break/is breaking/broke /breaks

[lingkky]

Last night,when I walked towards my home.A stranger broke into his house.I saw it when I was walking.

I saw that a stranger broke / is breking /break into /was breaking into his house last night.

 

[Florentia52]

Which one do you think is correct, lingkky? (Also, was the stranger breaking into his own house?)

 

[lingkky]

Which one do you think is correct, lingkky? (Also, was the stranger breaking into his own house?)

At that time,the stranger was trying to damage the house door and the lock.

 

[Florentia52]

At that time,the stranger was trying to damage the house door and the lock.

Leaving aside the issue of why someone would be trying to damage his own house, which answer do you think is correct?

 

[lingkky]

I have no idea .But I would choose was breaking.

At the same time,I also perceive that "breaks into" is also correct too

 

[Florentia52]

If you are talking this morning about what you saw last night, and your sentence is "I saw that a stranger ____ into his house last night." then "was breaking" is the only one of your choices that comes close to working.

It would be much better to say "Last night, as I walked toward my house, I saw someone breaking into the house next door."

 

[lingkky]

May I know what situations when 'broke" ,"break" and "breaks ' are used?

 

[Florentia52]

It's up to you to provide the examples, lingkky, but "break" and "breaks" are present tense. You may wish to review verb tenses in English. Here, for example, is a helpful tutorial from The English Page.

 

[lingkky]

I saw him break into the house.
I saw him breaking into the house.

May I know their difference?
My opinion is that the first senence means that he have entered the house sucessfully while the second one means that he was in the process but has not entered the house yet.

Am I correct??

 

[Florentia52]

Here are some threads on the choice between "saw him break" vs "saw him breaking:"

She saw James walk in/walking in and hastily lowered her lids.
I can see him <walk/walking> down the street.
Please join the discussion in one of these threads, or any other relevant thread, if they do not answer your question. This thread should focus on the question in your original sentence, "I saw that a stranger...

Florentia52, moderator