Spanish: An Essential Grammar

Necesitamos comprar We need to buy petrol.

gasolina.

¿Lograste hacerlo? Did you manage to do it?

Verbs with different subjects

A small number of verbs can take a direct infinitive when the subjects of

the finite verb and the infinitive are not the same.

The main verbs that allow this construction are hacer‘to make’, mandar/

ordenar‘to order’,dejar‘to allow’, permitir‘to permit’, impedir‘to prevent’,

persuadir‘to persuade’, prohibir‘to forbid’, as well as perception verbs such

as oír‘to hear’, escuchar‘to listen’, mirar‘to watch’, sentir‘to feel’:

Nos hicieron traducir un They made us translate a

texto medieval. medieval text.

No permiten fumar a los They don’t allow the passengers

pasajeros. to smoke.

Le prohibieron poner la tele. They forbade him to put on the TV.

Lola mandó callar a su Lola told her brother to be

hermano. quiet.

Te oí entrar anoche. I heard you come in last night.

Note: For alternative constructions based on the subjunctive, see 12.1.1.

The infinitive verb has a passive or impersonal sense after the above verbs

if no subject is specified for it:

Hice llamar a la policía. I had the police called.

Oí cantar una rumba. I heard someone singing a

rumba.

Mandó llenar los bidones. He ordered the drums/cans to

be filled.

Prepositions + infinitive

Preposition required by preceding verb

Often the choice of preposition depends on the preceding verb:

soñar conhacer to dream about doing

dejar dehacer to stop doing

17.2.1

17.2

17.1.2

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1011

1

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3 4 5 6 7 8 9

20111

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

30111

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

40

41111

Prepositions

+ infinitive

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