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Perception verbs with an infinitive, as in 'ho visto Maria arrivare'

When you see, hear or watch someone doing something, Italian names the person and then adds a plain infinitive: ho visto Maria arrivare, ti ho sentito cantare. Verbs of perception such as vedere, sentire, guardare and ascoltare all work this way.

English speakers often go wrong here because English usually prefers an -ing form: I saw Maria arriving, I heard you singing. The natural reflex is to copy that with an Italian gerund (arrivando, cantando), but after a perception verb Italian wants the infinitive.

Word list
ascoltareA1 to listen ascoltare qualcuno parlare = to listen to someone speaking guardareA1 to look guardare qualcuno lavorare = to look at someone working guardareA1 to watch guardare una squadra giocare = to watch a team play sentireA1 to hear sentire qualcuno cantare = to hear someone singing vedereA1 to see vedere qualcuno arrivare = to see someone arriving guardareA2 to watch guardare qualcuno fare un esercizio = to watch someone do an exercise osservareA2 to watch osservare qualcuno attraversare = to observe someone crossing notareB1 to notice notare qualcuno entrare = to notice someone coming in udireB2 to hear udire qualcuno chiamare = to hear someone calling scorgereC1 to make out scorgere qualcuno avvicinarsi = to make out someone approaching
How it works

The pattern is simple: perception verb + the person or thing perceived + infinitive. The person or thing in the middle is the one doing the action of the infinitive. In the first example below, Maria is the one crossing the street, not you.

Ho visto Maria attraversare la strada.
(I saw Maria crossing the street.)

English actually allows a bare infinitive here too (I saw Maria cross the street), and that version is the closest match to Italian. If you are unsure, think of the English sentence without -ing, then translate it word for word.

When the person is a pronoun, it goes before the perception verb, as pronouns normally do in Italian. In a compound tense the past participle usually agrees with that pronoun.

Li abbiamo sentiti cantare in giardino.
(We heard them singing in the garden.)

With a noun, the infinitive can also come first, especially with short verbs of movement:

Vedo arrivare l'autobus.
(I can see the bus coming.)
The words
Seeing and noticing

Vedere is the everyday verb, shown above. Scorgere means to make something out, often at a distance or with some effort. Notare means to notice something you were not looking for.

Dalla finestra scorgo una barca avvicinarsi alla riva.
(From the window I can make out a boat approaching the shore.)
Ho notato un uomo entrare nel negozio.
(I noticed a man going into the shop.)
Watching and observing

Guardare covers looking at someone, watching a match or a show, and watching someone carefully to learn. Osservare is a slightly more attentive kind of watching.

Mi piace guardare i bambini giocare nel parco.
(I like watching the children play in the park.)
Stasera guardiamo l'Italia giocare contro la Francia.
(Tonight we're watching Italy play against France.)
Guarda l'insegnante fare l'esercizio, poi prova tu.
(Watch the teacher do the exercise, then you try.)
Il gatto osserva gli uccelli volare tra gli alberi.
(The cat is watching the birds flying among the trees.)
Hearing and listening

Sentire is the normal verb for hearing. Udire means the same but sounds more formal or literary. Ascoltare means listening on purpose.

Ti ho sentito parlare al telefono.
(I heard you talking on the phone.)
Ho udito qualcuno chiamare il mio nome.
(I heard someone calling my name.)
Ascoltavo mia nonna raccontare storie della sua infanzia.
(I used to listen to my grandmother telling stories about her childhood.)
Watch out

The classic mistake is the gerund. Do not say ho visto Maria attraversando la strada. After a perception verb, the action of the other person is an infinitive: ho visto Maria attraversare la strada.

In everyday speech you will also hear a relative clause with che, which stresses that the action was in progress: vedo Marco che arriva, or even lo vedo che arriva. Both are fine, but the infinitive is the safest and most common choice.

Vedo Marco che arriva di corsa.
(I can see Marco running up.)

Notare is the least typical member. It takes an infinitive when you notice a visible action, but it is more often followed by che plus a full clause: ho notato che era stanco (I noticed that he was tired).

Finally, remember where pronouns go: lo sento cantare, not sento cantarlo, when lo is the person doing the singing.

Summary

After verbs like vedere, sentire, guardare, ascoltare and osservare, name the person or thing and follow it with a plain infinitive: ho visto Maria attraversare, li ho sentiti cantare. Where English says "seeing her crossing", think "see her cross" and never use the Italian gerund.