Breakdown of Siehst du den Magier und die Wache kommen?
du
you (informal singular)
und
and
kommen
to come
sehen
to see
Questions & Answers about Siehst du den Magier und die Wache kommen?
Why is the verb kommen in the infinitive at the very end of the sentence?
In German, verbs of perception like sehen (to see) and hören (to hear) can be paired with a second verb in the infinitive to show an action happening. The conjugated verb (siehst) takes position two, and the infinitive (kommen) is pushed to the very end of the sentence.
In English we say 'coming'. Can I use the German present participle kommend here instead?
No, you must use the infinitive kommen. While German has a present participle (kommend), it is almost exclusively used as an adjective right before a noun. When expressing that you see or hear someone doing an action, German strictly uses the infinitive verb at the end of the sentence.
Why is the article for the mage den instead of der?
The verb sehen takes a direct object in the accusative case, because the mage and the guard are the people being seen. Since Magier is a masculine noun, its definite article changes from der to den in the accusative.
Is die Wache plural here, or is it a singular noun?