Conjugations after subject change?

Question

In the phrase "J'entends encore Papi râler comme il descendait..." why isn't the second verb râler conjugated given the subject changed?

Accepted Answer

Hi Danielle,
There is a little rule in French that says that when two verbs follow each other the second one is always in the infinitive.
As Jim says, Papi isn't the subject but the object of entendre.
Other examples might be -

J'entends encore Papi rire = I still hear Papi laugh
Je vois encore Papi tomber = I still see Papi fall
J'espère encore voir Papi = I still hope to see Papi

Hope this helps!

Answer

Salut Danielle,I see the subject as "Je" and the direct object as "Papi"So he is having a grumble as he descends ....   and the conjugation is on descendre (il descendait  in l'imparfait)Hope this helps.Bonne journéeJim

Answer

As Danielle says, Papi is effectively the subject of râler.

The reason that you can use an infinitive (rather than a subordinate clause) even when the subject has changed, is because entendre is a verb of perception. (Similarly voir, in Cécile's second example.)

Note that English also treats verbs of perception differently; the bare infinitive can be used (grumble, laugh, fall) without the word "to".

Answer

Thanks everyone, I'm glad this came up because I've always gotten stuck when saying similar sentences/clauses. l'll be more aware of these verbs of perception now. Good exercise, thanks.

Answer

Thanks to Danielle’s question and Alan’s answer, I finally got around to reading the attached link. Not sure I am glad I did, but probably a necessary ‘evil’. 
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/verbs-of-perception/