Basic English – How and when to use LOOK, SEE, and WATCH

The words ’look’, ’see’, and ’watch’ all seem to mean the same thing, so how do you decide which one to use? Today you’ll learn how to use these words correctly! Native English speakers know when to use these words. But it can be difficult for English learners to understand the difference. For example, you can WATCH English lessons on engVid, LOOK for the quiz under each video, and SEE your score once you’ve completed it. I’ll teach you the basic principle of when to use each one of these words and show you many examples, so that you can be sure that you are using them correctly. You’ll also sharpen your comprehension skills by practicing looking at the context of sentences -- one of the keys to learning new vocabulary. Think you’ve mastered it? Take the quiz at to test yourself! TRANSCRIPT Hi. I’m Gill at engVid, and today we’re going to be looking at the verb... Well, three verbs: “to look“, “to see“, and “to watch“, which all involve using your eyes, but they are used in different ways and different contexts. So, it’s quite complicated, really, but we’re going to look at some examples, and I’ll try to explain why you choose “look“ in certain cases, “watch“ in other cases, and “see“ in other cases. Sometimes there’s a choice, but both or all three would work; other times, it has to be one particular one for it to sound right in English. Okay. So, let’s have a look at “look“ to begin with. “Look“ is quite an active verb, because to look, you have to deliberately decide to use your eyes and move... Move your head around, and look to see, look to “see“ what’s there. So, we’ll do “see“ in a minute, but you’re looking in a deliberate, active way, because you want to, maybe you want to find something. So, if you’re looking for something, if you start to use prepositions with it: “I’m looking for my book“, for example. Where is my book? I’m looking for it. I can’t see it at the moment. I’m looking for it. Or you can be “looking at“ something. If it’s there and you’re seeing it... A picture on the wall: “Looking at the picture“, and it’s a deliberate looking at the details, taking in the colours, the shapes, everything in the picture, so it’s quite an active process. Okay. With “watch“, it’s similar because it’s quite an active thing again, you’re watching something. But with “watch“, it’s often used when you’re watching things which might be moving, either on a film or on television, a sports match, either you’re there at the sports field or you watching sport on television. Or people, if you’re sitting outside a café having a coffee and you’re watching people going by, or you’re watching some animals in the zoo, what they’re doing in their cage. It tends to be with things that are moving. So you’re watching because there’s a constant change happening. You’re watching and it’s holding your interest because it’s developing, either a film, a TV program. You’re watching the news, the details keep changing, the picture keeps changing; people moving around, animals. It’s a kind of watching something in a process, a process is happening. Okay. With “see“, it’s a little bit different. I’ve already used the word. It’s a little bit more passive in some ways, because it’s like you’re receiving the image through your eyes; you’re not deliberately looking for something. If I’m not looking for my book, but I just happen to look over that side of the room, and: “Oh, I see my book.“ I just happen to see my book; I’m not looking for it, but there it is. I see it. The image comes through my eye, down my optic nerve, into my brain, and my brain tells me: -“That is your book.“ -“Ah, I’ve seen my book.“ Okay? So it’s receiving. It’s more passive. It’s sort of recognizing something when it’s there in front of your eyes. Okay. If a bird flies past the window, you’re not looking... You’re not deliberately looking out the window, waiting: “Oh, I’m waiting to see a bird.“ You don’t expect it to happen, but then you say: “Oh. Oh, did you see that? Did you see that? The bird flew past the window with very bright feathers. What kind of bird is that?“ So: “I saw a bird“, so past tense. I saw a bird fly past the window. You weren’t looking for it. It happened, and you received that image unexpectedly. Okay. But as I said, it’s a bit complicated because sometimes... Well, let me show you this example to illustrate what can happen. We talked about watching a film, and if you’re in the present tense: “We are watching a film now.“ So the phone rings, a friend is there, and: “Oh. Can...? Sorry. Can I call you back? Because we’re watching a film now. I don’t want to miss it.“ So, at the moment we are watching a film. But if you are talking about yesterday: “We saw a film yesterday.“ Okay? You can say: “We saw a film.“ You could also say: “We watched a film yesterday“, which sort of makes it sound a bit more active.