Breakdown of Ich habe das unvorsichtige Mädchen schaukeln und singen hören.
ich
I
und
and
haben
to have
das Mädchen
the girl
hören
to hear / to listen
singen
to sing
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
unvorsichtig
careless (incautious)
schaukeln
to swing (on a swing, to rock)
Questions & Answers about Ich habe das unvorsichtige Mädchen schaukeln und singen hören.
Why does this sentence end with the infinitive hören instead of the past participle gehört?
Just like modal verbs, sensory verbs like hören and sehen use a double infinitive (sometimes called the Ersatzinfinitiv) instead of a past participle when they are combined with another verb in the Perfekt tense. Because you are hearing an action happen (schaukeln und singen), hören stays in its infinitive form rather than becoming gehört.
There are three infinitives at the end of the sentence. What is the rule for word order here?
Even though there are three infinitives, the standard double infinitive rule still applies: the main sensory verb (in this case, hören) acts as the anchor and goes at the very end of the sentence. The actions being observed (schaukeln und singen) are grouped together and placed immediately before it.
Why does the adjective unvorsichtige end in -e?
Mädchen is neuter (das Mädchen), and in this sentence, it is the direct object, putting it in the accusative case. Since it follows the definite article das, the adjective gets the weak ending -e. As a quick refresher: all German words ending in the diminutive suffix -chen are always neuter.
Are sentences with this many infinitives common in everyday German?
They are grammatically correct but can sound a bit heavy. In everyday spoken German, native speakers often avoid stacking this many infinitives by using a subordinate clause with wie instead. A very natural alternative would be: Ich habe gehört, wie das unvorsichtige Mädchen geschaukelt und gesungen hat.
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