Two verbs in a sentence

Question

Hi All,Need your help understand on how to use two verbs in a sentence. Which of the following is correct and why?1) I've always seen him cry.2) I've always seen him crying.I often see people using first form of verb followed by first verb in a sentence.Thanks in advance.Cheers,Sau

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Both sentences are ungrammatical. "I have seen" is present perfect, and the present perfect cannot be used like this. In a similar context, the following would be okay:

"I've seen that crybaby somewhere."

CalifJim · Answer

jalpaan09Need your help understand on how to use two verbs in a sentence.

It depends on the first verb. Any lexical verb that occurs before another lexical verb is called a catenative verb.

If the second verb follows the first directly, the combination is called a simple catenative construction. If a noun phrase (NP) intervenes between the two verbs, it's a complex catenative construction. The intervening NP is usually interpreted as the subject of the second verb. If the intervening NP is a personal pronoun, it is in the objective case.

The second verb is always a non-finite form. This can be a base form (infinitive without 'to'), an infinitive (with 'to'), an -ing form (present participle), or an -en form (past participle). The first verb determines which non-finite form or forms of the second verb are permitted.

jalpaan09seen him cry

Here the underlined element is the NP that makes this a complex catenative construction.

The base (cry) form is allowed after 'see'.

jalpaan09seen him crying

The -ing form (crying) is also allowed after 'see'.

See the articles listed here to find out more about catenative verbs.

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=HZh8W8zCBpD2swXctIm4CA&q=catenative+verbs&btnK=Google+Search&oq=catenative+verbs&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l4j0i22i30l6.5283.8649..9457...0.0..0.148.1799.1j15......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i131.KHF91oA1OK4

CJ

Two verbs in a sentence

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