a cloud look like a heart? Help me please!

Question

Dear Teachers  Q1Have you ever seen a cloud looks like a heart?Have you ever seen a cloud look like a heart?Are there any different meanings between them? Q2In spoken English can you accept a phrase as “they really small,” without a verb?Thanks a lot.Mister Micawber  2 days ago 9:39 am [More info] Q1-- Have you ever seen a cloud that looks like a heart?-- This is the only correct form.Q2--In spoken English can you accept a phrase as "they really small," without a verb?-- No.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Q1
Have you ever seen a cloud looks like a heart? Incorrect.
Have you ever seen a cloud look like a heart? No.

You can say:
"I have seen a cloud appear suddenly in a perfectly clear sky."
The verb after "cloud" in this sentence - appear - is dynamic. It has action. The verb "look" in your original sentence is not dynamic. Only dynamic verbs make sense in this pattern.

I saw the dog bite the postman. (Bite is a dynamic verb.)

I have never seen her be so mean. (Be is dynamic, meaning "act")

Jacky56LinIn spoken English can you accept a phrase as “they really small,” without a verb?
Thanks a lot.

No. Perhaps the sentence is "They're really small." and you do not hear the contraction. ('re)

Jacky56LinQ1-- Have you ever seen a cloud that looks like a heart?-- This is the only correct form.
Tell me in spoken English if we can omit the word “that” ?

No.

CalifJim · Answer

Jacky56LinI saw her run in there.
I saw him kill the dog.

This is the pattern:

[verb of perception] [object/subject] [base form of verb]

The most usual verbs of perception used in this construction are see, hear, and watch.

The middle element may be thought of as the object of the verb of perception.
It is also the subject of the verb at the end of the pattern.
The verb at the end must be in the base form.
[There is another pattern where the verb at the end is in the -ing form.
We are not talking about that in this post.]

I saw her + She ran in there = I saw her run in there.
I saw him + He killed the dog = I saw him kill the dog.
I heard the children + They sang three songs = I heard the children sing three songs.
I watched the man + The man wrote a letter = I watched the man write a letter.
___

Question forms are also possible:

Have you ever seen her run in there?
Have you ever heard the children sing their songs?
Have you ever watched a man write a letter?
_________

Without further explanation, you are right to believe that it should be correct to compose the following sentence:

You saw a cloud + A cloud looks like a heart = *You saw a cloud look like a heart.

and one of its question forms:

*Have you ever seen a cloud look like a heart?
____

But those are wrong, because there are restrictions on what kind of verb can go at the end of the pattern. Briefly, the verb at the end has to show some action, some kind of motion. Look at the verbs above that are correctly used in this pattern: run, kill, sing, write. All of these actions require someone to do something, to go through some motions, to act. That's why they are OK in this pattern.

Verbs that show no action, but only show a relationship, state, or condition, cannot be used in this pattern. Some of these "inactive" verbs are look like (= resemble), belong, be, seem, own, contain, have, and know. And there are quite a few others.

Think about it. When one thing resembles another, there is no action going on. When something belongs to someone, you see no action. If a glass contains water, you see no action. If I have two brothers, then I just have two brothers. No action occurs. I just have two brothers. Because of this, the following are all wrong:

*I saw the book belong to Mary.
*Jack heard him have a sister.
*We watched the child resemble his mother.
*They have seen us know the answer.
*Karen's mother heard her be quiet.

*Have you seen them own that house?
*Did you watch the workers seem tired?
*Have you ever seen a cloud look like a heart?

CJ

Jacky56Lin · Answer

Dear teacher CJ, and AlpheccaStars

[Y] Wow, seeing that really great answers from you makes me so happy

Thank your very much for so clear explanation about those “verb” words,

From now on I can use them more carefully, avoid too narrow usage of them

Thank you one more time.

CalifJim · Answer

Jacky56LinQ1-- Have you ever seen a cloud that looks like a heart?-- This is the only correct form.
Tell me in spoken English if we can omit the word “that” ?

Now you are talking about a different kind of grammatical pattern -- a relative clause.

[noun] [relative word] [descriptive clause]

The relative word is usually that or which or who.

Here's how this pattern works. Observe the three parts:

I bought this book.
It is [the book] [that] [ I bought ].
Tom read [the book] [that] .
[The book] [that] was very expensive.

Peter invited this boy to the party.
This is [the boy] [that] [ Peter invited to the party].
I have never met [the boy] [that] [Peter invited to the party].
[The boy] [that] [Peter invited to the party] was not very tall.

This plate looks broken.
This is [the plate] [that] [looks broken].
Lucy did not see [the plate] [that] [looks broken].
[The plate] [that] [looks broken] is on the kitchen table.
______________

Now take a look at the the structures above. The relative word takes the place of an object in the first two cases.

I bought the book. that I bought
Peter invited the boy. that Peter invited

And the relative word takes the place of a subject in the last case.

The plate looks broken. that looks broken.
_____________

So you can leave out the relative word in the first two cases, but you cannot leave it out in the last case because it's the subject.

Tom read the book I bought.< No that.

The boy Peter invited to the party was not very tall.< No that.

Lucy did not see the plate that looks broken.< that.

______________

Now you should be able to see that the relative word that cannot be omitted in your example because it is a subject:

The cloud looks like a heart. It is [a cloud] [that] [looks like a heart].

CJ

a cloud look like a heart? Help me please!

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