See somebody do and see somebody doing
See somebody do / See somebody doing
Review this situation:
John got into vehicle and drove away. You saw this.
You can say:
I saw John get into his vehicle and drive away.
In this structure we use get / drive / do etc. (infinitive without to)
Notice that we use the infinitive without to:
We saw them go out. (not to go)
But after a passive (they were seen) etc., we use to:
They were seen to go out.
Review this situation:
Yesterday you saw Gail. She was waiting for a bus.
You can say:
I saw Gail waiting for a bus.
In this structure we use -ing (waiting).
Notice the difference in meaning between I saw him do something & I saw him doing something:
I saw him do something = he did something and I saw this. I saw the complete action from beginning to end:
He fell off the fence. I saw this.® I saw him fall off the fence.
I saw him doing something = he was doing something and I saw this. I saw him when he was in the middle of doing it. This does not mean that I saw the complete action:
He was walking along the road, when I drove past him in my car. ® I saw him walking along the road.
Sometimes the difference is not important and you can use either form:
I've never seen her dance. Or I've never seen her dancing.
We use these structures with see and hear, and a number of other verbs:
I didn't hear you come in.
Betty suddenly felt something touch her on the shoulder.
Did you notice anyone go out?
The missing boys were last seen playing near the river.
Listen to the birds singing!
Can you smell something burning?
I found Jane in my room reading my letters.
-ing clauses (Feeling tired, I went to bed early)
A clause is a part of a sentence. Some sentences have two clauses:
Feeling tired, I went to bed for a short nap.
In this sentence, "I went to bed for a short nap” is the main clause.
"Feeling tired” is the -ing clause.
When two things happen at the same time, you can use -ing for one of the verbs. The main clause usually comes first:
She was sitting in an armchair reading a magazine.
We also use -ing when one action happens during another. Use -ing for the longer action.
Joe hurt his elbow playing racket ball.
You can also use -ing after while or when:
Joe hurt his elbow while playing racket ball.
When one action happens before another action, you can use having (done) for the first action:
Having found a motel, they looked for somewhere to have lunch.
Having finished our work, we went home.
You can also say:
After finishing our work, we went home.
If the second action happens immediately after the first, you can use the simple -ing form (doing instead of having done):
Taking a key out of his pocket, he opened the door.
These structures are mainly used in written English.
You can also use an -ing clause to explain something or to say why someone did something. The -ing clause usually comes first:
Feeling tired, I went to bed early.
Being unemployed, he doesn't have much money.
Not having a car, he finds it difficult to get around.
Having already seen the film twice, I didn't want to go to the movies.