Language

Do both the following phrases express a proposition? (1) "Jill is ill." (2) "Jill's being ill." What about these same phrases as part of the following sentences? (3) "I noticed that Jill is ill." (4) "I noticed Jill's being ill." Thanks, Velho

Comments

(1) does make a claim about the world. It could be true or false, depending on whether Jill is ill or not. (2) does not assert anything about the world: it does not tell us whether the state of Jill's being ill obtains, or whether it's a state the speaker hopes will not obtain, or believes obtained in the past, or is one the speaker is commanding that you stop from obtaining, etc. Both (3) and (4), like (1), express propositions. "To notice," like other perceptual verbs (e.g., "to observe"), can grammatically take either an embedded clause or a noun phrase. Thus one can observe that the puppet is on fire, but one can also observe the puppet's expression. To my ear, by the way, (4) sounds slightly infelicitous. I can notice Jill's sweating, as her sweating is something observable. But the state of her being ill isn't really observable (though manifestations of that state may be), so there's something odd, again to my ear, in claiming to notice such a state.

What Alex says here seems right, including the last bit. This

(5) I noticed Bob kissing Sue.

seems a lot better, perhaps because "Bob kissing Sue" seems to denote an event in this usage, but the absence of the possessive also matters here. On the first, something like

(6) I noticed Bob being tall,

which involves a stative, is a lot worse, to my ear, anyway. And I get a strong contrast between these two:

(7) I saw Bob's kissing Sue.

(8) I saw Bob kissing Sue.

Indeed, I'd mark the first ungrammatical.

I think the questioner is probably interested in something like the following contrast:

(9) I heard Bob propose to Sue.

(10) I heard Bob proposing to Sue.

(11) I heard that Bob proposed to Sue.

The first two involve hearing Bob, whereas the latter need not. Similarly, "I noticed that Jill was sick" need not involve noticing Jill: You may have seen a note, or simply observed that she has not been at work lately. On the other hand, "I noticed Jill being sick", in so far as that is OK, must involve noticing Jill. So there is an important contrast here, and as Alex noted, it is pretty common with perceptual verbs.

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