"He was seen to enter the room" or "He wa seen entering the room."

**keannu** · 04-Jan-2011, 23:31

"He was seen to enter the room"
or "He was seen entering the room."?

Which sound more natural and which is correct grammatically?
If anyone can answer me, it will be highly appreciated.

**jlinger** · 05-Jan-2011, 04:58

Although the first may be gramatically acceptable (although I doubt it, really), the second is certainly more natural.

The first expression is more fitting for something that happens habitually. For example, "He was known to overeat when nervous" is correct, as oposed to "He was known overeating when nervous." I think I would even allow "he was seen overeating when nervous" in this sense.

**2006** · 05-Jan-2011, 06:19

Originally Posted by keannu

"He was seen to enter the room"
or "He was seen entering the room."?

Which sound more natural and which is correct grammatically? I agree that the second one is.
If anyone can answer me, it will be highly appreciated.

The following example shows why the second one is correct.

He was killed to cross the street.

He was killed crossing the street.

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