Look, Watch and See || What's the Difference?

Look, watch and see are all verbs with similar meanings.

This means that people often make mistakes when using these verbs.

If you use the wrong verb when talking in English, it can be confusing for the listener.

This is why it is important for you to study look, watch and see and learn how to use them correctly.

By the end of this lesson, you will understand how these words are different and how to use them correctly.

HOW TO USE LOOK, WATCH AND SEE?

Although they are all verbs and they are all related to the eyes, they are three different verbs and they are used in three different ways.

It is important to note that in this article we are talking about the verbs. Watch and look can be nouns (you know, like the thing on your wrist that tells you the time) but we are focusing on the verbs in this lesson.

WATCH.

Watch is a verb that means you move your eyes and focus on something.

The reason you choose to do that is because you expect that the thing will move, or change in some way.

We usually use watch when we are talking about things like

• movies,
• sports events,
• TV shows,
• YouTube videos,
• a fireworks display,
• a concert and things like that.

Check out these examples:

• I usually watch TV in bed.
• He is always watching YouTube on his iPad.
• Are you going to watch the Olympics?

LOOK.

Look is similar to watch as in you move your eyes to focus on something.

The big difference is that you don’t expect the thing you focus on to move or change. It might do, but you are not expecting it to. We often look at things like photos, magazines, art etc.

It is quite common to use this verb when we talk about windows. We look out of the window, rather than watch the window.

Another thing you need to remember is that when you have an object, you need to use the preposition at. Like this…

Look + at + object.

Check out at these examples:

• Look out! The floor is slippery!
• I’m looking for a new hat.
• What are you looking at?

SEE.

See is quite different to the other verbs because see doesn’t require any effort or thought. It just kind of happens.

You don’t need to try to see something because it is all automatic. We often use see when we notice something with our eyes. It is usually the case that we didn’t expect it to happen and we are a bit surprised.

• I saw Ric in the supermarket this morning.
• I saw a shooting star last night.
• When I was looking out of the window, I saw a car crash.

We also use this verb when we ask other people if they witnessed something.

When we are talking about the fact of viewing something, we use see. Even though I would watch a game of football, the next day I might ask my mate…

“Did you see the footie last night?”

ARE THERE ANY OTHER DIFFERENCES?

There is one pretty important exception that you should know about.

We can use see in the same way as watch. There is a nuance difference though.

I can say “I saw a movie” and this tells the listener that I left my home and did that at another place, probably a cinema or something.

When we use see, we often imply that we went somewhere to do that thing.

If I say, “I watched a movie”, it is implied that I did that thing at home.
This is why we always say I watched TV, because we almost always do that at home.

WHAT ARE SOME COMMON MISTAKES WITH LOOK, WATCH AND SEE?

There are a few common mistakes that learners make that I want to mention here.

Look uses the preposition at if there is an object in the sentence:

It’s nice to look at the scenery from the lakeside. ✅
It’s nice to look the scenery from the lakeside. ❌

You can’t use watch if you are not trying to see something.

If you go to the zoo, you might see a gorilla. ✅
If you go to the zoo, you might watch a gorilla. ❌

We usually use look when we are talking about phones and tablets:

I always look at Instagram on my phone when I am taking the train. ✅
I always watch Instagram on my phone when I am taking the train. ❌

ARE THERE ANY OTHER MEANINGS FOR LOOK, WATCH AND SEE?

Some of these words can be used in slightly different ways to what we mentioned earlier in this post. For example, see can often be used to mean visit. For example,

I saw a dentist last week about my toothache.

Another nuance to be aware of is that watch is usually used when we look at something for a long time. If I go to the beach and focus on the ocean for a while, I would watch the ocean rather than look at it. For example,

We watched the sunset from the balcony.

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