English Grammar Drills - Mark Lester 2009
9. Object + present participle
11 Multiple Verb Complements
Part 2 Verb Phrases
This type uses a present participle verb phrase (Pres Part VP) as a complement. For example:
The verb catch often has the negative implication of discovering somebody doing something improper. For example:
The teacher caught several students cheating on the exam.
The manager caught some employees sleeping on the job.
The audit caught several offices overcharging customers.
Get and have both mean to cause somebody to do something. For example:
The police have got volunteers searching the woods.
We have the interns searching the records.
One of the difficulties in recognizing this complement type is that present participle verbs look just like present participles used as gerund phrases. (Gerund phrases are discussed in detail in Chapter 6.) Gerund phrases are -ing forms of the verb used in noun phrases. For example, consider the following sentence:
The gerund phrase working on his report is a noun phrase playing the role of subject. Fortunately, there is a simple and highly reliable way to identify gerund phrases: they can always be replaced by it:
When we try to substitute it for a present participle verb phrase, the result will always be ungrammatical. For example:
The object + present participle complement type is very close in meaning and usage to the object + base form complement type. For example, compare the following sentences:
Object + base: We watched him fix his bicycle.
Object + present participle: We watched him fixing his bicycle.
There is little difference in meaning between these two sentences. There probably is some slight emphasis on the process of repairing the bicycle in the object + present participle complement as compared to the object + base form complement, but it would be easy to overstate how significant that difference is.
A practical problem for nonnative speakers is that the two different complement types use many of the same verbs. For example, the following verbs are freely used with both complement types: feel, have, hear, listen to, notice, observe, overhear, see, spot, spy, watch.
Some verbs can be used with the object + present participle complement but not the baseform complement: catch, discover, fi nd, get, leave, smell. For example:
Object + present participle: We found them working in the back office.
Object + base form: X We found them work in the back office.
Only one common verb can be used in the object + base form but not with the object + present participle: make. For example:
Object + base-form: We made them fix the bill.
Object + present participle: X We made them fixing the bill.
Here is a list of the verbs that are commonly used with object + present participle complements. Note that most of these are verbs of sense perception:
catch hear see
discover leave smell
feel notice spot
find observe spy
get overhear watch
have perceive
Exercise 11.12
Choose the correct complement type (present participle, base form, or both) from the two forms in parentheses. If both are correct, write both above the verbs.
1. We left the painters (finishing up/fi nish up) the trim in the dinning room.
2. Listen to her (playing/play) that piano.
3. He made me (doing/do) it.
4. We discovered the kitten (hiding/hide) in the attic.
5. I heard the kitchen faucet (dripping/drip) all night.
6. Fortunately, I smelled the brakes (smoking/smoke) on the rear axle.
7. After a bad beginning, we got the two sides (talking/talk) to each other.
8. During the earthquake, we all felt the building (shaking/shake) a little.
9. Finally, we spotted a white sail (flashing/fl ash) in the afternoon sun.
10. I found myself (worrying/worry) about tomorrow’s presentation.
11. We made Johnny (finishing/finish) his homework before he watched any TV.
12. They must have overheard us (talking/talk) about it at lunch.
13. We were watching our daughter’s team (playing/play) soccer.
14. I caught myself (dozing off/doze off) during the performance.
15. We saw them (getting into/get into) a taxi on 53rd Street.
Exercise 11.13
Underline the complements in the following sentences. Label the type of complement using the following terms: IO + DO for indirect object + direct object; Obj + NP Comp for object + NP complement; Obj + Adj Comp for object + adjective complement; Obj + Adv of Pl for object + adverb of place; Obj + That for object + that clause; To + That for to phrase + that clause; Obj + Inf for object + infinitive; Obj + Base for object + base form; or Obj + Pres Part for object + present participle.
1. Please let me help you with that.
2. The test proves the suspect innocent.
3. I noticed them leaving during the meeting.
4. They appointed her chief counsel.
5. He is putting the leftovers into the refrigerator.
6. My parents sent the kids some books.
7. Fortunately, the board considered my idea quite promising.
8. I told them they needed to get prior approval before going ahead.
9. Sadly, I put the iPhone back on the counter.
10. We thought the outcome a big disappointment, to tell the truth.
11. Can you give my friend a lift to the airport?
12. Let us prove to you that we can do the job.
13. We moved the kittens out of the kids’ bedroom.
14. I wanted my parents to stay with us this Christmas.
15. I drove the car over to my mother’s house.
16. I had the waiter set an extra place for you.
17. We helped them to get ready to leave.
18. I told them that we would be a little late for dinner.
19. Jane baked Sarah a birthday cake.
20. I considered our project a success.
21. What prompted John to change his mind so suddenly?
22. The oven will keep food hot for hours.
23. She explained to us that her parents would need to use the apartment that week.
24. I caught my son watching TV while studying.
25. I confess to you that I am more than a little nervous.