The police came and looked for them.

Status
Not open for further replies.
W

wowenglish1

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
South Korea
Is there any difference in meaning between "1" and "2"?
1. The police came and looked for them.
2. The police came looking for them.
 
T

Tdol

Editor, UsingEnglish.com
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
Not much, but #1 suggests they were less likely to have found them IMO.
 
S

sergeyrais

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2012
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Russian Federation
Current Location
Russian Federation
wowenglish1 said:
Is there any difference in meaning between "1" and "2"?
1. The police came and looked for them.
2. The police came looking for them.
Click to expand...

I'll try to explain it as I see it:

1. The police came and looked for them. - One action (coming) was over, and then the second action (looking for them) started.

2. The police came looking for them. - Two actions (coming and looking for them) were simultaneous.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top