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Hi! Saskia for BBC Learning English here,

and today I'm going to tell you about

how we use verbs of perception in English. |||||percezione||

There are a number of these verbs

but I'm just going to look at two with you now: |io sono|||||||||

see and hear.

When we use these verbs, this is the form:

First, the verb of perception.

Then, the object of the sentence.

Then we have either

the infinitive without to or the -ing form.

Here's an example:

I heard him go down the stairs.

Or:

I heard him going down the stairs.

There's a slight difference between these two forms: ||leggero||||| ||pequena|||||

When we use the infinitive,

it suggests that we hear or see |suggerisce che|||||

the whole action or event.

Using the –ing form suggests that

we hear or see something in progress.

'I saw her cross the street'

means I saw her cross from one side to the other.

'I saw her crossing the street'

means I saw her in the middle – on the way across.