Questions & Answers about Vi hör sirenen närma sig.
Why is there no att before närma?
After a verb of perception like hör (hear), Swedish uses the object (sirenen) followed directly by the bare infinitive of the next verb, without att (to). This works just like English where you say "We hear the siren approach," not "We hear the siren to approach."
Why is sig used at the end of this sentence?
The verb närma sig is a reflexive verb, meaning it requires a reflexive pronoun to mean "to approach" or "draw near." Even though vi (we) is the subject of the sentence, sirenen is the one actually doing the approaching. Since sirenen is a third-person noun (an "it"), it takes the third-person reflexive pronoun sig.
In English, I would usually say "We hear the siren approaching." Can I use an equivalent -ing form in Swedish?
It is much better to stick to the infinitive here. While English often uses the -ing form for an ongoing action you perceive, Swedish strongly prefers the bare infinitive (närma sig) after verbs of perception. Translating the -ing form literally into a Swedish present participle (which usually ends in -ande or -ende) would sound unnatural in this structure.
What if I wanted to say "We hear a siren approach" instead of "the siren"?
You would just change the definite noun sirenen (the siren) to the indefinite en siren (a siren). The rest of the sentence and the grammar rules remain exactly the same: Vi hör en siren närma sig.
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