Special Verbs before -ING Verbs
Observation, Perception & Have Expressions
Before reading about special verbs before -ing verbs, take a moment to understand the difference between these -ing forms.
Two -ING Forms: Gerund & Participial Phrase
| EXPRESSING ATTITUDE – GERUND | EXPRESSING OBSERVATION – PARTICIPIAL PHRASE |
|---|---|
A gerund is a noun formed from a verb. It follows a verb expressing attitude or opinion about an activity. |
A participial phrase is a modifier to a noun. It commonly follows a verb expressing observation. *The participial phrase is formed from a shortened clause. |
We enjoy walking on the road. (Our attitude about about our activity) |
We saw sheep [who were] walking on the road. (Observation of sheep activity) |
We dislike making sounds at the table. (Our attitude about our activity) |
We heard sheep [who were] making "baaaa" sounds. (Observation of sheep activity) |
* That + (be) Deletion – A modifying clause can be shortened to a modifying phrase by deleting: the relative pronoun (that, who, which) and the BE-verb (is, are, was, were...)
Related pages: Gerund Verbs, Adding Modifying Clauses , Reducing Clauses to Modifying Phrases,
Observation & Perception Verbs
| EXPRESSING OBSERVATION – ING VERB FORM | EXPRESSING OBSERVATION – BASE VERB FORM |
|---|---|
A verb expressing observation/ perception can be followed by a noun and a participial phrase. "That + BE" is deleted from the original clause. |
OR a verb expressing observation/ perception can be followed by a noun and a base verb form. There is no difference in meaning |
We smelled a skunk [that was] passing by. |
We smelled a skunk pass[ing] by. |
We saw an athlete [that was] running a marathon race. |
We saw an athlete run [ing] a marathon race. |
We heard cows [that were] mooing. (making cow sounds) |
We heard cows moo [ing] . (make cow sounds) |
We saw some birds [that were] flying away. |
We saw some birds fly [ing] away. |
We heard the neighbors [that were] leaving at 7:00 am. |
We heard the neighbors leave [ing] at 7:00 am. |
We watched our mother [that were] cooking dinner. |
We watched our mother cook [ing] dinner. |
We felt the temperature [that were] rising. |
We felt the temperature rise [ing] . |
We observed the doctor [that was] doing open-heart surgery. |
(no base form equivalent) |
We noticed [that he was ] him putting something in his pocket. |
(no base form equivalent) |
She caught her husband [that was] cheating. (caught = observed or surprised him) |
(no base form equivalent) |
The police found [that they were] them hiding. (found = observed) |
(no base form equivalent) |
catch = to observe or surprise someone doing something (often negative). It doesn't mean to physically take hold of someone, rather to discover someone's hidden activity.
"Have/Had" Expressions
| EXPRESSING POSSESSION | EXPRESSING EXPERIENCE – ING VERB FORM |
|---|---|
A verb expressing possession is commonly followed by a noun. (No gerund form is possible.) |
A "have" verb expressing experience about an activity is followed by a gerund phrase. |
We had a mobile phone. |
We had trouble finding a pay phone. (activity) |
We had an appointment. |
We had difficulty getting an appointment. (activity) |
We had a frisbee. |
We had a hard time playing "ultimate frisbee". (activity) |
We had a karioke machine. |
We had a ball singing karioke. (a ball = fun) (activity) |
"Spend Time" Expressions – ING Form
| TWO SEPARATE ACTIVITIES | EXPRESSIONS FOR SPENDING TIME – ING VERB FORM | |
|---|---|---|
These verbs indicate two activities are occurring or have occurred. |
These verbs indicate "spending time" doing one activity. It's not so important whether the person is sitting, lying or standing, but that they remain stationary (in the same place). |
|
He sat and ate his dinner. |
He sat eating his dinner. |
|
He stood and argued with me. |
He stood arguing with me. |
|
He lies around and reads the newspaper. (or lies down) |
He lies around reading the newspaper. |
|
He wasted time and texted on his telephone. |
He wastes time texting on his telephone. |
|
She spends hours and does her homework. |
She spends hours doing her homework. |
|
Summary – Verbs Followed by -ING Verb Forms
OBSERVATION |
PERCEPTION |
"HAVE" EXPRESSIONS |
"SPENDING TIME" EXPRESSIONS |
see I saw her leaving / leave. |
feel I felt her sneezing / sneeze. |
have trouble I have trouble hearing. |
sit I sat thinking about what to do. |
watch I watched them falling / fall. |
hear I heard her coughing / cough. |
have difficulty I have difficulty spelling. |
stand I stood waiting for the bus. |
observe I saw her leaving. |
smell I smelled her passing / pass by. |
have fun I have 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 a ball I have a ball playing video games. |
waste time He wastes time shopping. |
find I found her sleeping. |
|
|
spend time I spend time browsing. |
The Placement of Modifying Phrases
| MODIFYING PARTICIPIAL PHRASE | PRECEEDING PARTICIPIAL PHRASE | |
|---|---|---|
A modifying phrase should be placed directly after the word it modifies. |
When a modifying (participial) phrase is placed at the beginning of a sentence and separated with a comma, the phrase modifies the closest noun (the subject in the examples below.) |
|
We saw sheep walking on the road. (The sheep were walking.) |
Walking on the road, we saw sheep. (We were walking.) |
|
Practice
Detective Report: Making Observations
Verbs can be followed by three kinds of verb phrases:
- infinitive(to+verb) verbs followed by infinitives
- gerund (verb-ing)
- base form (verb) verbs followed by infinitives without to
- Select the word from each menu that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right.
Index Grammar-Quizzes | Previous Function & Purpose | Next Gerund / Infin Prac1