Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[BMO]

To look through. What is the meaning of through here?

Thanks.

[CP]

You can look through a window or door, meaning direct your eyes toward whatever is beyond the glass the open window / door. You can look through a telescope / microscope / binoculars, meaning put your eye to the eyepiece(s) and inspect what is on the other side. You can look through your fingers while playing "peek-a-boo" with a child. You can look through physical objects, meaning sort through them or rummage around. And you can look through written material, meaning read parts of it, maybe leafing through it casually.

There may be other uses of "look through," as well.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[BMO]

Thanks. From your explanation, look through is like leaf through, casually going over the material. But the following seems to be different.

http://www.ultralingua.net/index.html?service=ee&text=look+through


look through v. < luk [th]r� > : 1. To see through. 2. To search; to examine with the eyes.

When you examine, you can't be casually going over, right?

Through has many meanings. When it is uesd in look through, does it mean from one end to the other end?

bmo

[CP]

One can examine carefully or casually. One can look through / look over documents carefully or casually, that is, one can peruse / scrutinize them or skim through / glance over them, and I don't think "look through" implies that it is done very carefully rather than more casually.

But maybe others have a different view on this.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[BMO]

Thank you very much.

bmo