Differences: see, look and watch

Today’s English
May 7th, 2017

How we use our eyes in different ways has given birth to these three verbs -see, look and watch.  Some people use them interchangeably but each one is different both in meaning and usage.

See:
When you are going on your way, you may happen to see something. When you open your windows or doors, you may occasionally see some incidents.  Seeing happens occasionally, by chance, accidentally and unintentionally. You are not going for it but it comes to your sight.

1.I saw an old man on the way struggling to cross the road.
2.When I went to the library, I saw your sister with a boy.
3.Have you seen him before anywhere?
(You cannot use “look" in these places.)

Look:
When you look at something, you look at carefully, intentionally with a reason to know something.  When you see, you are not involved into it.  When you look at, a kind of involvement is there. You may look at a picture for a long time carried away by its beauty or for a deeper understanding of it.

1.Please look at these photos. I took them yesterday.
2.Look here! You should not send me any message hereafter.
3.We were looking at each other for a long time and didn’t know what to speak.

Watch:
When something is moving or changing from moment to moment, looking is not possible. Watching is needed. You watch something with full attention because it is continuously moving, changing or unexpected things may happen. You can look at a picture, but you have to watch a video or TV programme.  What does a watchman do? He watches the entire place, all people moving here and there,  with full attention to keep the place secured.  Thus intensity and involvement are more in watching than in looking.

1.I watched that programme and got shocked to see the madness of people.
2.You can watch this video on YouTube.
3.Keep a watch on her! Her movements are abnormal.

Remember: seeing is casual and by chance; looking is with attention and intentions; watching is with more alertness especially on moving or changing ones.

“For some must watch, while some must sleep
So runs the world away”
-William Shakespeare, “Hamlet”