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Junkomama
Joined: 17 Oct 2005
Posts: 592
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 Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:47 am Post subject: see, look at, watch |
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Hello, teachers.
Which one is correct? See, watch or look at? And why?
I'd like to watch games of World Cup 2006 in Germany, and I especially want to see/ watch/ look at Barrack, the captain of German national team.
Thank you in advance!
Junkomama |
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dabro
Joined: 10 Oct 2005
Posts: 117
Location: California, USA
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| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 7:40 am Post subject: Re: see, look at, watch |
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| Junkomama wrote: |
Hello, teachers.
Which one is correct? See, watch or look at? And why?
I'd like to watch games of World Cup 2006 in Germany, and I especially want to see/ watch/ look at Barrack, the captain of German national team.
Thank you in advance!
Junkomama |
1. See - focuses on the result of an act of observation, on (some sort of) information being taken in and processed. e.g.
A: "Did you see that?"
B: "What?"
A: "The man with the gun."
(Meaning: You should be scared / run.)
2. 'Look at' and 'watch' are generally paired in that they both focus on the act / process of observation, rather than the result:
a. Look at - generally used to refer to static
things / objects, etc. e.g 'look at a picture', etc.
b. watch - tends to be used for more dynamic
situations or where the focus of attention is the
action rather than the object, so:
i. 'watch TV' - i.e. focussing one's attention on
the movement, action, etc, on the screen,
rather than on the control buttons, special
features, etc as one might when choosing a
TV ("We *saw* a really nice new Sony in the
shop on Saturday. Bit expensive, though.").
ii. 'watch the match' - one watches the players'
movements, etc.
c. where this becomes a little trickier is in cases where one could use either. Contrast:
i. 'look at the girl sitting outside the cafe'
("Doesn't she have a cool hairdo!") and
ii. 'watch the girl sitting outside the cafe'
("She's passing a suspicious package to a
man in a long raincoat and sunglasses.")
d. An even trickier one, however, is 'watch the match' and 'see the match', where there is very little distinction and one would probably be left having to say that the distinction was simply one of result vs. process. I.e. if you *watch* the match, you're more interested in the enjoyment from watching it, whereas if you *see* the match, you're probably more interested in the result.
Contrast:
A: "Did you watch the match on Saturday?"
B: "Yes, I went to the (insert name of bar) with (insert name of friend). We had a great time."
and
A: "Did you see the match on Saturday?"
B: "Yes, I was excellent! We thrashed them this time!"
e. note also that 'see' doesn't tend to occur in progressive / continuous tenses (apart from to see someone as in the case of boyfriend girlfriend, etc: "I'm seeing this really nice girl at the moment.") - which is consistent with it being focused on result rather that process. 'Look at' and 'watch' are possible in both continuous and simple tenses.
_________________
If a man constantly aspires is he not elevated?
Henry David Thoreau
Peace,
David |
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Junkomama
Joined: 17 Oct 2005
Posts: 592
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| Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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Hello, David!
Thank you very much for your detailed explanation!!
I think I almost understand the difference among "see", "watch", and
"look at", but it is still not really clear about the sentence I wrote.
I think "look at" is not appropriate in this case, because it seems to focus on casting eye on Barrack. The "I" in this sentence wants to know how Barrack looks like and how he plays, so I think "see" or "watch" is better.
Am I wrong?
Junkomama |
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dabro
Joined: 10 Oct 2005
Posts: 117
Location: California, USA
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| Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 7:04 am Post subject: |
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| Junkomama wrote: |
Hello, David!
Thank you very much for your detailed explanation!!
I think I almost understand the difference among "see", "watch", and
"look at", but it is still not really clear about the sentence I wrote.
I think "look at" is not appropriate in this case, because it seems to focus on casting eye on Barrack. The "I" in this sentence wants to know how Barrack looks like and how he plays, so I think "see" or "watch" is better.
Am I wrong?
Junkomama |
Hello,
Unfortunately, ther isn't a clear distinction between "see" and "watch." I agree that "look at" isn't appropriate. You want to "see" Barrack, and you want to "watch" him play.
I hope this helps.
_________________
If a man constantly aspires is he not elevated?
Henry David Thoreau
Peace,
David |
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Junkomama
Joined: 17 Oct 2005
Posts: 592
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 5:18 am Post subject: |
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Thank you for your reply, David!
That was a great help!
Junkomama |
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dabro
Joined: 10 Oct 2005
Posts: 117
Location: California, USA
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:00 am Post subject: |
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| Junkomama wrote: |
Thank you for your reply, David!
That was a great help!
Junkomama |
You're welcome!
_________________
If a man constantly aspires is he not elevated?
Henry David Thoreau
Peace,
David |
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Hank898989
Joined: 25 Oct 2005
Posts: 79
Location: Taipei,Taiwan
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:07 am Post subject: |
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See is mean you already plan to notice that thing!!
Watch is just like you think about it before 0.00000001 second!!
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Taiwan is not a part of China!! |
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