Which rule of grammar applies please? Verb tenses

Question

I am trying to find the rule of grammar that governs the tenses of the verbs in the following sentences (assuming they are correct):

She watched the boys throw the bottle in the lake. (So, for example, which grammar rule explains why "watched" is past tense and "throw" is present tense?)

Yesterday, she told him that she needed to take a nap. (In this example, which rule explains why both verbs are past tense?)

Thanks!!!

RPinPA · Accepted Answer

I believe the first one is infinitive. This website backs me up.

https://www.ef.edu/english-resources/english-grammar/infinitive/

They use the term "zero infinitive" to refer to the infinitive form of the verb, without the word "to".

THE ZERO INFINITIVE AFTER VERBS OF PERCEPTION
With verbs of perception, the pattern is verb + object + zero infinitive.

The second one is an example of indirect speech. It is describing what she said, but not a direct quote. The tense of what she said ("I need to take a nap") is changed to past tense in the indirect speech to match "she told him".

https://www.ef.edu/english-resources/english-grammar/direct-and-indirect-speech/

CalifJim · Answer

anonymousShe watched the boys throw the bottle in the lake.

The grammar of this sentence is governed by the concept of catenative verbs.

Each catenative verb allows a certain verb form to follow it. Which verb form or forms are allowed is determined by the specific verb. For example, 'avoid' allows only the -ing form (Avoid eating too much), 'decide' allows only the full infinitive (They decided to go later), and 'prefer' allows both (She prefers to swim; she prefers swimming).

As it happens, the verb 'watch' takes the plain form of the verb that follows. It is an infinitive without 'to'. It is not the present tense, so you should not call it the present tense. It also takes the -ing form.

She watched the boys take the old toaster apart.
She watched the boys taking the old toaster apart.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:English_catenative_verbs

anonymousYesterday, she told him that she needed to take a nap.

The grammar of this sentence is governed by the principle of "sequence of tenses".

The basic idea is that there are two points of view contained in the English tense system — the present point of view and the past point of view. The tenses of English can be classified by which point of view they belong in.

Present POV: present, present perfect, future of the present (will).
Past POV: past, past perfect, future of the past (would).

The basic principle is that the point of view established in the main clause should continue in a subordinate clause. This principle is followed fairly strictly after opening clauses like those with "thought that", "believed that", and "knew that". Thus, the following are almost never used:

He knew that I am ready. / We thought that she will leave. / I knew her name is Ellen.

To keep the point of view the same, we say

He knew that I was ready. / We thought that she would leave. / I knew her name was Ellen.

The same principle applies to your sentence (told that ... needed ...).

There are further complications, especially with modal verbs (can, may, might, etc.), but the basics above should help for most cases.

CJ

Which rule of grammar applies please? Verb tenses

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