Seen and Saw
Saw is the past tense form of "see." Saw can be used by itself, without a helping verb.
You saw me. I saw that movie.
Seen is the past participle form of "see." Seen requires a helper verb, such as "have."
I have seen that movie. A coyote was seen in the park yesterday.
It is never correct to use "seen" without a helper verb.
I seen you. – Incorrect
Enough said!
Have a peaceful day! Stay safe and be happy!!
Beth
Love your grammar lessons, Beth! They are "right up my alley!" One more course, and I would have had a major in English in college.:-)
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Wednesday!
xo Nellie
Oh Beth, My grammar is awful and my spelling is not far behind. :):) My folks had poor educations and you know in life we pick up things from are parents. Please do not tell me I am doomed. LOL. I'll practice" I saw Esau sitting on a seesaw" will that help?:) Hope your day is better than yesterday, it is rainy and damp here...oooh, I just want a pleasant Spring after our horrid winter. xoxo,Susie
ReplyDeleteI grew up with 3 brothers and 4 sisters so I am right there with you. HUGS!!
ReplyDeleteI have this one figured out! Most folks these days are lazy speakers. They just leave out the helping verb because they are too lazy. I gave up trying to correct them years ago. Beth, I think this one is a lost cause. :( Down here where I live, we call it "hillbilly" talk. Sounds more like "uneducated" talk to me. My intelligent pharmacist SIL almost lost a great job because of her "uneducated" English. She had to clean up her act!!! Linda@Wetcreek Blog
ReplyDeleteI think you have hit the nail right on the head Linda!
ReplyDeleteOh my! Ugh. Here, smack dab in the middle of Georgia, I'm ashamed to say it is used incorrectly much too often. When I took Business English at the local technical college, I could not believe how long we had to stay on the subject of Past, Present verbs, past participle because some couldn't get it. I'm with you, girl!
ReplyDeleteMy pet peeve is this: I graduated college. LOL!
ReplyDeleteSound as if this use of "seen" may be a local colloquialism.
hehehe, have a great day beth!!!
ReplyDeleteThis makes me wanna play on a "see saw" HAHA!
ReplyDeletethat's was perfect , my pet peeve,, " Your" and 'You're ", so many people use this incorrectly,
ReplyDeletehave a good day Beth. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteI hate when I see "I no" instead of "Know" Cool post
ReplyDeleteblessings, Joanne
:) When someone uses it improperly, I kinda know where they are at mentally:)
ReplyDeleteI must admit I'm horrible at grammar give me math any day :)
ReplyDeleteLOL- I love grammar and so do my grandgirls! One of them corrected someone the other day when the person said- I see you are getting all GROWED up....lol She said ~ I am GROWING up but I am not GROWN yet! I thought she did the correction beautifully without making the person feel bad.
ReplyDeleteI used to work with a girl that said- I seen you there. It drove one of the other gals that I worked with absolutely nuts. She finally said -It is I SAW you there-not I SEEN you there. The girl's response to her? I bet you WAS an English teacher, WASN'T you? I started laughing and could not quit. xo Diana
I was guilty of using seen wrong about 30 years ago. A co-worker and I were talking one day about English, and I asked her if she ever heard me used improper grammar. She politely pointed out seen and saw. I was very grateful and have tried to watch it ever since. We are a product of how we grew up, and I grew up in a house that apparently didn't use seen and saw correctly.
ReplyDeleteI sure am glad I seen this! :-)))
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I seen this comment! :-)
DeleteWhere were you when I needed help diagramming sentences with Andy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a quick lesson. I shall remember.
ReplyDeleteActually I have did ok with grammar in school.
ReplyDeleteLOL!!
DeleteThanks for the grammar lesson. : )
ReplyDeleteInteresting words to choose. Many people do say the sentence incorrectly with see and saw - I saw it coming!
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining me in my desire to bring correct grammar to the world.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie, a.k.a. The Queen of Grammar
Thanks for teaching me!
ReplyDeletePeople communicate in more ways than ever before yet poor grammar still haunts us.
ReplyDeleteWords and grammar are things that I love. I always have to keep myself in check to not be a grammar cop. When I hear or see obvious errors I want to give a lesson...but, I don't.
ReplyDeleteSeen and Understood! - I know grammar is hard for people as is correct spelling (which is my pet peeve). I've got a friend who uses the word (Stake) for eating meat (Steak). I'm afraid to correct her as I don't want to hurt her feelings.
ReplyDelete