special verbs (watched/watch, hear/heard)

[Ched133]

hello,

I'm confused in regards to using special verbs such as help, let, make, watch, etc.

I was told that when special verbs are used, a present tense must be used. For example,

Watched/watch him run (always "run" and never "ran")
Hear/heard the car drive off (never drove)

I'm finding that this is not always the case in the following situations

I heard you took off
I heard you left

Can someone please explain to me how to use special verbs and why these two examples differ?

[Mister Micawber]

.
In the first instance, the verb is not present tense; it is the bare infinitive (the infinitive with no 'to'): I watched him run; I helped her (to) finish her project.

In the second instance, the verb is part of a subordinate clause with omitted 'that': I heard (that) you took off.

Both structures are common in English.
.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's