive: help dra.
✅ Kan jy my help dra?
Can you help me carry?
Key takeaways
- One class, one signature: sien, hoor, voel, laat, help and the modals all take a bare infinitive (no om te) and form a double-infinitive perfect (no ge- on the governing verb).
- In the perfect, the two verbs cluster at the clause end as governing verb + infinitive: het hom hoor sing, het my laat wag, het my help dra.
- A verb that takes om te (e.g. probeer, besluit) or a normal ge-participle is **not in this class.
- Learning the group together transfers instantly to any new member — far more efficient than verb-by-verb memorisation.
- For the mechanics, see perception verbs, the causative laat, and the double infinitive.
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Perception Verbs: sien, hoor, voel + infinitiveB2 — Verbs of perception like sien, hoor and voel take an object plus a bare infinitive for the perceived event, and join the double infinitive in the perfect — ek het hom hoor sing.
- The Causative: laatB1 — The verb laat takes a bare infinitive to express letting, making or having someone do something — one Afrikaans verb covering English 'let', 'make' and 'have done'.
- The Double Infinitive (IPP)B2 — In the perfect, causative laat, perception verbs (hoor, sien) and modals don't take a participle — they appear as a bare infinitive, producing the het + infinitive + infinitive cluster known as the IPP effect.