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  • He is very lazy. I have never seen him working.

  • He is very lazy. I have never seen him work.

Are both of them grammatically correct? What is the difference in meaning between them?


Update:

I read the duplicate question, but I couldn't understand which one is correct in the above context. work or working?

I think work is correct, because it follows the verb tense in the first clause.

I think working is useful in another context. when the situation is temporary e.g.

It seem he is frustrating, I haven't seen him working recently.

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  • 3
    Honestly, both sound fine.
    – Teacher KSHuang
    Mar 13, 2017 at 8:28
  • 1
    Just FYI, colloquially, we might say, "I've never seen him work a single day in his life."
    – Teacher KSHuang
    Mar 13, 2017 at 9:00
  • I read the duplicate question, But I don't understand which one (work or working) should I use with the above context and why. @TeacherKSHuang so I rely on sound and use any one of them, thank you
    – Shannak
    Mar 14, 2017 at 4:10
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    thank you @TeacherKSHuang I'll edit the question with what I think.
    – Shannak
    Mar 14, 2017 at 8:23
  • 1
    Talk about a proactive learner :O :D!
    – Teacher KSHuang
    Mar 14, 2017 at 8:26

2 Answers 2

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-2

The right one should be -

"I never saw him working"

or

"He is very lazy, I have never seen him working"

or

"He is very lazy, I have never seen him doing any work"

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  • 2
    "..seen him work" wrong?
    – user178049
    Mar 13, 2017 at 8:33
  • I think it's because usually, we would say, "I have never seen him do any work."
    – Teacher KSHuang
    Mar 13, 2017 at 8:36
  • Also, if you combine the two sentences, I would use a semicolon, as in, "He is very lazy; I have never seen him working." What do you think?
    – Teacher KSHuang
    Mar 13, 2017 at 8:37
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    @TeacherKSHuang I think see is a verb of perception.
    – user178049
    Mar 13, 2017 at 8:52
  • Lastly, this answer would be better served if it has some supporting details of why, especially since the questioner asked specifically if the sentences had been correct grammatically. Please note that this is not a comment personally directed at you; just a comment as part of the community review. I have neither downvoted nor flagged the answer.
    – Teacher KSHuang
    Mar 13, 2017 at 8:57
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I disagree with NehaK's answer and say that both are correct.

The first sentence 'He is very lazy. I have never seen him working.' means that probably he does work but I have never seen him in the process of doing it.

The second sentence 'He is very lazy. I have never seen him work.' means that he I was watching him all the time and have never seen him do any work at all.

Let's rephrase them to have a side look at the sentences:

  1. I have seen him working at the computer yesterday.
  2. I have seen him work at the computer yesterday.

The first sentence tells us that I happened to see him in the process of doing work at the computer yesterday though I am not sure at whether he finished working. The second one tells us that I was watching the whole action from beginning to end.

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