Conjugations after subject change?

Danielle A.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Conjugations after subject change?

In the phrase "J'entends encore Papi râler comme il descendait..." why isn't the second verb râler conjugated given the subject changed?

Asked 1 year ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Danielle,

There is a little rule in French that says that when two verbs follow each other the second one is always in the infinitive.

As Jim says, Papi isn't the subject but the object of entendre.

Other examples might be -

J'entends encore Papi rire = I still hear Papi laugh

Je vois encore Papi tomber = I still see Papi fall

J'espère encore voir Papi = I still hope to see Papi

Hope this helps!

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Salut Danielle,

I see the subject as "Je" and the direct object as "Papi"

So he is having a grumble as he descends ....   and the conjugation is on descendre (il descendait  in l'imparfait)

Hope this helps.

Bonne journée

Jim

Alan G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

As Danielle says, Papi is effectively the subject of râler

The reason that you can use an infinitive (rather than a subordinate clause) even when the subject has changed, is because entendre is a verb of perception. (Similarly voir, in Cécile's second example.)

Note that English also treats verbs of perception differently; the bare infinitive can be used (grumble, laugh, fall) without the word "to".

Danielle A.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thanks everyone, I'm glad this came up because I've always gotten stuck when saying similar sentences/clauses. l'll be more aware of these verbs of perception now. Good exercise, thanks.

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Thanks to Danielle’s question and Alan’s answer, I finally got around to reading the attached link. Not sure I am glad I did, but probably a necessary ‘evil’. 

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/verbs-of-perception/

Conjugations after subject change?

In the phrase "J'entends encore Papi râler comme il descendait..." why isn't the second verb râler conjugated given the subject changed?

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