Representing thinking, perceiving, liking and desiring
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Teaching implications | page 3 of 7 |
Common patterns with perception verbs
Four patterns in particular are associated with verbs related to perception. The most
common pattern is where the verb is followed by a noun or noun
group 
:
Starry-eyed young girls were seen gazing up at the lit hotel windows well past their bedtime in the vain hope of seeing their idols. (SCMP 14/9/92)
Another common pattern is where the verb is followed by a that clause:
The police subsequently discovered that she had had numerous telephone conversations with him and paid him large sums of money under a false name through a Swiss bank account. (Microconcord Corpus A)
Another common pattern is where the verb is followed by an object and the bare infinitive:
I felt it go through the skin and muscle quite smoothly with no problem at all. (Bank of English)
Another common pattern is where the verb is followed by an object and the -ing form:
The measure would make it no easier to catch tourists buying a few discs over the border, knowing they were fakes, he said. (SCMP 10/5/94)
For further information about perception verbs, see 
Representing
thinking, perceiving, liking and desiring: Using verb patterns to represent perceptions.
If you would like to see a teaching activity for Secondary 4 - 5 which gives controlled
practice in describing scenes using see, hear, and find, click
on 
WHERE WAS I?
Introduction
Common patterns with perception verbs
