She was seen to cross/ cross/ crossing the street.

She was seen to cross the street.

She was seen crossing the street.

She was seen cross the street.



My grammar book say all the three sentences are correct.


Then... will it be safe to teach my students you can make three types of passive sentences
with "I saw her cross the street" ?



Thanks

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by wotcha

She was seen to cross the street.

She was seen crossing the street.

She was seen crossinf the srteet. Apart from the typos, this is the same as the second sentence.



Then... will it be safe to teach my students you can make three types of passive sentences
with "I saw her cross the street" ? No

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If you saw her, then the passive construction is unlikely. If the person/people who saw her is/are not important, then there are two possibilities:

1. Somebody saw her cross the street. - She was seen to cross the street.
2. Somebody saw her crossing the street. - She was seen crossing the street.

In #1, we are saying that she started on one side of the street and finished on the other. In #2, we are simply saying that she was observed in the act of moving across the street; it is possible that she was run over bbefore she reached the other side,

Sorry for the typo, then how about "She was seen cross the street"?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wotcha

Sorry for the typo, then how about "She was seen cross the street"?

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Not possible.