What grammar rule best explains this sentence construction?

Question

Hi All,

why does this sentence "I just saw a dream come true" have "saw" in the past tense and "come" in the present tense? I do know that it is grammatically correct, though, some of my friends tend to say "I just saw a dream came true". I asked them why they say it the way they do, and their reply was that the tenses have to be consistent.

How else can I explain this?

Renan torres-rivero · Accepted Answer

Welcome to the Forum, Curious Cat!

Well, regarding your question, you may point out the grammar of this structure:

see somebody/something do something

Exm:

- I saw him leave a few minutes ago.

You don't say: "I saw him left..." - That's totally incorrect.

And, it doesn't matter if the subject of the second action is singular or plural. the second verb (after see) is always in the base form (infinitive without to).

- I saw my dad kiss good-bye mom this morning before breakfast.

You don't say: "I saw my dad kisses..." nor "I saw my dad kissed...".

So, the original sentence: "I just saw a dream come true" is grammatically correct.

Cheers,

RENAN

Lima - Perú

[H]

English 1b3 · Answer

Verbs such as see often have a direct object followed by the base form of a verb (bare infinitive):

I saw him kiss--where kiss is the base form and him is the object

CalifJim · Answer

Curious Cat"I just saw a dream come true" have "saw" in the past tense and "come" in the present tense?

come is not in the present tense. It is an infinitive, but the to has been removed, as is required in this construction.

I saw a dream to come true.

Verbs of perception follow this pattern. The examples that occur most often are see, watch, hear, and listen to.

Tom saw the car explode. (from ... saw the car to explode.)
I heard the president speak. (from ... heard the president to speak.)
Did you watch the children play? (from ... watch the children to play.)
Luke listened to the professor explain the problem.
Mindy has been watching people walk across that bridge all day.

Other verbs which use the same pattern are let, make, have, and help.

CJ

Curious Cat · Answer

thank you for your reply Renan, I never knew such rule (infinitive without to) existed! Big help!

Curious Cat · Answer

Thanks for the quick reply English 1b3, I'll keep that in mind!

Curious Cat · Answer

Hi CalifJim, thank you for the detailed explanation! this definitely made infinitives much clearer when you said that "come" is not in the present tense. I never knew any rule of dropping the "to" existed. Excellent work. I now know what to search for if I want to know more about it. Thanks again!

Anonymous · Answer

I think, whenever you use just, you must use present perfect tense.

So.... your sentence should be,

"I saw a dream come true" or

"I just have seen a dream come true"

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousI think, whenever you use just, you must use present perfect tense.

Many writers follow this practice, but it is not necessary. You can use the simple past with 'just' - at least in American English.

CJ

What grammar rule best explains this sentence construction?

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