See, Look or Watch? Hear or Listen? – Commonly Confused Words
Students are sometimes confused by the different meanings of the verbs to see, to look and to watch, and to hear and to listen. Let’s sort it out!
To See – We see when our eyes are open. As long as we have good eye-sight, it occurs naturally, without us thinking about it.
Examples:
Please pass me my glasses. I can’t see well without them.
Do you see my keys anywhere?
The verb can also mean to meet or to understand.
See you later!
I see what you mean.
To Look – To direct our eyes at something.
Examples:
Look! There is a beautiful eagle in the sky!
Could you look at the menu and order something for me, please?
Notice that we look at something.
To Watch – To observe something for a period of time.
Examples:
We watched the sunset from our balcony.
My grandpa likes to watch his series in the afternoons.
We want to watch the soccer game tomorrow.
Exception: When we go out to the cinema, or to attend visual arts presentations, we tend to use to see.
Examples:
Do you want to see a movie at the theater this weekend?
We went to see a play last week.
To hear – To hear is to use your ears. As long as your hearing isn’t impaired, when sound enters your ears, you hear it without effort.
Examples:
I heard a strange noise in the middle of the night.
Could you speak up, please? I can’t hear you.
To listen – To listen is to pay attention to a sound.
Examples:
We usually listen to the news on the radio in the morning.
Are you listening to me?
Notice that we listen to something.
Try it out for yourself!
Add the correct words to the sentences.
