difference(s) between "watched the cat climb" and "watched the cat climbing"?

Question

Here is their full sentences:"We watched the cat climb the tree.""We watched the cat climbing the tree."

Canadian45 · Accepted Answer

Mông Lung LinhHere are their full sentences. (whose sentences?)
1) "We watched the cat climb the tree." "climb" is a pure verb, and this sentence is what one would normally use to express that meaning.

2) "We watched the cat climbing the tree. "climbing" is really (more of) an adjective modifying "cat".
for example....
'We watched the cat climbing the tree, not the cat sleeping in the grass.

Having said the above, some native speakers probably would use the second sentence to mean what the first one says. But I would only use the first one.

Fivejedjon · Answer

Mông Lung Linh "We watched the cat climb the tree.""We watched the cat climbing the tree."

Both are correct and natural.
In the first we watched the whole process as the cat started at the bottom of the tree and made its way to place it wanted to be.
In the second, we are saying only that we observed the act of climbing. It is quite possible that we did not observe the whole process.

The difference is clearer in these two sentences:

I watched the cat climb over the fence.
I watched the two men climbing the mountain. (until I got bored).

Canadian45 · Answer

fivejedjonIn the first we watched the whole process as the cat started at the bottom of the tree and made its way to place it wanted to be.
In the second, we are saying only that we observed the act of climbing. It is quite possible that we did not observe the whole process

I am not convinced that there is any difference in the duration of watching between the two sentences.
'We watched the cat (climb)(climbing) the tree for a minute or two.'

Avangi · Answer

We watched the cat kill the rat.
We watched the cat kill the rat for a minute or two, but we couldn't take it any longer.

Without the adverbial, it's natural to assume that we watched the whole process.

I watched the Red Sox beat the Yankees.

Even: I saw the Red Sox beat the Yankees. .

I saw the Red Sox beating the Yankees, but I had to go home.

Canadian45 · Answer

I'm not convinced.

CalifJim · Answer

1 I heard her play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata at last night's recital.
2 I heard her playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata as I passed by her practice room.

I sense that 1 is about the whole sonata and 2 is only about a fragmentary part of it. I sense the same is true, even if less obvious, if we remove the adverbials that give more definition to each situation.

CJ

Canadian45 · Answer

CalifJimI sense that 1 is about the whole sonata and 2 is only about a fragmentary part of it. I sense the same is true, even if less obvious, if we remove the adverbials that give more definition to each situation.

Okay that's fine; we can disagree. Several of you have been adding adverbials, which perhaps strictly one shouldn't do, because it.could prejudice the interpretation.

5jj stated "In the second, we are saying only that we observed the act of climbing. It is quite possible that we did not observe the whole process." That's my underling but it seems that 5jj is less than 100% convinced. I am saying the same thing basically, which is that I am not convinced that "We watched the cat climbing" precludes watching the whole thing.
Anyway, the majority of you feel otherwise, so probably you win on points.

CalifJim · Answer

canadian45I am saying the same thing basically, which is that I am not convinced that "We watched the cat climbing" precludes watching the whole thing.

Right. We watched the cat climbing (something) doesn't imply that we did not watch the entire climbing episode, but it doesn't imply that we did either. On the other hand, a version like We watched the cat climb (something) implies we watched the entire climbing episode — almost always if not always.

CJ

difference(s) between "watched the cat climb" and "watched the cat climbing"?

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