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Taka Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Break

I heard the window broke.
I heard the window breaking.

Is there any situations where the second version would work?
  

Top answer

I heard the window break . I heard the window breaking . ) in the active voice can be followed by a plain/bare infinitive or a present participle .

— Cool Breeze

  • I heard the window break .
  • I heard the window breaking .
  • ) in the active voice can be followed by a plain/bare infinitive or a present participle .
  • There is usually no difference in meaning.
  • In your examples, I would only use the participle if the breaking process took an exceptionally long time, which is unlikely.
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11 Answers
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I heard the window break.
I heard the window breaking.

A verb of perception (see, hear, feel etc.) in the active voice can be followed by a plain/bare infinitive or a present participle. There
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Oops!! Sorry! There is a typo. A huge one. The first one should have been this instead:

I heard the window broken.
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TakaI heard the window broken.
To me, this implies that someone broke the window.
TakaI heard the window broke.
Correct, but it means that the speaker was told that the window broke.
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TakaI heard the window broken.
I consider that ungrammatical.

CB
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Cool Breeze TakaI heard the window broken.I consider that ungrammatical.CB
Really? In what?
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ozzourti, do you have the same idea as CB's?

I would only use the participle if the breaking process took an exceptionally long time, which is unlikely.
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I can't really put my finger on why it would be grammatically impossible. Maybe such passive constructions are not common with 'break', and perhaps it would be better to say 'being broken' instead, but I found these:

Also, like most city air shafts, this was a depository for junk. There were windows in opposite buildings farther down, and we had heard glass broken there before.
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I heard (that) the window broke. Emotion: yes = Someone told me that the window broke.
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akaI heard the window broken. Emotion: no I heard (the sound of) the window being broken.
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ozzourtiI can't really put my finger on why it would be grammatically impossible. Maybe such passive constructions are not common with 'break', and perhaps it would be better to say 'being broken' instead,
What do you think about the length of time CB has mentioned?
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