The bare infinitive or '-ing' after verbs of perception

16.9.1 Verbs without a noun or pronoun object + '-ing'

The verbs hear smell and watch can be followed by the -ing form without a noun/pronoun object when an action is perceived in a

16 The infinitive and the '-ing' form

general way; -ing functions as the object of the verb [> 16.40.3]: We could hear shouting in the distance People can stand on this platform and watch building in progress

16.9.2 Verb + noun or pronoun object + bare infinitive or '-ing'

These verbs can be followed by a noun or pronoun object + bare infinitive or the -ing form: fee/, hear, listen to, look at, notice observe perceive see, smell, watch [compare > 16.45.1, App 38.4]. The bare infinitive generally refers to the complete action: / watched a pavement-artist draw a portrait in crayons (i.e. probably from start to finish) The -ing form generally refers to an action in progress: / watched a pavement-artist drawing a portrait in crayons (i.e. the action was probably in progress when I arrived) Either the bare infinitive or -ing can describe a short action:

/ heard someone unlock the door/unlocking the door. But we do not use the -ing form for very short actions. Compare:

/ heard him cough, (once)' can hear him coughing (repeatedly) For a series of actions, we prefer the bare infinitive: The crowd watched the fireman climb the ladder, break a window on the first floor, and enter the building

The passive -ing form [> 16.41] (but not the passive infinitive) can follow a verb of perception:

/ saw him being taken away by the police The past participle can sometimes follow the object directly:

/ saw him taken away by the police

16.9.3 The passive of verbs of perception + '-ing' or to-infinitive

The verbs hear observe, perceive and see are often used in the

passive followed by -ing or by a to-infinitive:
They were seen waiting on the corner (action in progress)

They were seen to climb through the window (action completed)

16.10 Have' + bare infinitive or the '-ing' form

16.10.1 'Have' + personal object + bare infinitive

We use this construction to show that one person is causing another to do something [compare the causative, > 12.10]:

Have the next patient come in now please, nurse

He wanted a job to do, so I had him paint the kitchen And note have + verbs like believe andknow in: e.g.

/ can t imagine what he II have you believe next

I'll have you know that I'm a qualified engineer

16.10.2 Have' + object + '-ing' form

We use this construction to refer to the results we are aiming at:

/'// have you speaking English in six months

Within five minutes, Archie had us all playing hide-and-seek We can also refer to consequences which may not be intended:

Don t shout' You'll have the neighbours complaining ' When we use this construction with won't or can't, we refer to circumstances we are not prepared to tolerate:

/ won't/can't have you speaking like that about your father

The to-infinitive

Sometimes this construction refers to happenings beyond the speaker's control. Compare a similar construction with There [> 10.20]:

We have salesmen calling/There are salesmen calling every day Sometimes, but not very often, the bare infinitive is possible:

I've never had such a thing happen(ing) to me before

16.11 'Rather/Sooner than' + bare infinitive or '-ing'

Rather than and sooner than can be followed by a bare infinitive or -ing. Rather than is more common:

Rather than waste/wasting your time doing it yourself, why don't

you call in a builder?