Difference between “to look”, “to see” and “to watch”

Here you are a brief summary of the difference of the verbs “to look, “to see” and “to watch”, and some sentences where you can see clearly the use of them. Hope you find it useful !

Look

Look is to direct your attention towards something. “Look” is intentional, and it is often used in this form:  look + at + (object).

Examples

• Look at the sunset – it’s so beautiful!
• Look at that strange man.
• Look at the pictures I took on holiday.
• Don’t look at the sun with naked eye.
• Look at me while I am speaking.
• He looked at his watch and told me the time.
• Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t do anything wrong.

See

See is to perceive with your eyes, but it is not intentional (you don’t “try” to see, it just happens)

Examples:

• I saw a car accident while driving home from work.
• Did you see that bird? – I wasn’t looking for it,  it just appeared.
• I saw you driving to work today.
• Can you see my house over the cliff?
• Bats can see very well in the dark.
• See you tomorrow.
• You may not see much in dim light.

Watch

Watch is to keep your eyes on something (usually something that is moving) for a long time. It is intentional.

Examples:

• I’m watching TV.
• I watched the baseball game.
• All day long I just watched TV yesterday.
• I like watching the spectacular sun set every day.
• Please be quiet, I am trying to watch the world cup series.
• Do you like watching talk shows?