Breakdown of Wir haben den unvorsichtigen Jungen in die Pfütze hüpfen sehen.
in
in
haben
to have
wir
we
der Junge
the boy
sehen
to see
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
unvorsichtig
careless (incautious)
die Pfütze
the puddle
hüpfen
to hop
Questions & Answers about Wir haben den unvorsichtigen Jungen in die Pfütze hüpfen sehen.
Why is it sehen at the end instead of the past participle gesehen?
This sentence is in the Perfekt (past) tense. Usually, you would use the past participle gesehen. However, when verbs of perception like sehen or hören are used with another verb (here, hüpfen), they use the double infinitive rule. Instead of the past participle, the infinitive sehen is used alongside the infinitive of the action verb.
Where do the two infinitives go in the sentence structure?
In a standard main clause in the Perfekt tense, the double infinitives are stacked at the very end of the sentence. The main action verb (hüpfen) comes first, followed immediately by the perceiving verb (sehen).
Why is the word Jungen used if there is only one boy?
It actually isn't plural here! Junge is a weak masculine noun, which means it follows n-declension rules. Weak nouns take an -n or -en ending in all cases except the nominative singular. Because the boy is the direct object we are seeing, it is in the accusative case, making it den Jungen.
Why does the adjective unvorsichtigen end in -en?
The phrase den unvorsichtigen Jungen is in the accusative masculine form. After a definite article like den, adjectives take the weak ending -en.
Why is it in die Pfütze (accusative) and not in der Pfütze (dative)?
The word in is a two-way preposition. Because the boy is hopping into the puddle (showing movement toward a destination), it takes the accusative case. If he were already inside the puddle just hopping up and down in one spot, you would use the dative case (in der Pfütze).
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