perception verb

Question

Hi, everyone. Are these correct?1. I saw the man shoot with a gun.2. I saw the man shot with a gun.3. I saw the man shooting with a gun.4. I listened to her to play the piano..5. I listened to her play the pianoI think 1 ~ 4 are correct, but not 5.

Inchoateknowledge · Accepted Answer

Hi

VErbs related to perception can be followed either by object + ing

However, listen to sg, sg = gerund phrase, playing the piano

Philip · Answer

T509Hi, everyone. Are these correct?

1. I saw the man shoot with a gun. ok the man you saw actually shot the gun

2. I saw the man shot with a gun. ok the man you saw had a bullet wound somewhere

3. I saw the man shooting with a gun. ok - see #1

4. I listened to her to play the piano.. no "to"

5. I listened to her play the piano ok - see #1

I think 1 ~ 4 are correct, but not 5.

4 is not correct; the rest are ok

Tanit · Answer

Philip1. I saw the man shoot with a gun. ok the man you saw actually shot the gun

3. I saw the man shooting with a gun. ok - see #1

I was told once that these two structures (both correct, as you've said) mean something slightly different:

1 => you see the entire action, from the beginning to the end (a 'movie');

3 => you see a particular moment of the action (a 'snapshot').

Do you believe this is true, or would you use them interchangeably?

Thanks!

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

"Do you believe this is true, or would you use them interchangeably?" That is true

Tanit · Answer

Inchoateknowledge"Do you believe this is true, or would you use them interchangeably?"

That is true

Thank you, but I'd rather have a native speaker's point of view (those who have been living for a long time in an English speaking country are welcome, as well!).

You know, that's what I learnt from grammar books and lessons, but people here don't seem to pay so much attention to these details ...

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

No problem, Sabs <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' alt='Emotion: wink'/>

Tanit · Answer

Thank you, PV <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' alt='Emotion: wink'/>

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

I did not know you were a girl :-O

BarbaraPA · Answer

Tanit, you're right in that with #3, the shooting could have started before I saw it and continued after I stopped looking.

If you observe the whole action, then "shoot" would be right.

Phoenix PR · Answer

1. I saw the man shoot with a gun. OKAY. Simplier version: I saw the man shoot a gun.
2. I saw the man shot with a gun. OKAY. I hope he recovers!

3. I saw the man shooting with a gun. OKAY. This implies he's shooting with numerous bullets.

4. I listened to her to play the piano. NO. Remove the second "to".

5. I listened to her play the piano. OKAY.

perception verb

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