Comment on a Activity vs Relate Experience COMMENT + ACTIVITY The verbs below express attitude or opinion about an activity The verb is complemented by a gerund (nonfinite) clause (See Verb + Gerund.) SUBJ + PREDICATE COMPLEMENT / OBJECT We enjoy seeing sheep walking on the road We couldn't help noticing sheep as they walked by We recall hearing dogs barking behind the herd of sheep We loved hearing them making "baaa" sounds We kept watching them pass by SENSORY EXPERIENCE + DESCRIPTION A similar but different meaning is expressed below The verb expreses direct observation, perception, or experience of something The object noun is complemented by a reduced modifying clause (participial) SUBJ + PRED + OBJ COMPLEMENT / MODIFIER We saw sheep walking on the road (who were) walking… (modifies sheep) We noticed sheep walking by (who were) walking by (modifies sheep) We heard (dogs¹) barking behind the herd of sheep (who were) barking… (modifies dogs) We had fun² hearing them making "baaa" sounds (which was) hearing them… (modifies fun) We sat³ watching them pass by (and we were) watching them… (modifies we) That-Clause vs ing-Clause Express indirect or direct knowledge Indirect Knowledge vs Direct Experience THAT-CLAUSE After see and heard the subordinator that + a clause expresses someone's knowledge about something The source is second-hand, indirect, from someone else INDIRECT KNOWLEDGE THROUGH EVIDENCE We saw that they walked down the road We came later and saw sheep droppings on the road INDIRECT KNOWLEDGE We heard that they walked down the road Someone told us about it LEARN FROM PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE We found that it was better to take a different road in the morning We learned this from previous experience BELIEVE OR THINK FROM PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE We felt that the sheep had the right of way so we stopped We believed or held this opinion PARTICIPLE CLAUSE After see, hear, find, or feel, a gerund-participle clause expresses someone's experience The experience is first-hand, direct, by oneself DIRECT VISUAL EXPERIENCE We saw them walk/ walking down the road We saw them They were walking down the road DIRECT AUDITORY EXPERIENCE We heard them walking down the road We heard them They were walking down the road DIRECT DISCOVERY EXPERIENCE We found them walking on the road at 7:00 a.m We discovered them They were walking down the road DIRECT SENSORY EXPERIENCE We felt the car shaking as they walked by We experienced it.The car was shaking Sensory Verbs Followed by -ing or base form -ing Form vs Plain Form (Base Form) –ING VERB FORM A sensory verb is followed by a noun and optionally a modifying clause (particpial clause / gerund-participle clause) We smelled a skunk [that was] passing by We saw an athlete [who was] running a marathon race We heard cows [that were] mooing (making cow sounds) We saw some birds [that were] flying away We heard the neighbors [who were] leaving at 7:00 am We watched our mother [who was] cooking dinner We felt the temperature [that was] rising We observed the doctor [who was] doing open-heart surgery We noticed the man [who was] putting something in his pocket The police found the thieves [who were] hiding (found = observed) She caught¹ her husband [who was] cheating BARE / BASE VERB FORM Some sensory verbs are followed by a plain form / base verb form This form does not change the meaning We smelled it pass[ing] by We saw him run [ing] a marathon race We heard them moo [ing] (make cow sounds) We saw them fly [ing] away We heard them leave [ing] at 7:00 am We watched her cook [ing] dinner We felt it rise [ing] Have Expressions Followed by -ing clauses Having a particular experience EXPRESSING POSSESSION When have is used to express possession, it is commonly followed by a noun (No gerund form is possible.) We had a mobile phone We had a holiday We had a frisbee We had a karaoke machine She had a baby We had breakfast / lunch / dinner They are having a party (hosting an event) He is having a cigarette / a break (take) Have a bite / a drink / a seat (take) She is having a bath (take) Have a good day / holiday / Merry Christmas (enjoy) HAVING A PARTICULAR EXPERIENCE When have is used to express experience, it is followed by a gerund-participle clause (nonfinite) Typically, the speaker expresses a good or bad experience "which was" We had difficulty finding a public phone We had difficulty (which was) finding… We had a hard time finding his number They had no trouble driving to your house They had an easy time driving to your house She had an awful¹ time getting a visa We had fun skiing (pleasant) We had a ball skiing (a ball = fun) We experienced difficulty finding a pay phone Passing-Time Verbs Followed by gerunds Spending Time (doing something) TWO SEPARATE ACTIVITIES With a few verbs, two activities can be combined together Note how these verbs joined by and can be restated He sat and ate his dinner He stood and argued with me He lies around and reads the newspaper (or lies down) He wasted time and texted on his telephone She spends hours and does her homework SPENDING TIME VERB-ING These verbs with the meaning of "passing time" can be followed by an activity, a gerund clause He sat eating his dinner He stood arguing with me He lies around reading the newspaper He wastes time texting on his telephone She spends hours doing her homework Other Verbs Followed by Gerunds Verb + Object + Verb-ing OBSERVATION PERCEPTION EXPERIENCE PASSING TIME see I saw her leaving / leave feel I felt her sneezing / sneeze have trouble I have trouble hearing sit I sat watching the sheep watch I watched them falling / fall hear I heard her coughing / cough have difficulty I have difficulty spelling stand I stood waiting for them observe I saw her leaving smell I smelled her have fun I have passing / pass by fun dancing lie around I lay around relaxing notice I noticed her arriving have a great time I had a great time traveling lie He lay complaining catch I caught them relaxing have an easy time I had an easy time driving waste time He wastes time shopping find I found her sleeping have a ball I have a ball playing video games spend time I spend time browsing overheard We overheard them fighting