A CONFUSING SENTENCES

[sky753]

HI :
I HAVE MET A MULTI-CHOICE DURING MY TEACHING THAT IS :
HE WAS OFTEN HEARD____ AN AMERICAN SONG IN THE HALL.
A.SINGING B.SING C.TO SING D.TO BE SINGING.
WHICH ONE SHOULD I SELECT?
THANK YOU

 

[Casiopea]

HI :
I HAVE MET A MULTI-CHOICE DURING MY TEACHING THAT IS :
HE WAS OFTEN HEARD____ AN AMERICAN SONG IN THE HALL.
A.SINGING B.SING C.TO SING D.TO BE SINGING.
WHICH ONE SHOULD I SELECT?
THANK YOU

Active voice
We often heard him sing an American song in the hall.

Passive voice
He was often heard to sing an American song in the hall.

Singular number
How is everything? => Everything is fine. (Singular subject)
How are everything? (Incorrect. 'everything' is singular, so the verb should also be singular)

Plural number
How are things? => Things are fine. (Plural subject)
How is things? (Incorrect. 'things' is plural, so the verb, too, should be plural).

All the best,

 

[sky753]

hi casiopea:
first ,thank you for all the answers.
is the sentence he was often heard singing in the hall right ?
thank you!

 

[Casiopea]

hi casiopea:
first ,thank you for all the answers.
is the sentence he was often heard singing in the hall right ?
thank you!

Yes. But, technically, was heard to sing is the passive form. :wink: The reason being, infinitives (e.g., to sing) express what is called a perfective or completed event, whereas progressive forms (e.g., singing) express an incomplete event (i.e., an ongoing event). Notice in our example that the passive voice houses past tense "was" and past participle "heard" and completed "to sing":

was (past) heard (past) to sing (completed) 8)

 

[sky753]

hi, Casiopea
thank you for your answer.
weiqun ding

 

[Casiopea]

hi, Casiopea
thank you for your answer.
weiqun ding

You're welcome.

By the way, do you still require an answer for this?

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "HOW I S EVERYTHING WITH YOU?"AND "HOW ARE THINGS".THE USAGE OF SUCH SIMILAR SENTENCES OF CONFUSES ME AND MY STUDENTS.
AND I AM WONDERING WHETHER YOU COULD HELP ME .THANK YOU ALL