I'm curious if both of these mean the same thing:
I always see him told to do the same thing.
I always see that he is told to do the same thing.
If not, can you please tell me what the difference is?
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Excellent question. Here's hoping for a linguist or serious enthusiast of English to give you a decent answer! – Araucaria - Not here any more. Nov 7 '19 at 16:33
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@Araucaria With that rep, I assume you are at least one of those :) – Joachim Nov 7 '19 at 16:34
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1@Joachim Possibly. But if so, a very busy one! – Araucaria - Not here any more. Nov 7 '19 at 16:34
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What research have you done yourself, So? For a start, can you give attributed links to examples of these usages? Is it the 'see = ensure' or 'see = observe' sense you are thinking about? Dictionaries will doubtless give them both. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 7 '19 at 16:45
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1For what it's worth, I would interpret the first as 'I witness him being told' and the second as 'I make sure that he is told'. – Kate Bunting Nov 8 '19 at 9:17
OP's first example is probably intended to mean...
1: What I always see is that he is told to do the same thing.
...or more accurately,...
2: What I see is that he is always told to do the same thing.
Ignoring that ambiguity about the intended referent of always, there's a completely different meaning that's more likely to be conveyed by OP's second example...
3: I always see to it that he is told to do the same thing.
...or more accurately,...
4: I see to it / make sure that he is always told to do the same thing.
Note that these are just likely intended meanings. In principle, either of OP's versions could validly be used with either sense.
answered Nov 22 '19 at 17:40
