I saw a young girl (stealing, stole, steal, steals) something from the shop.
which answer should it be and why?
"stealing" - a participle, not a complete verb, so it cannot serve as the main verb of a sentence unless you put a helping verb with it (is, are, will be, etc.).
"stole" - past tense, not correct in the sequence of tenses here because the main verb is in past tense (saw).
"steal/steals" - these are the present tense forms, which is what's needed in this subordinate clause; "steal" is the singular form and is used when the subject is singular; "steals" is the plural form and is used when the subject is plural. So ... what's the subject of THIS verb, and is it singular or plural?
The correct answer is "stealing." The sentence is describing an action that occurred in the past, so the past participle form "stealing" should be used.
The correct answer should be "stealing."
In this sentence, we are describing an action that is taking place in the present or the near future. Since the sentence is "I saw a young girl ______ something from the shop," we need to use the present participle form of the verb "steal." This form is "stealing."
The present participle is used to indicate continuous or ongoing actions. In this case, the action of stealing is happening at the same time that the speaker sees the young girl. So, by using "stealing," we are conveying that the girl was in the process of taking something from the shop when the speaker witnessed it.