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To see and to hear + ing/ bare infinitive - English lesson

The reception of the sensory message is involuntary... After that involuntary reception, if

ever we want or need it, then, we can 'look' or/ and 'listen' with more or less attention,

depending on our interests... 

Let's be careful when we want to use these verbs; they have different constructions.  

SEE  and HEAR are two 'non-Volitional' verbs (you receive the sensory input without

having to try to.) 

These verbs have two different constructions of their DOC (direct object complement). 

1) SEE and HEAR may be followed by a DOC + bare infinitive. 

- She saw him get off the train and waved at him. 

      Hear a bee cough                                                          ...hear you cry

This construction is used when the subject sees or hears the action totally. 

The subject has seen the man and waved at him. The two actions were seen

totally, from beginning to end. 

2) SEE and HEAR + V + ING:

- I heard her going up the stairs. 

That construction in V+ing is used when the subject was seen doing the action.

It had already started and went on till its completion. 

The subject was caught red-handed! 

She was going up the stairs...

This construction may also stress the fact that the action was long...

That was quick and easy, wasn't it? Now, go for the test!   

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1. 'Don't tell me you've never kissed him! Yesterday, I saw you kisskissingkissesI don't know him, and then he left in a hurry!'



2. 'Well! Laura is having fun, isn't she? Can you hear her laughlaughinglaughsI don't know just now...'



3. 'Marty didn't miss his train... I saw him gettinggetgetsI don't know on it... He was so early that he took the time to talk to his friends on the platform.'



4. 'Sara had a sleepless night... I heard her walkingwalkwalkedI don't know in her room till four in the morning.'



5. 'I took the letter in Paul's desk...' 'What!? And you're perfectly sure he didn't see you takestakingtakeI don't know the letter?'



6. 'The kids escaped from your home to play with their friends... I saw them ranrunningrunI don't know away before you arrived.'



7. 'Martin screamed in his sleep!' 'Yes, he did, I heard him screamscreamsscreamingI don't know once around two and that woke me up!'



8. 'We heard father and son quarrellingquarrelquarrelledI don't know all day long! It was really irritating!'



9. 'Finally I heard Jimmy slamslammedslammingI don't know the door at dinner time.'



10. 'The policeman saw the thief snatchsnatchingsnatchedI don't know the old woman's bag and could arrest him immediately...'