notice

Question

They didn't notice the dog ___ after the cat under the big tree. (a) ran (b) was running (c) has run (d) runningThe given answer is (d). Is choice (b) also acceptable?

Annvan · Accepted Answer

For (b) to be acceptable I think you need to change the sentence - by adding "that", for example:

"They didn't notice that the dog was running after the cat..."

Marius Hancu · Answer

I think b) would be readily understood without that.

This is done in many informal and even formal contexts, skipping the that.
Not that I would recommend it.

Cool Breeze · Answer

Marius HancuI think b) would be readily understood without that.

This is done in many informal and even formal contexts, skipping the that.
Not that I would recommend it.

Hi Marius Hancu

It wouldn't be a mistake on your part to even recommend leaving out that as a conjunction. There is nothing wrong with that. It has been done for ages in English and until I hit these forums I never saw anyone dispute such usage in scholarly dissertations or grammar books.

As to the original poster, I can see why he is asking his question. To notice is a verb of perception, and in the active such verbs normally take either a plain infinitive or a present participle:

I saw him run.
I saw him running.

Not a that-clause: I saw that he was running./I saw that he ran.

However, even though some grammarians disapprove of that-clauses after these verbs, distinguished writers have been known to have used that-clauses in such contexts. In English, writers are not supposed to follow instructions that grammarians given them. It's the other way around: grammatical rules are written based on the usage of distinguished writers.

If a verb of perception is used in a slightly different sense, no one objects to a that-clause: I saw that he understood the problem. In this sentence saw means realised, and consequently the sentence is probably acceptable to all.

Cheers
CB

Marius Hancu · Answer

>It wouldn't be a mistake on your part to even recommend leaving out that as a conjunction.

I know. It's frequently left out in fiction.

However, I would not recommend doing that in legal, scientific or technical writing, in contexts where even the smallest doubt can exist. No confusion - you can relax.

Cool Breeze · Answer

Marius Hancu No confusion - you can relax.

Good! I'll try that, with the help of the sauna and a few cold Czech beers...

Cheers
CB

Grammarian-bot · Answer

I think it's safe bot to leave out that.

GB

Anonymous · Answer

thanks

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