Seeing and Hearing Actions
To describe witnessing an action as it happens, Danish uses verbs of perception like se (to see) and høre (to hear).
When you see or hear someone or something doing an action, conjugate the perception verb, state the object (the animal or person you are observing), and follow it with the bare infinitive of the action verb. Just like in English, you do not use the infinitive marker at (to) before the second verb.
| I see the fox hunt a mouse. | Jeg ser ræven jage en mus. |
| We hear the wolf hunt at night. | Vi hører ulven jage om natten. |
Animals in Motion
When observing animals in the forest, you might see them jump (springe) or simply move.
The verb bevæge sig means "to move" physically. Because it is a reflexive verb, you must remember to include its reflexive pronoun (like sig) even when it is acting as the bare infinitive in the sentence.
| Can you see the deer move? | Kan du se hjorten bevæge sig? |
| The girl sees the squirrel jump from the branch. | Pigen ser egernet springe fra grenen. |
Questions and Complex Sentences
You can also use this structure in questions, or layer it with modal verbs like kan (can). No matter how the beginning of the sentence is constructed, the action being witnessed remains in the bare infinitive.
| Can you hear the fox run in the forest? | Kan I høre ræven løbe i skoven? |
| He sees the owl catch a mouse at night. | Han ser uglen fange en mus om natten. |
