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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

"To be seen to be doing"

"To be seen to be doing" I have known that "to be seen doing" is right but we need "to" for "do" or "to be" for "doing"? And "to be" can be omitted like others? What a new thing to me it is!! That's why I must be humble when it comes to English. So what do you think? Do we need "to" or "to be" to make "see" a passive voice form? For example, The baby was seen to be crying and the baby is seen to sleep. Thank you so much in advance.
  

Top answer

"To be seen to be doing" -- This is a form used of someone who is 'doing' with the conscious knowledge of being watched: When I am at work, I want to be seen to be working, so I shuffle my papers a lot . "The baby was seen to cry". -- This form merely states the observation.

— Mister Micawber

  • "To be seen to be doing" -- This is a form used of someone who is 'doing' with the conscious knowledge of being watched: When I am at work, I want to be seen to be working, so I shuffle my papers a lot .
  • "The baby was seen to cry".
  • -- This form merely states the observation.
  • Doubtless the two forms do get used for the same phenomenon, however.
  • In such a case, the continuous form would suggest its common purpose of somewhat intensifying the statement, of showing a somewhat increased emotional involvement by the speaker.
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5 Answers
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"To be seen to be doing"-- This is a form used of someone who is 'doing' with the conscious knowledge of being watched: When I am at work, I want to be seen to be working, so I shuffle my papers a lot.

"The baby was seen to cry". -- This form merely states the observation.

Doubtless the two forms do get used for the same phenomenon, however. In such a case,
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Thank you a lot and can I ask one more question? Do you think there is a meaning difference all the time between' I saw that the baby was crying and I saw the baby crying'? Because of the same meaning between 'think A to be and 'think that A is B', I also think we can say "see / hear objects -ing or verbs" can be the same as "hear /see that S +V". What do you think? Thank you.
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I saw that the baby was crying -- It seems to me that this would more usually be followed by a result clause: '.. and so I picked it up and comforted it.'
I saw the baby crying -- This seems more likely to be the end of the matter.
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So you mean as a native English speaker, you feel some difference between them and use and understand them separately? Thank you.
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AnonymousSo you mean as a native English speaker, you feel some difference between them and use and understand them separately?
I only sense a possible difference, and I am sure that I do not knowingly use them separately.
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