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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

More verbs

In the sentence 'As soon as I saw the burglar climbing through the window into my neighbour’s house, I telephoned the police.' what is the role of the word climbing? I'd have thought it was acting as a verb as the burglar is carrying out the action, albeit in a participle form. Does that make it a gerund or can I still refer to it as a form of verb?
Many thanks!
  

Top answer

It's a participle, a form of the verb that acts as a modifier.

— Fivejedjon

  • It's a participle, a form of the verb that acts as a modifier.
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2 Answers
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It's a participle, a form of the verb that acts as a modifier.
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AnonymousI saw [the burglar climbing ... ]
Verbs of perception (see, hear, ...) form catenative structures with non-finite clauses which have a plain verb or a verb in -ing (plain infinitive or present participle).

I saw him climb ...
I saw him climbing ...

CJ
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