The roulette players silently watched the wheel spin around/round

Question

Which use spin but not span in past tense? Thank you.

It’s a rather odd image to have a roulette wheel spanned around; span is a linear concept whereas spin is a circular one. — Lawrence, Mar 13 '20 at 11:17
Does this answer your question? "Heard me [infinitive]" vs. "heard me [present participle]" ' << English sense verbs, unlike most complement-taking verbs, can take either gerund or infinitive complements. I saw/heard him leave/leaving. ... >> (J Lawler) — Edwin Ashworth, Nov 08 '20 at 15:37

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 12 '20 at 10:33

1

Spin is an infinitive. It is part of an adverbial free modifier

The roulette players silently watched the wheel spin around/round ->

The roulette players silently watched the wheel as it spun around/round

answered Feb 12 '20 at 10:33

Greybeard

So it is like watching the wheel to spin around? – Fsa Feb 12 '20 at 10:55
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No, @Fsa. Many verbs of perception (eg see, hear, watch, feel) can take an infinitive clause without "to" as an object. They can also take a "that" clause, and an "-ing" clause, but not an infinitive clause with "to". As usual, this is an unpredictable property of the particular verbs. Expect can take an infinitive clause with "to", but not one without "to". – Colin Fine Feb 12 '20 at 11:21

1 Answers1