[Grammar] I saw/noticed that...

[ROFTOK]

Is it correct to use the past simple after "I noticed/saw that someone did something." For example,

I saw/noticed that Tony lost his cap.

What puzzles me is that "losing the cap" takes place before "noticing", hence, the past perfect is appropriate, as it seems. But I know the past simple is widely used.

Is it a correct usage? And why not the past perfect? Or maybe the past perfect is also correct? Then what's the difference?

I saw/noticed that Tony lost his cap.

I saw/noticed that Tony had lost his cap.

 

[jutfrank]

You're thinking in the right way. The past perfect certainly is very appropriate in these cases to sequence the events clearly.

However, in common use, many people would not bother to make this sequencing so clear, preferring the simpler (past simple) form.