English grammar help please

[freewind]

I know, a video game forum isn't particularly the best place to ask an English grammar question. But I love you guys and I am sure that someone can help me clarify it.

I would like to confirm the usage of the following two construction:

1. I saw him entering the house.

2. I saw him enter the house.

If I understand correctly, the first construction means "He was entering the house and I saw him". The second one means "He entered the house and I saw him".

By the same reasoning, the following sentences have these meanings:

3.Did Sam see him entering the house? (At the moment when he was entering the house, Sam saw the whole process of entering and I am questioning someone if that was true.)

4.Did Sam see him enter the house? (He entered the house before. Sam saw him did that, not necessarily the complete process and I am questioning someone if that was true.)

5.I didn’t hear you come in. (You came in and I did not hear you)

6.I didn’t hear you coming in. (You were coming in and I did not hear you)


Can I say the following?

1.I saw the accident happening / I saw the accident happen.

2. I found him stealing my pens/ I found him steal my pens.

3.I felt something touching my hand/ I felt something touch my hand.

[Mizango]

Not sure 100% of what is being asked but it seems to me that you are trying to differentiate some of the subtle differences between something being past and present tense?

I have a tiny hangover, bear with me. lol

[edgarfigaro]

1 and 3 are fine, 2 isn't. English is really idiosyncratic...rules do not apply sometimes, you just have to go by what "feels right."

"I found him steal my pens" is awkward, but "I saw him steal my pens" isn't. I would really, really hate to learn English as a second language.

[freewind]

Thank you for your help. I am not asking about past and present tense. I am trying to understand the difference between "see somebody doing something" and "see some body do something". After understanding the difference, I would like to know if I can say the following sentences:

1.I saw the accident happening
2.I saw the accident happen.
3.I found him stealing my pens
4.I found him steal my pens.
5.I felt something touching my hand.
6.I felt something touch my hand.

It seems to me that I may not be able to say one of the sentences above and for each pair the meanings are not entirely the same.

[edgarfigaro]

1 and 2 have no difference as far as I can tell...the only difference would be you would most likely use the first construction if you were talking about the accident relatively soon afterwards (like 2-3 hours) and the second construction a couple of days afterwards. That is a just a slight nuance and really wouldn't apply to written language, more to a conversation.

3 is fine, 4 is an awkward construction and shouldn't be used.

5 and 6 are both fine, 5 indicates that something is touching your hand passively (your hand brushed a leaf for example) and 6 indicates that something is actively touching your hand (another person possibly).

[Intense]

Edgar, did you mix up your numbers? the last bit you wrote about should have 5 and 6 reversed

[Mysterio]

They are commonly used in the same context freewind, I don't see what the issue is here lol.

My quick opinion would be present and past tense, but you allready stated thats not what you're after here.

So other than saying they are interchangable in any scenario I don't have anything else to add, other than my infallible satire.

[Charla]

Technically every sentence there is in past tense, and the difference between "happen" and "happening" is a matter of using the verb itself rather than its gerund form (yes I had to look up what it was called) in an objective phrase after the main verb.

The way I understand it, all of them other than "I found him steal" are grammatically correct. The objects of to see and to feel are pretty flexible, but to find should be more specific. In the end they all get the point across, but number 4 makes you sound like a foreigner.

[Mysterio]

stick with number 4.

[freewind]

Thank you all for the help. :D

So in summary, "see somebody doing" and "see somebody do" both mean the same thing, and every pair of sentences I mentioned has the same meaning except 3 and 4, which 4 is an awkward way of saying it.

Do I get it right?

[Mysterio]

Thank you all for the help. :D

So in summary, "see somebody doing" and "see somebody do" both mean the same thing, and every pair of sentences I mentioned has the same meaning except 3 and 4, which 4 is an awkward way of saying it.

Did I get it right?

yes, you did. lol

[freewind]

Thank you all for the help. :D

So in summary, "see somebody doing" and "see somebody do" both mean the same thing, and every pair of sentences I mentioned has the same meaning except 3 and 4, which 4 is an awkward way of saying it.

Did I get it right?

yes, you did. lol

[dietvanillapepsi]

As for "do" and "doing", they do infer different things. The meanings are subtle and maybe unimportant so that is why they are often interchangable. The -ing in your example is called perfect tense.

We can ignore the "I saw..." parts of your examples since "...him entering the house" and "him enter the house" are both objects of the phrase "I saw (what)."

"him enter the house" is one simple act of entering.

"him entering the house" leaves it open if you want. Without any other time indicator, this could mean "I saw him entering the house several times."

Again, the difference in meaning could be unimportant but to be technical there is a difference.

[Charla]

And the difference in meaning will depend on what verbs you're using in the first place.