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Which is the correct way to call and report the incident to 112 ?

  1. We saw a burglar climb or climbing our wall?
  2. We see a burglar climb or climbing our wall?

I found that either bare infinitive or present participle can be used in the first sentence. What is the difference in meaning?
But bare infinitive cannot be used in Sentence 2.
My main concern is why bare infinitive cannot be used in the above sentence number 2 ?

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    The general meaning is clear in all of your examples. In (2) I would say "We can see." I disagree with your comment that in (2) the present participle cannot be used. But if you've been told that, it could be the implied difference in meaning. Climb suggests that the action is finished; climbing suggests it's in progress and therefore not complete. I saw/see him climbing = "I saw him when he was half way up the wall." I saw him climb = "I watched his whole climb from the bottom to top of the wall." But these are all very subtle details. Commented Jun 26 at 2:25
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    That makes more sense! You’re right that the bare infinitive would be much less likely after the present tense main verb. But, it isn’t impossible: it could be the “narrative present” where someone is describing events as they occur. Commented Jun 26 at 3:46
  • @PeterKirkpatrick Thank you for pointing out. That was a mistake. Bare infinitive cannot be used in present tense. Commented Jun 26 at 4:35
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2 Answers 2

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Both are grammatical and idiomatic.

I saw him take the book.

I saw him taking the book.

In both forms the act was witnessed in its entirety. The participle form conveys the sense of action-in-progress, the base form of the verb the sense of the action outside of time.

Changing the tense to the present does not change the grammar; doing so merely changes the "naturalness" of the utterance, since there are few contexts where the present tense makes practical sense.

I see him take the book.

I see him taking the book.

But let's create one.

Corporal, do you work in the 5th police precinct?

-- Yes, I do.

And what is your job?

-- It's a desk job. I'm in the office.

Do you recognize the defendant sitting there?

-- Yes, I do. It's my colleague, Corporal Smith.

And what is Corporal Smith's job?

-- He logs evidence. But we don't have a database for that. We use a physical log book and he writes the entries by hand.

Is it a busy office?

-- Yes, it is. I see him take the book every five minutes to log new evidence throughout the day.

And what do you mean by "take the book"?

-- I mean that I see him taking the book from the countertop, where it's kept so people can consult it, over to his own desk, where he makes the entry and then returns the book to the countertop.

And why doesn't he make the entry right at the countertop?

-- I don't know. You'd have to ask him.

P.S. With atelic verbs the question of "in its entirety" is more complicated. The only way we know that that act of climbing is "complete" is by what is being climbed. Maybe the burglar made it only halfway up the wall, maybe he scaled the wall and down the other side.

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    Brilliant answer! Best example I've seen in a long time of what native English speakers often say: the context is critical. Anyone who reads the OP and is not sure which sentence is correct, should read this answer very carefully. Commented Jun 26 at 11:53
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    Thank you for the answer. I understood we can use it for habitual or regular activities - I see him take the book every five minutes to log new evidence throughout the day. Commented Jun 26 at 16:50
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Climbing is more idiomatic. Climb is not quite incorrect, but may convey a meaning other than intended.

To say that you observed someone in the course of some action, use the -ing form. If you use the bare infinitive, you are saying that you observed an act (as noted in the comments, typically the entire act). This can be conveyed by replacing the infinitive phrase with a noun:

  • I saw the burglar climb the wall.
  • I saw the burglar's ascent.

It's a subtle distinction, one that will be difficult to pin down in most cases because seeing an entire act implies having seen the actor in the process of performing the act.

Finally, I'll note that the largest English-speaking countries all have a primary emergency number other than 112. If you're in a country where 112 is the primary number, there's a good chance that you're speaking to someone whose English is limited. It may be better not to worry about the correctness of your grammar and stick to simple sentences or even phrases such as Burglary. <Address.> Climb wall.

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