I verbi di percezione: l'ho visto uscire
I verbi di percezione: l'ho visto uscire means “"I saw him leave / heard her sing" — perception verbs plus an infinitive”. Verbs of perception — vedere, guardare, sentire, ascoltare, osservare — can take a direct object plus an infinitive to say you perceive someone doing something: Ho visto Marco uscire (I saw Marco leave), Ho sentito la vicina cantare (I heard the neighbour sing). Formation: vedere/sentire/guardare/ascoltare + oggetto + infinito o gerundio — l'ho visto uscire (l'azione intera) · l'ho visto uscendo (mentre uscivo io) — coi pronomi: l'ho sentito cantare, la vedo arrivare
"I saw him leave / heard her sing" — perception verbs plus an infinitive
C1Formation
vedere/sentire/guardare/ascoltare + oggetto + infinito o gerundio — l'ho visto uscire (l'azione intera) · l'ho visto uscendo (mentre uscivo io) — coi pronomi: l'ho sentito cantare, la vedo arrivare
Explanation
Verbs of perception — vedere, guardare, sentire, ascoltare, osservare — can take a direct object plus an infinitive to say you perceive someone doing something: Ho visto Marco uscire (I saw Marco leave), Ho sentito la vicina cantare (I heard the neighbour sing). The subject of the infinitive is the object of the perception verb, and with a pronoun it attaches normally: l'ho visto uscire, l'ho sentita cantare (with participle agreement on the perception verb: sentita, feminine). The infinitive presents the action as a whole, viewed from outside. A gerund is also possible but means something subtly different — it stresses the action in progress, and its subject can even be the main subject: L'ho visto uscendo di casa could mean "I saw him as I was leaving the house" (the gerund attaches to io). Because of this ambiguity, the infinitive (l'ho visto uscire = I saw him leave) is the safe, standard choice; reserve the gerund for when you really mean "in the act of".
Examples
Note
Default to the infinitive: l'ho visto uscire = "I saw him leave", clean and unambiguous, with participle agreement on the perception verb (l'ho vista uscire). Use the gerund only when you truly mean the action was ongoing — and beware that its subject can flip to "I" (l'ho visto uscendo = as I was leaving), which is why the infinitive is safer.
FAQ
I verbi di percezione: l'ho visto uscire — what does it mean and how is it used?
"I saw him leave / heard her sing" — perception verbs plus an infinitive. Verbs of perception — vedere, guardare, sentire, ascoltare, osservare — can take a direct object plus an infinitive to say you perceive someone doing something: Ho visto Marco uscire (I saw Marco leave), Ho sentito la vicina cantare (I heard the neighbour sing). The subject of the infinitive is the object of the perception verb, and with a pronoun it attaches normally: l'ho visto uscire, l'ho sentita cantare (with participle agreement on the perception verb: sentita, feminine). The infinitive presents the action as a whole, viewed from outside. A gerund is also possible but means something subtly different — it stresses the action in progress, and its subject can even be the main subject: L'ho visto uscendo di casa could mean "I saw him as I was leaving the house" (the gerund attaches to io). Because of this ambiguity, the infinitive (l'ho visto uscire = I saw him leave) is the safe, standard choice; reserve the gerund for when you really mean "in the act of".
I verbi di percezione: l'ho visto uscire — how do you form it?
vedere/sentire/guardare/ascoltare + oggetto + infinito o gerundio — l'ho visto uscire (l'azione intera) · l'ho visto uscendo (mentre uscivo io) — coi pronomi: l'ho sentito cantare, la vedo arrivare
I verbi di percezione: l'ho visto uscire — any usage notes?
Default to the infinitive: l'ho visto uscire = "I saw him leave", clean and unambiguous, with participle agreement on the perception verb (l'ho vista uscire). Use the gerund only when you truly mean the action was ongoing — and beware that its subject can flip to "I" (l'ho visto uscendo = as I was leaving), which is why the infinitive is safer.