Choose from the options lettered A - E the one that most appropriately completes each sentence The witness…

Analyze the question The sentence is: "The witness insisted he had seen the accused __ the money from the complainant's pocket."

The verb "seen" is a perception verb (see, watch, hear, notice). We need the correct verb form after "seen + object."

Explain the concept Perception verbs follow this pattern:

• see/hear/watch + object + bare infinitive (without "to"), which describes a complete action.
• see/hear/watch + object + -ing, which describes an action in progress.

Examples:

• I saw him enter the room (the whole action).
• I saw him entering the room (in progress).

Solution

• A. being taken is passive and doesn't fit, because "the accused" is the one doing the taking, not being taken.
• B. take is the bare infinitive, which is correct: "seen the accused take the money."
• C. taken is a past participle, so "seen the accused taken" would imply the accused was taken. It is wrong.
• D. takes is a present tense form and is ungrammatical after "had seen."
• E. took is a simple past form, and a finite verb can't follow "seen the accused" in this structure. It is wrong.

The correct sentence is: "The witness insisted he had seen the accused take the money from the complainant's pocket."

Answer: B

Tip After see, hear, watch, notice, feel, and make/let, use the bare infinitive (no "to") when the action is complete. If a verb ending in -s or -ed seems to fit, check whether it is a finite form, because finite forms don't follow these verbs directly. Remember the pattern: perception verb + object + base verb.