So, here's my problem. The object of these sentences are actions, as far as I can tell: * I watch birds fly * I see dogs run * I feel the earth shake * I have the machine compute * I hear the kids play These are present tense sentences where the object is also a present tense action. Also, turning these into past tense leaves the present tense intact. * I watched birds fly * I saw dogs run * I felt the earth shake * I had the machine compute * I heard the kids play My question is, why are these being and sensing verbs the only (as far as I know) verbs that have this property? Other verbs require an infinitive for the object actions or a verb followed by a conjunction. * I acknowledge the tides turning * I know that the keyboard sucks