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94 A SPANISH REFERENCE GRAMMAR

Tengo que estudiar una lecciOn means I have to study a lesson. 432.

  1. After verbs of perception (oir, ver, etc). the infinitive is the usual construction: veo venir a Juan, I see 7ohn coming. This is replaceable by a gerund: veo a Juan viniendo, or by a clause: veo a Juan que viene. See 449. 433.

  2. If the infinitive dependent upon a verb of perception has a noun subject it is preceded by a, since it is also the object of the verb of perception: oigo cantar a Juan, I hear 7ohn sing, or, singing. If the subject of the infinitive is a pronoun the a is not used and the pronoun as object takes its usual place before the verb of perception: le oigo cantar, I hear him sing. 434.

  3. " Hearsay " statements are expressed by oir followed by hablar or decir : he oido hablar de ellos, I have heard about them; of decir que habian venido, I heard that they had come. 435.

  4. After verbs of causation either the infinitive or the subjunctive may be used: hizo venir a Juan = hizo que Juan viniese, he made (had) 7ohn come. The infinitive is preferred if it is an intransitive verb; likewise if the subject of the dependent verb is a pronoun: le hizo venir, he made (had) him come. 436.

THE DEPENDENT INFINITIVE 95

  1. After certain verbs of will (especially of command and permission), the infinitive or subjunctive may be employed, especially if the verb is intransitive: mando venir a Juan = mando que Juan venga, I order 7ohn to come. Such are mandar, dejar, permitir, etc. When the infinitive is used the command is denoted as given directly, while the subjunctive usually denotes an indirect command. 437.

  2. Note that in 433-437, the infinitive, when used, immediately follows the main verb. 438.

  3. When verbs of will, causation, or perception are followed by a transitive infinitive with an object the force of the infinitive is passive: mando (hizo, vio) quemar a los traidores he ordered (had, saw) the traitors burned. 439.

3o. When a verb of will and a subordinate verb have the same subject, the subordinate verb is in the infinitive. If the subjects differ, the subordinate verb is in the subjunctive: quiere ir, he wishes to go; quiere que yo vaya, he wishes me to go. See 535. 440.

31. Similarly, verbs of saying and believing may be followed by the infinitive when the subjects are identical: dijo haber venido, he said he had come; crey6 ver la torre, he thought he saw the tower. 441.

3z. The infinitive may be used as an impera-

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