Saw / Seen

Aaaaaa the misuse of SEEN for SAW – let’s end it, right here, right now!

But, first, a review of verb tenses:

• Present (states an action that is happening now or that happens regularly):  I see, you see, he/she/it sees, we see, you see, they see
• Past (states an action that happened at a specific time in the past):  I saw, you saw, he/she/it saw, we saw, you saw, they saw
• Future (states an action that will take place):  I shall see, you will see, he/she/it will see, we shall see, you will see, they will see
• Present Perfect (states an action that began in the past and is still going on.  Add has or have):  I have seen, you have seen, he/she/it has seen, we have seen, you have seen, they have seen
• Past Perfect (states an action began and was completed in the past.  Add had):  I had seen, you had seen, he/she/it had seen, we had seen, you had seen, they had seen
• Future Perfect (states an action that will begin in the future and end at a specific time in the future.  Add will have):  I shall have seen, you will have seen, he/she/it will have seen, we shall have seen, you will have seen, they will have seen

What we hear way too much:

• I seen that movie last week at the theatre.
• Betty seen her cousin at the Winter Carnival last February.
• Did you know we seen some seals off the beach in September?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa – here’s the easy RULE:

Use SAW ONLY when you are speaking or writing in the PAST TENSE and when HAS, HAVE or HAD is NOT a part of the verb.

• Example:  I SAW the hockey game last weekend.

The hockey game obviously happened in the past (last weekend) and HAS, HAVE, or HAD is not a part of the verb.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa – here’s the easy RULE:

Use SEEN ONLY when you are using HAS, HAVE, or HAD as part of the verb.

• Example:  Bob HAD SEEN that TV program several times by the time Tom saw it.

SEEN is correct because HAD is part of the verb.

Some sentences for you to try:

1. Ivan (saw, seen) his four-wheeler used as a float in the parade.
2. I never (saw, seen) such a big brown bear!
3. Have you (saw, seen) the pelmini made at Katya’s house this week?
4. Alexander (saw, seen) his sister’s purse hanging on the back of the chair.
5. Mr. Miller had (saw, seen) many apples disappear from his desk until he decided to catch the culprit.