[General] He was heard laugh or He was heard to laugh ?

[SongYuxiang]

Dear Teachers,

Please tell me which of the following sentences is correct and which is wrong:

1) John was heard laugh.

2) John was heard to laugh.


Thank you.

 

[jiamajia]

I would say : John was heard laughing.

 

[Leandro-Z]

Instead, I would say (with another example):
I heard him laughing.

The other way (to+infinitive) means that you heard him beacause it makes him laugh.
Therefore, both possibilities are correct, but with a change in meaning.

 

[SongYuxiang]

I would say : John was heard laughing.

Thank you, jiamajia

 

[SongYuxiang]

Instead, I would say (with another example):
I heard him laughing.

The other way (to+infinitive) means that you heard him beacause it makes him laugh.
Therefore, both possibilities are correct, but with a change in meaning.

Thank you,Leandro

 

[SongYuxiang]

The "to" is required here. "John was heard laugh", is incorrect. You could also write -
John was heard to sing
John was heard to chuckle
John was heard to cry
John was heard to scream

Thank you, Gillnetter, for your help.

 

[BobK]

I would say : John was heard laughing.

That's a possibility, but to my ear there's a difference.

He was heard to laugh - The hearers might have been wrong, or the report may be in doubt

He was heard laughing - He was definitely laughing

But there can be an overlap in the meanings.

b

 

[Leandro-Z]

Wait a minute, I have recently found the answer...

When you hear someone laughing, you hear that person for a certain period.

When you hear someone laugh, you hear that person only once.

Example 1: I heard him lauhging (Ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja,ja...)

Example 2: I heard him laugh (Ja, and that`s all)

It`s like "see"...

I saw him jumping into the river (He jumped into the river several times and consecutively)

I saw him jump (Just one time and nothing else)

 

[Kelly55]

Dear Teachers,

Please tell me which of the following sentences is correct and which is wrong:

1) John was heard laugh.

2) John was heard to laugh.


Thank you.

Hi,
The correct sentence would be "John was heard laughing" This is a passive sentence where we have the verb "To be" + the particible of the main verb. Here the verb "hear" is followed by the gerund not the infinitive. You could also say "They heard John laughing." (This would be the active sentence)
Bye.:lol: