General English C1 · Lesson 7B

Grammar Bank

The rules behind this lesson — form, use, model sentences and the mistakes to avoid.

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Grammar focus of this lesson

perception and sensation

1 structure

Perception and sensation
Structures after see, hear, feel, watch, notice and appear.
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Rules & form
- ›Verb + object + bare infinitive: complete action seen from start to end.
- ›Verb + object + -ing: action in progress, partially witnessed.
- ›Passive takes to: He was seen to leave.
- ›seem / appear / strike me as + adjective or as if clause.
Examples
- “I heard the CEO announce the merger.”
- “We watched the queue growing all morning.”
- “It strikes me as unnecessarily complex.”
Watch out · Not all perception verbs allow both patterns — notice and observe prefer -ing.
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