Learn French: Je vois les mouettes chercher le poisson. - I see the seagulls looking for the fish.

In French, when you describe seeing, hearing, or feeling someone do an action, you use the infinitive (the basic, unconjugated verb, like chercher) after the object. English often uses an -ing word here, but French uses the pattern: verb of perception + object + infinitive.

Why isn't there a French word for 'for' after chercher?

The French verb chercher already means to look for or to seek. You never add a preposition like pour after it. You simply attach the direct object directly, making it chercher le poisson.

If I wanted to replace 'the seagulls' with a pronoun (I see them looking...), where would the pronoun go?

The direct object pronoun goes right before the conjugated verb of perception (vois), not before the infinitive. You would say Je les vois chercher le poisson.

Why is it le poisson (singular) if seagulls usually look for multiple fish?

In English, the word fish is spelled the same whether singular or plural, but in French, the plural is les poissons. Here, le poisson is singular. It can be used as a collective noun referring to fish as a general category of food or prey, rather than counting individual fish.