Last week I told you about the Complex Object construction - complex addition.
Her we used to say that one person wants/expects/hopes/thinks that another will or will not do something. For example: I want her to water the flowers.
In this article we will analyze Complex Object with verbs sensory perception : saw, heard, observed, etc. For example: They watched him dance.
The construction of sentences with such verbs is different, and there are some nuances here.
In the article I will tell you in detail about this construction and about the formation of sentences with its help.
From the article you will learn:
What is a complex object with sensory verbs?
We have already looked into last article What we use Complex Object is when one person wants/expects another person to do or not do something.
For example: I want you to read this article.
However there is special kind verbs (actions) are sensory verbs :
- saw
- heard
- noticed
- observed others
In Complex object we use them to say we saw/heard/noticed another person doing something.
Let's look at two examples.
Regular offer: I saw a broken vase.
ComplexObject: I saw him break a vase.
As you can see, in the first sentence we see some kind of object. And in the second, the action of another person. This is a complex addition.
There are two objects in such sentences:
- The one who sees/hears/notices ( I saw)
- The one who is seen/heard/noticed ( He broke)
In Complex Object, sentences with feeling verbs are built according to special rules. Let's look at how.
Attention: Want to overcome the language barrier and speak English? Find out at free lesson like our students!
Rules for constructing complex object sentences with feeling verbs
There are several nuances in the formation of such proposals. Let's look at them:
1. We put the main thing first in the sentence actor- the one who sees, hears, etc.: I, you, she, he, they, we.
For example:
She....
She....
2. In second place we put our verbs of feelings in the past tense:
see-saw- saw
hear - heard- heard
feel - felt- felt
observe - observed- watched
watch - watched- looked, watched
notice - noticed- noticed
For example:
I saw....
I saw....
She heard....
She saw....
3. After the action comes the person who is wanted to do something. Notice how our pronouns change:
I-me
you - you
He-him
she-her
they - them
we - us
This happens because here the pronoun is not the main character, but is an addition - the one we see, hear, etc.
For example:
I saw him....
I saw how he...
She heard them....
She heard them...
- We say that we saw some fact. That is, you just looked at something, heard something. In this case, the verb (action) is in initial form without the to particle in front of it: read, go, study
For example:
I saw him read a book.
I saw him reading a book (I just saw him sitting with a book, no matter how long).
She heard them sing a song.
She heard them singing a song (just heard them singing)
- We say that we saw some kind of process. That is, that the action continued for some time. In this case we add the -ing ending to the verb (action)
For example:
I saw him reading a book.
I saw him reading a book (we emphasize that he did this for some time).
She heard them singing a song.
She heard them singing a song (we emphasize the duration of the action, they sang for some time)
Let's look at the construction schemes for both types of sentences.
Let's talk about the fact
In this case, we use the verb in the initial form without the particle to. We use this sentence when we talk about some fact, that is, something happened. For example: I saw the car drive up.
The outline of such a proposal:
Actor + saw/heard/felt + the one who was seen + action
| I | me | ||
| You | you | ||
| We | saw | us | read |
| They | heard | them | come |
| She | noticed | her | sleep |
| He | him | ||
| It |
it |
They saw her enter the room.
They saw her enter the room.
She noticed him take a key.
She noticed he took the key.
We add the ending -ing when we want to emphasize the duration of an action, that is, the fact that we observed some kind of process. For example: She watched them cross the road (watched the process of how they walked across the road).
The outline of such a proposal:
Actor + saw/heard/felt + the one who was seen + action with ending -ing
| I | me | ||
| You | you | ||
| We | saw | us | reading |
| They | heard | them | going |
| She | noticed | her | sleeping |
| He | him | ||
| It |
it |
I heard her singing.
I heard her sing.
We observed him doing it.
We watched him do this.
Negative sentences in Complex object with feeling verbs
We can say that we did not see, notice, or hear the other person doing something. To do this, you need to put a negative in the first part.
Negation is formed using auxiliary verb did and negative particles not(abbreviated as didn"t).
At the same time, our verbs see, hear, notice we leave in the initial form.
Let's talk about the fact
Actor + didn’t + see/hear/feel + the one who was seen + action
| I | me | |||
| You | you | |||
| We | see | us | read | |
| They | didn't | hear | them | come |
| She | notice | her | sleep | |
| He | him | |||
| It |
it |
They didn't see leave him.
They didn't see him leave.
She didn't hear they broke a vase.
She didn't hear them break the vase.
We emphasize the duration of action
Offer outline:
Actor + didn’t + see/hear/feel + the one who was seen + action ending -ing
| I | me | |||
| You | you | |||
| We | see | us | reading | |
| They | didn't | hear | them | going |
| She | notice | her | sleeping | |
| He | him | |||
| It |
it |
We didn't watch him jogging.
We didn't watch him run.
He didn't notice us waving him.
He didn't notice how we waved to him.
Interrogative sentences in Complex object with verbs of feelings
We can ask if the person saw, noticed, or heard someone else do something.
For this purpose, auxiliary verb did must be put first in the sentence.
The actions see, hear, notice themselves will appear in the initial form.
Let's talk about the fact
The outline of such a proposal would be:
Did + actor + see/hear/feel + the one who was seen + action?
| I | me | |||
| you | you | |||
| we | see | us | read? | |
| Did | they | hear | them | come? |
| she | notice | her | sleep? | |
| he | him | |||
| it | it |
Did he see does she get into the car?
Did he see her get into the car?
Did they notice does he open a door?
Did they notice him open the door?
We emphasize the duration of action
The outline of such a proposal would be:
Did + actor + see/hear/feel + the one who was seen + action ending -ing
| I | me | |||
| you | you | |||
| we | see | us | reading? | |
| Did | they | hear | them | going? |
| she | notice | her | sleeping? | |
| he | him | |||
| it | it |
Did they watch him playing football?
Did they watch him play football?
Did she observe them doing home work?
Did she watch them do their homework?
So, we've covered the theory, and now let's practice making such sentences in practice.
Reinforcement task
Translate the following sentences into English:
1. He watched her read a book.
2. They noticed him smoking.
3. We didn’t see her come.
4. Did you hear them knock?
5. He didn’t see her cry.
6. Did she watch them swim?
IN English language there are a number certain verbs, which have their own characteristics and are not used in groups for long periods of time.
Concepts of dynamic and static verbs
English verbs can be divided into two subcategories: static and dynamic.
Dynamic imply physical action, activity, development, movement. They are used in all tense forms, including the group of continuous tenses. There are a few interesting features, which distinguish them from static ones. Actions expressed by dynamic verbs can be consciously performed within a certain period of time and the duration of the process can be controlled. For example, words such as run (run), read (read), speak (speak), learn (teach), dance (dance), work (work). In addition, this activity can be depicted. For example, draw, capture on camera or photograph in the process.
Static verbs express not a process, but a state. These are the verbs that are not used in the Continuous. The name stative verbs comes from the word state - state. There are also names such as nonprogressive, non-action verbs. They are used to describe existing conditions.
Features of static verbs
At first glance, it may seem difficult to remember the following list of unrelated foreign words. However, the most important thing here is to understand the principle. There are several features that will help you see the essence:
- these verbs do not denote a physical action or process;
- some of them convey those states that arise on their own, regardless of a person’s intention (smell - smell, hear - hear);
- some of the words mean a lightning-fast action that cannot occur over a long period of time (notice - notice).
Verbs not used in Continuous (Stative Verbs)
For more convenient memorization Stative Verbs conditionally divided into thematic subgroups.
1. Mental activity and state of consciousness:
- agree/disagree - to agree/disagree;
- believe - to believe, to place hopes, to trust;
- deny - deny;
- doubt - to doubt;
- expect - expect;
- forget - forget;
- know - to have an idea, to know, to be aware;
- mean - to mean;
- mind - to be against, to object;
- realise - to realize;
- recognize - find out;
- understand - to comprehend, interpret, understand.
2. Verbs not used in the Continuous are used to express emotional state and feelings:
- admire - to admire, admire;
- appreciate - to evaluate, appreciate;
- impress - to impress;
- respect - to respect;
- love - to love, adore;
- hate - to hate, to dislike;
- seem - to appear;
- envy - to envy;
- trust - to trust.
3. Desire, preferences:
- desire - to wish;
- need - to need;
- prefer - give preference;
- want - want;
- wish - strive, desire, make a request.
4. Words that denote the perception of the senses (verbs not used in the Continuous).
Often used with modal verbs can, could to indicate perception at the moment of narration:
- hear - to hear;
- see - look, see;
- smell - to give off an aroma, to smell;
- taste - to have a taste.
5. Belonging, attitude:
- belong - to belong, to be someone's property, to belong to (a group), to be appropriate;
- concern - relate, touch, be concerned, be interested in, deal with;
- consist - consist of containing;
- contain - contain, contain;
- depend (on) - depend (on someone, something), rely on (someone), count;
- differ - have a difference, disagree;
- equal - to be equal, to be similar, to draw an analogy;
- fit - fit, combine, correspond;
- have - to have;
- include - include, cover;
- involve - to involve;
- lack - lack;
- matter - to matter, to be important;
- owe - to owe, to have a debt;
- own - to possess;
- possess - to own, possess;
- resemble - resemble, be similar.
Mixed verbs
Eat certain group static verbs, which are used in the group of long tenses. But at the same time they acquire slightly different shades of meaning. These are polysemic words that hide more than one meaning.
| word | state | action |
| think | believe | ponder |
| see | see | meet, make an appointment |
| taste | have taste | taste |
| smell | have a smell, give off an aroma, smell | smell, smell |
| look | seem | look |
| weigh | to weight | weigh |
| remember | remember | recall |
| be | be (constantly) | to be in the sense of “to be temporarily in a certain state” |
| feel | feel, sense | feel |
| fit | fit, fit | install, mount, equip, equip |
| appear | seem | appear |
Some verbs not used in the Continuous can sometimes be used in the Continuous form in order to demonstrate powerful emotions to express admiration or indignation:
I am loving this city! - I love this city!
She"s hating that book. - She hates that book.
Verbs to be and to have
To be sometimes used in English in the form of the continuous tense when it is necessary to emphasize the behavior of a person or the state in which he is at the moment.
Verb be in is formed using a combination was, were and present participles with an ing ending ( being).
Verb have V Present Continuous used only in some cases. In English there are certain set expressions, which form a single whole.
As an auxiliary verb in in this case the word “to be” appears. Therefore, you should not make the mistake of using Continuous. In this case, the third person form is formed using a combination of the auxiliary verb is And semantic verb with ending -ing(present participle).
Examples of using mixed verbs
Any theoretical material it is much easier to master if you illustrate the rules with specific ones that are not used in the Continuous; they are quite easily remembered due to the understanding of the principle and the division into semantic subgroups. And with memorizing mixed verbs, some difficulties may arise due to polysemy (that is, polysemy).
One of the best ways master new material in grammar is to come up with a few examples on your own specific topic and begin to include them in your speech, using them in dialogues, as well as when writing essays.
We all know that a verb is an action. For example: run, jump, teach.
However, in English there is separate group verbs that express a state - feelings, emotions, thought processes etc.
There are certain nuances in the use of such verbs. In the article I will tell you which ones.
4 groups of stative verbs in English
State verbs (state/stative verbs)- describe not only the action, but also the state of the object. State is the position in which someone or something is.
For example: She loves him (that is, she is in a state of love).
That is, we do not do anything, this is what happens inside, in the head or heart.
Let's look at the main groups of such verbs:
1. Verbs expressing physical perception
feel - feel, sense
hear - to hear
look - to look, seem (but not in the meaning of “look”)
observe - notice, observe
recognize - recognize, recognize
see - to see
seem - seem
smell - have a smell
sound - sound
taste - to taste
distinguish - to distinguish
For example:
I see a house.
I see a house.
I hear only you.
I only hear you.
2. Verbs expressing mental state
know - know
believe - believe
notice - notice
realize - realize
forget - to forget
remember - remember
recognize - recognize
think - think (have an opinion), believe
expect - meaning to think
understand - to understand
see - meaning to understand
seem - seem
mean - mean, mean
For example:
They know me.
They know me.
I think he is right.
I think he's right.
3. Verbs expressing emotions and desires
like - like
dislike - don't like it
love - to love
hate - to hate
care - worry
hope - to hope
wish - to wish
want - want
need - to need
prefer - to prefer
mind - worry, worry
For example:
We wanted dessert.
We wanted dessert.
I like music.
I like music.
4. Verbs expressing possession of something
be - to be
belong - belong
own - to possess
have - to have
contain - contain in oneself
cost - cost
seem - seem
need - to need
depend on - depend
come from - to be from
resemble - to be similar
possess - to possess
For example:
This doll belongs to me.
This doll belongs to me.
This costs too much.
It costs too much.
All these verbs have a peculiarity in their use. Let's look at which one.
Features of stative verbs in English
State verbs are never used in the Continuous tense group. We use this group when we want to say that something is in progress. For example, I am swimming, that is, I am in the process of swimming.
They are watch ing TV.
They are watching TV.
He was work ing the whole morning.
He worked all morning.
Read more about these times in the following articles:
Why are these state verbs not used in the Present Continuous?
As we have already seen, this tense is used to emphasize that the action is in progress: we started doing it some time ago, we are doing it now, but after some time we will finish doing it.
To be used in our continuous tense, a verb must be able to last.
For example: to cook - you started cooking, you are cooking now, after some time you will finish.
Returning to our exception verbs. We cannot start smelling (smelling) or hearing (hearing) and finish this process after some time. This is what we do all the time. We are talking about the fact that we can smell and hear. Likewise, forgetting, understanding, or emotions cannot be processes, because otherwise it turns out that these processes began once, are now continuing, and will end someday.
So now let's practice using these verbs.
Reinforcement task
Translate the following sentences into English. Leave your answers in the comments below the article.
1. He wants to see you.
2. She understands physics.
3. This sounds good.
4. I know him.
5. They hate cleaning.