English UsageComparison guide

Feel Someone Do vs. Feel Someone Doing

With perception feel + object, the bare infinitive and -ing form can both occur. The choice changes how the perceived event is viewed rather than simply marking one form correct and the other wrong.

Reviewed2026-09-27Evidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage

Quick answer

Both patterns are standard after feel + object: the bare infinitive presents the perceived event more as a whole, while -ing foregrounds the activity in progress.

Key details

Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction

Rule Familyverb-complement and object pattern

TermsFeel Someone Do, Feel Someone Doing

Choose the right form

Decision table for Feel Someone Do vs. Feel Someone Doing
Meaning / situation	Form / construction	Decision
perceive an event as a whole or complete occurrence	feel + object + bare infinitive	Use the bare infinitive when the whole event is foregrounded.
perceive an activity in progress	feel + object + -ing	Use -ing when the ongoing activity is foregrounded.

Quick tests

Meaning / construction test

Are you focusing on the activity as it was unfolding rather than on the event as a whole?

If yes: Use “feel + object + -ing.”

If no: Use the bare infinitive when presenting the perceived event more as a whole.

Caveat: The contrast is one of viewpoint, not a simple right/wrong split; context can make both constructions possible with a difference in focus.

Examples

Example

I felt the floor move beneath me.

The bare infinitive presents the movement as an event perceived as a whole.

Example

I felt the floor moving beneath me.

The -ing form foregrounds the movement in progress.

Example

She felt someone touch her shoulder.

The bare infinitive presents the perceived touch as an event.

Further guidance

Boundary

This perception pattern is different from feel + adjective or feel like + -ing; do not extend the contrast to unrelated senses of feel.

Construction

Cambridge includes feel among perception verbs that allow object + bare infinitive or object + -ing.

Decision

Use the bare infinitive for the event viewed as a whole; use -ing when the activity as it unfolds is the focus.

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing? (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Verb-complement patterns, including verbs taking -ing, to-infinitive, or both with meaning differences

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