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Danny2312 Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Past tense?

I have a question that bothers me and I hope someone could help me.

Adapted from Nicholas Sparks's The Guardian: "Richard leaned forward when he saw her appear in the window, her face illuminated."

May I know why it's 'appear' and not 'appeared'?

Thank you.
  

Top answer

The main, finite verb is 'saw'. 'Appear' is an infinitive. Similarly: I heard him come in.

— Mister Micawber

  • The main, finite verb is 'saw'.
  • 'Appear' is an infinitive.
  • Similarly: I heard him come in.
  • I felt something move under the cover.
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7 Answers
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The main, finite verb is 'saw'. 'Appear' is an infinitive. Similarly:

I heard him come in.

I felt something move under the cover.
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Shouldn't it be 'I felt something moving under the cover' or 'I heard him coming in'?

I'm a bit confused here.
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Those are both OK, too. The '-ing' form suggests that the action is continuing/unfinished.
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Hello Danny2312 Emotion: smile

After secondary verbs in sentences we use the bare infinitive (without +to ) as the past tense is already
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Thanks, both of you.

Just one more question: Is it wrong to say 'I felt something moved under the cover' if it happens in the past? Because I'm used to writing 'moved' as I thought it suggests that it happens in the past.
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That is possible, but you should realize that that is a different structure:

I felt (that) something moved under the cover.
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Okay. Thank you very much! Emotion: smile
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