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We've already seen that verbs
can be connected in the
patterns
Verb + to + Verb
("want to leave"), Verb +
Object + to
+ Verb ("want him to leave"), Verb + Object
+ Verb ("make him leave"), and Verb + -ing Verb
("regret
leaving")
patterns. In addition,
a small number of verbs
(the verbs of perception) can be used in the pattern
Verb
+ -ing Verb OR Verb
+ Object + Verb.
Verbs of Perception
feel
hear
listen to |
|
look
at
notice
observe |
|
see
smell
watch |
Examples:
I felt the room moving. /
I felt the room move.
We heard her playing her violin. /
We heard her play her violin.
She noticed him leaving. /
She noticed him leave.
He smelled his dinner burning. /
He smelled his dinner burn.
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Special Note:
| 1. |
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In the Verb + Object + gerund
pattern, the gerund
generally shows the same meaning that
is shown by
while + a clause with an -ing verb:
I felt the room moving. =
I felt the room while it
was moving.
He smelled his dinner burning.
= He smelled
his dinner while it was burning.
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| 2. |
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Although there is often no
difference in meaning
between
Verb + Object + Gerund
and Verb +
Object
+ Verb, this is not always
true. When there
is a difference in meaning, the gerund
suggests
that its action was in progress from
beginning to
end, while this is not suggested by
the base form:
She noticed him leaving. (She noticed him from
the time that
he began to leave until he had gone.)
She noticed him leave. (She noticed him at the
time that
he left.)
We watched the L.A. Lakers
playing the
championship
game. (We watched all of the
championship
game that the L.A. Lakers played.)
We watched the L.A. Lakers
play the
championship
game. (We watched some of the
championship
game that the L.A. Lakers played.)
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