Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nevermindb]

I need help. A student asked me to explain to her when to use "look" and "see." I've never thought about it before...and I'm having trouble explaining it. I don't need examples. I just need a way to explain it to her. ALSO, when to use "below" and "under." Could someone help me with these 2 questions? Thanks!!

[kimchi_pizza]

No problem! "look" is, uh.....um, well....and "see" is...er...ah......Then you have "below" which can mean this...and...ah...that and well..."under" which is synomonous with..*ahem*....meaning it can replace.....Yea....and....sorry, can't help ya. BOL! (Best o'luck).

[PRagic]

I'd venture to say that you'd have found the answer faster by doing a simple internet search.

[suneater]

the verbs 'look', 'watch', and 'see' have so~ many collocations that it is often difficult to give a definitive answer to such a question.

However, in a pure visual sense:

look: used with static image objects (and a dependent preposition). eg. look at a painting

watch: used with moving image objects eg. watch the girl walking

see: a sense verb thus often paired with a modal auxillary eg. I can see!

All in all though, I don't think such an explicit explanation helps our learners that much. I'm sure that others will also add their two cents worth to my off-the-cuff explanation.

[articulate_ink]

With verbs pertaining to most of the 5 senses, English differentiates between control (as in focusing or paying attention) and no control. When you see something, it's in your view. If your eyes are open, you will probably see it. When you look at something, you choose to focus on it. This is a deliberate act. The same distinction exists between listen/hear, touch/feel, and sniff/smell. The latter is a little murkier, because we tend to use 'smell' for both purposes. For the concept of taste, we use the same word for both.

'Under' vs 'below' = complicated. My preposition guidebook has several pages of definitions, and they overlap, to a degree.

Below: in a lower position in space, lower in ranking or on a scale of measurement

Under: vertically lower than, covered or hidden by something, moving beneath something and emerging on the other side, being operated/managed/supervised/controlled by something/someone above, less than a specified limit or amount, in a certain category (like filing), and in conjunction with undergoing a certain process.

I'd suggest finding lots of examples with this one.

[Bear256]

Set up a demo:

"Look at the teacher's desk"

"What do you see?"

Look directs your attention to either a specific object or to search for a specific object. "Look at the whiteboard. What is written there?" "Where is my pen. Can you help me look for it?"

See is a reporting of sights or objects. "You went to the zoo? What did you see?"

[kimchi_pizza]

If you want to explain it to children, the best route is probably the
most simple route. Maybe this can help...

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_actpass.html

[thegadfly]

I teach "look" as a verb of observation or intent -- as in trying to see -- "look, do you see the purple t-rex I am holding? No, my hands are empty? Do you see the dinosaur? Are you looking? Yes?"

I teach " see" as a verb of perception...the students see that my hands are empty even as I decry that they should look at the purple mini-t-rex I am holding....

I do the same with sniff/smell, touch/feel, listen/hear, though I am at a loss for the verb of intent for taste...I think that sense is so sensitive, that if you put something in your mouth, you taste it....

[Leslie Cheswyck]

Here's a simple guide I use sometimes.


Active
look
listen
touch
sniff
taste

Passive
see
hear
feel
smell
taste

often accompanied with a pop song lesson...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSqZC7G3_9I

[yingwenlaoshi]

Hey, look at the bird! Do you see it? Are you looking?

Yes, I'm looking. I see the bird! It looks beautiful!

[Trevor]

This seems to me to be the clearest and simplest explanation. One is active and one is passive. Then give a few examples of active and passive verbs.

[Privateer]

They often know what an action verb is, so you can just explain that 'look' and 'listen' are actions, but 'see' and 'hear' are not (of course, 'see' has a lot of different meanings which are actions and 'hear' has at least one other, active, sense too, as in 'You're not *hearing* me').

Personally I think you're on shaky ground if you try to set up parallel distinctions for the other 3 senses.

As action verbs, 'look' and 'listen' can be used as orders and in the simple progressive tense.

'Watch' would be looking constantly with the expectation that something might happen. It makes no sense to expect an inanimate object to do something so you can't 'watch' it in that sense; but of course you can watch it if you expect something else to come along and do something *to* said object.

[EH]

Tell your student that look is 보다 and see is (for the most part) 보이다...

...except that when a Korean says something like 산 보인다 in English you'd have to add the word "can" and say "I can see the mountain" instead of the more awkward direct translation "the mountain is seen".

But if you just remember that look is 보다 and see is 보이다 you'll be on the right track.

-EH

[nevermindb]

This was so much help. Thanks a lot everyone!!