"see sb doing something" vs "see sb do something"

[ssxia]

I would like to confirm the usage of the following two construction:

1. I saw him entering the house.

2. I saw him enter the house.

If I understand correctly, the first construction means "He was entering the house and I saw him". The second one means "He entered the house and I saw him".

By the same reasoning, the following sentences have these meanings:

3.Did Sam see him entering the house? (At the moment when he was entering the house, Sam saw the whole process of entering and I am questioning someone if that was true.)

4.Did Sam see him enter the house? (He entered the house before. Sam saw him did that, not necessarily the complete process and I am questioning someone if that was true.)

5.I didn’t hear you come in. (You came in and I did not hear you)

6.I didn’t hear you coming in. (You were coming in and I did not hear you)

[Tdol]

Generally, the gerund is used when we catch part of the process and the bare infinitive we we catch it all. In your examples, it's a very short action, so there's little distinction between the two forms.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by ssxia

I would like to confirm the usage of the following two construction:

1. I saw him entering the house.

2. I saw him enter the house.

If I understand correctly, the first construction means "He was entering the house and I saw him". The second one means "He entered the house and I saw him".

By the same reasoning, the following sentences have these meanings:

3.Did Sam see him entering the house? (At the moment when he was entering the house, Sam saw the whole process of entering and I am questioning someone if that was true.)

4.Did Sam see him enter the house? (He entered the house before. Sam saw him did that, not necessarily the complete process and I am questioning someone if that was true.)

5.I didn’t hear you come in. (You came in and I did not hear you)

6.I didn’t hear you coming in. (You were coming in and I did not hear you)

As TDOL said, any difference depends on the length of the event. With longer events, the meanings diverge:

I saw her playing a tennis match. [part of the process]

I saw her play a tennis match. [the entire thing]

I heard him proposing to her. [part of the conversation]

I heard him propose to her. [the entire conversation]