Talking about two actions done by different people: phase verbs separated by an object

3.203 If you want to talk about two closely linked actions which are performed by different people, you follow the first verb with an object. This object then functions as the subject of the second verb. For example, in 'She asked Ginny to collect the book', 'Ginny' is the person who is asked, and she is also the person who performs the action of collecting the book.

I saw him looking at my name on the door.

She knew her father wouldn't dare to stop her associating with her friends.

They left her to lie on the wooden floor.

The committee's lawyers had advised certain people to stay away.

use of possessive determiner 3.204 Note that when the second verb is a present participle, a possessive determiner is sometimes used in front of it, instead of a pronoun. This is rather formal.

...a set of professional ethics to prevent their discussing their clients with the public.

She did not like my living in London.

Note that a possessive determiner is only used in this way when the second verb can have a human subject.

3.205 Some verbs are used with an object and a present participle clause.

He caught Hooper looking at him.

She felt her grip tightening.

l heard him gasping and shrieking.

Here is a list of verbs which are used with an object and a present participle:

catch describe feel find

hear imagine keep leave

like notice observe picture

prevent save see send

spot stop want watch

'Listen to' also belongs in this group. The object after it is the object of the preposition 'to'.

I listened to Kaspar talking.

These verbs are sometimes used with a passive '-ing' form, but not usually with a perfect '-ing' form.

He felt himself being snatched upright and shoved across a flat space.

3.206 Some of the verbs in the above paragraph can also be used with an infinitive without 'to'.

She felt her hair rise on the back of her neck.

Dr Hochstadt heard her gasp.

There is a slight change of meaning depending on which form is used. If you choose the present participle, you emphasize that the action continued happening for a period of time.

But I lay on, listening to her singing.

I looked over and saw Joe staring at me.

If you choose the infinitive without 'to', you emphasize that the action completed.

We listened to Jenny finish the Sonnet.

It was the first time she had heard him speak of his life.

Here is a list of verbs which can be used with a present participle or an infinitive without 'to', with the change of meaning described above:

feel hear

listen to notice

observe see

watch

Note that these verbs can only be used in the active when they are followed by an infinitive without 'to'. See also paragraph 3.209.

transitive verbs with a 'to'-infinitive 3.207 Other verbs are used with an object and a 'to'-infinitive clause.

His sister had taught him to sew.

I encourage students to do these exercises at home.

Here is a list of verbs which are used with an object and a 'to'-infinitive:

advise allow ask beg cause challenge choose command compel dare

defy enable encourage expect forbid force get help induce inspire

instruct intend invite lead leave like mean move oblige order

pay permit persuade prefer press programme prompt recruit remind teach

tell train trust urge use want warn

Note that some of the verbs in the above list are used for reporting orders, requests and advice. For more information on this use, see paragraph 7.36.

Here is a list of verbs which are always or usually used in the passive when followed by a 'to'-infinitive:

allege assume believe claim consider

deem discover estimate feel find

know learn prove reckon report

require rumour say see think

understand

They refer to saying, thinking, or discovering. The 'to'-infinitive that follows them is most commonly 'be' or 'have', or a perfect infinitive.

The house was believed to be haunted.

Over a third of the population was estimated to have no access to the health service.

...the primitive molecules which are believed to have given rise to life on Earth.

using the passive 3.208 If you do not know who the subject of the second verb is, or you do not want to mention them, you can use a passive construction.

A gardener was immediately sacked if he was caught smoking.

I was asked to come for a few days to help them.

Their children are left to play among the rubble.

The following verbs are not usually used in the passive when followed by a present participle:

feel imagine

like listen to

prevent save

stop want

The following verbs are not usually used in the passive when followed by a 'to'-infinitive:

defy get

like prefer

want

3.209 'Hear', 'observe', and 'see' are not used with a 'to'-infinitive when they are active but they can be used with either a present participle or a 'to'-infinitive when they are passive.

You use them with a present participle when you want to show that the action described by the second verb took place over a period of time.

A terrorist was seen standing in the middle of the road.

Her companions could be heard playing games.

If a 'to'-infinitive is used, you are implying that the action was completed.

She could distinctly be seen to hesitate.

The baby was seldom heard to cry.

See also paragraph 3.206.

3.210 There is a group of verbs used in phase structures with a 'to'-infinitive which are followed by the preposition 'for' and its object, rather than by a direct object. The object of 'for' is the performer of the second action.

He arranged for Waddell to have the services of another solicitor.

They called for action to be taken against the unions.

I waited for him to speak.

Note that the 'to'-infinitive is often a passive one.

Here is a list of verbs which can be used in this way:

appeal apply arrange

ask call clamour

long opt pay

plead press vote

wait wish yearn

3.211 A few verbs are followed by an object and an infinitive without 'to', not a present participle or a 'to'-infinitive. They are 'let', 'make', and 'have' in the sense of 'cause to happen' or 'experience'.

Jenny let him talk.

My father made me go for the interview.

...so that he could lie in a darkened room and have her bring him meals on trays.

Verbs which can be used either with an infinitive without 'to' or with a present participle are explained in paragraph 3.206.

3.212 A special use of 'have' in phase structures is to say that the subject causes something to be dealt with by someone else. In this case, 'have' is followed by an object referring to the thing dealt with, and then by the past participle of a transitive verb or of an intransitive verb followed by a preposition.

He went to have a cavity filled and had an injection.

This structure is also used to say that something belonging to the subject of 'have' is affected in some way.

She'd just lost her job and had some money stolen.

If you want to mention the performer of the second action, you use 'by' followed by a noun group.

Gary Jones twice had his face trampled on by Butts.

'Get' can also be used with an object and a past participle to talk about causing something to be dealt with or affected in some way.

We must get the car repaired.

One of these days I am going to get myself elected to Parliament.

'want' and 'need' with past participle 3.213 'Want' is also used with an object and a past participle, to indicate that you would like something to be done.

l want the whole approach changed.

I don't want you hurt.

'Need' is used in a similar way, usually when the object is something that belongs to the subject.

You need your eyesight tested.