Verb+(object)+bare infinitive

[ch01_kelly]

This grammar rule has always confused me.
Verbs like make, let, feel , hear, observe, see, watch, have are followed by a bare infinitive after an object.

I made him wait outside.
I watched him climb through the window.
We will have a car wait for you at the station.

But some of these verbs can also be followed by a gerund with a slightlly different meaning

Did you hear the dogs barking last night ?
I heard the dog bark at him yesterday.

Can somebody share some more light into this grammar with some more examples or explanations.

Thank you everybody.

[Alan]

Hi ch01_kelly,

Thanks for your interesting question. Let's take the two sentences you wrote:

A I heard the dog bark
B I heard the dog barking

A means that you heard the dog bark and that was all - in other words you didn't hear it whine or howl or whimper (all noises made by a dog)

B means you heard the dog barking for a period of time because it was a continuous noise.

Hope this helps

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Prepositions