Interrogative sentences in English (examples list)

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HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH: The Interrogative sentence

Summary:

1. The interrogative words in WH-
2. Direct questioning
3. Indirect questioning (politeness)
4. The interrogative words with HOW

1. The interrogative words in WH-

Interrogative words are used to obtain information. They are used to ask indirect questions. Here are the most common ones:

• what :  What’s on TV tonight? 
• when :  When did you see her? 
• where :  Where do you live? 
• which :  Which of these cars is yours? 
• who/whom :  Who’s that? 
• whose :  Whose phone is this? 
• why :  Why didn’t she call back? 

What about + v-ing (or how about + v-ing):

• What about eating out? 

What + noun and which + noun:

• What colour is your car? 
• Which colour do you prefer? Blue or green? 

2. Direct questioning

Closed questions (answered by yes or no): if there is no question word, the order of the question is ‘auxiliary (or modal) + subject + verb + complement’.

• Are you sleeping? 
• Did you like the party? 

Open-ended questions: with an interrogative word, the order is “interrogative word + auxiliary + subject”.

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb
What	were	you	doing there?
Who	did	they	talk to?
Where	will	she	go?
What	have	you	done?
When	did	you	meet him?
Why	didn’t	she	call back?

When the interrogative word is subject, the auxiliary do is not used.

• What happened? 
• Who wants some more tea? 

When the question concerns a complement introduced by a preposition, it is placed at the end of the sentence.

• What are you thinking about? 
• Who was he dancing with?

The interro-negative sentences combine interrogation and negation. The order is auxiliary + not + subject. It is mainly used to express surprise or ask for confirmation, and is most likely to be answered in the affirmative.

• Don’t you like the sea? 
• Aren’t you comming? 

3. Indirect questioning (politeness)

Indirect questions are more polite and formal than direct questions. They are used to talk to people you don’t know very well, or in professional situations for example. In fact, the indirect question is not even a real question: it is more of an affirmative sentence that invites the person to give more information.

Indirect questions are preceded by introductory formulas such as:

• Could you tell me…
• Do you know…
• Would it be possible…
• Is there any chance…
• I was wondering…
• I’d like to know…
• Do you have any idea…
• I wonder if…

In indirect questions with the verb be, the verb comes after the subject:

Direct Interrogation	Indirect Interrogation
How much is it?	Can you tell me how much it is?
Where is the post office?	Could you tell me where the post office is?

If the direct question contains the auxiliary do/does/did, it must be removed from the indirect question:

Direct Interrogation	Indirect Interrogation
What do you want?	Can you tell me what you want?
When did she leave?	I’d like to know when she left.

For closed direct questions (answered by yes or no), put “if” when you want to transform them into indirect questions:

Direct Interrogation	Indirect Interrogation
Does Tina like Italian food?	Do you know if Tina likes Italian food?
Do they speak Japanese?	I was wondering if they speak Japanese.
Are your friends joining us for dinner?	Could you tell me if your friends are joining us for dinner?

4. The interrogative words with HOW

‘How’ alone at the beginning of a question can be translated as ‘in what way…’:

• How do you spell your name? 
• How do you go to school? 

But it can be used in other ways and have different meanings according to its uses:

We use How to ask questions about intensity, measurement with How + adjective + be:

• How tall was she? 
• How high is this tower? 
• How far is it? 
• How big is your house? 
• How long is this beach? 

We can add many adjectives after how: how small, how wide… don’t forget to add BE conjugated! (is / are / was / were / were)

Ask a question about frequency with How often…. ?

• How often do you go to new York? 
• How often do you see him? 

To ask about a repetition of times: How many times… 

• How many times did you go there? 

To ask about a length of time: How long ago…

• How long ago did they move out? 

A starting point in time: How long + present perfect or past perfect

• How long have you been together? 
• How long had you been together?

The duration: How long + present or preterite:

• How long are you here for? 
• How long did you live in Spain?

The degree: How well….

• How well do you know him? 

How much + singular and How many + plural:

• How much is it? 
• How many cars have you got? 

How is often used in questions with a perception verb such as look, be, feel, smell, smell, taste, appear or sound:

• How does it feel to be your own boss? 
• How does it taste? 

©Englishfornoobs.com

The exclamation in English grammar

 

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The exclamation is often made with what, so, such and how.

With How and So

How and so are followed by an adjective or adverb:

• How ludicrous it was! 
• She is so nice! She has so many friends! 

⚠️ don’t confuse How old are you? (= What’s your age?) and How old you are! (= You are really old!)

The structure how + subject + verb is also possible:

• How you have grown! 
• How he loves you! 

We often use how followed only by an adjective:

• How sweet! 
• How beautiful! 

In informal style, we can also use How + adjective + verb + subject (especially in American English):

• How clever am I! 
• How crazy is that!

Finally, keep in mind that How can cover an entire statement:

• How she loves him! 

With Such and What

What and such are followed by a name. There are several possible structures:

• What an amazing car! 
• They’re such nice people!
• Such delicious cooking! 

Such is not necessarily used in an exclamation:

• such situations…

Remember to put a or an in front of countable names:

• She is such a lovely girl! (NOT She is a such lovely girl!)
• What a beautiful flower! (NOT What beautiful flower!)

Some uncountables are preceded by a in fixed exclamations:

• What a pity! 
• What a shame! 
• What a mess! 
• What a relief! 

Be careful not to invert the verb at the end: What + object + subject + verb:

• What a beautiful smile you have! (NOT What a beautiful smile have you!)
• What a beautiful day it is! (NOT What a beautiful day is it!)

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How to use the verb to have in English?

 

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Have can be a main verb or an auxiliary verb that is used to indicate the tense or appearance of another verb.

HAVE as a main verb

To have is used as the main verb to indicate possession, a characteristic, relationships….

• I have 20€ in my pocket.
• She has a lot of free time these days. 

1. IN THE SIMPLE PRESENT

Pronouns	Affirmative sentence	Negative sentence	Questions (add Do or Does)
I, we, you, they	I have a new car.	I don’t have a new car.	Do I have a new car?
he, she, it	She has a new car.	She doesn’t have a new car.	Does she have a new car?

The contracted form

• I have → I’ve
• You have →You’ve
• He / She / It has → He’s / She’s / It’s
• We have → We’ve
• You have → You’ve
• They have → They’ve

The negative contraction:  has not = hasn’t         have not = haven’t

⚠️ have got OR have? Both mean the same thing, there is no difference. Have got is more commonly used in British English to indicate the possession of objects, characteristics or relationships (‘got’ is the verb ‘get’ in the present perfect):

• I have got an Iphone. = I have an Iphone.
• I’ve got a headache. = I have a headache.
• Kevin has got three cousins. = Kevin has three cousins. 
• She’s got long hair. = She has long hair.
• He has got some friends in Berlin. = He has some friends in Berlin.

In the end, for negative questions and sentences there are therefore three possible forms:

• Have you got any money? → I haven’t got any money.
• Do you have any money? → I don’t have any money.
• Have you any money? (not really used) → I haven’t any money. (not really used)
• Has she got a pen? → She hasn’t got a pen.
• Does she have a pen? → She doesn’t have a pen.
• Has she a pen? (not really used) → She hasn’t a pen. (not really used)

2. IN THE PRETERIT OR SIMPLE PAST

Pronouns	Affirmative sentence	Negative sentence	Questions (add Do or Does)
I, he, she, it, we, you, they	I had a new car.	I did not have a new car.	Did I have a new car?

The contracted form

Have has always the same form when it’s used at the preterit: had (without got). The contracted form is used only for have as an auxiliary : you can not say I’d a new car BUT I had a new car.

• I had → I’d 
• You had → You’d
• He / She / It had → He’d / She’d / It’d
• We had → We’d
• You had → You’d
• They had → They’d

The negative contraction:      had not = hadn’t

Questioning and negative forms: we use did and didn’t

In the preterite, have is conjugated like ordinary verbs, with the auxiliary did.

• What did you have for lunch today? 
• I didn’t have time to watch TV yesterday. 
• Did you have a car when you were living in Japan? 

Be careful not to use got in the past!

• Tina had long hair when she was a child. (NOT Tina had got)

Have as an auxiliary

Have is used as an auxiliary verb in the so-called ‘perfect’ tenses: it must be conjugated according to the time you want to use. Here is a quick overview of the tenses that use have as an auxiliary verb:

• Present Perfect: I have seen this film twice. 
• Present Perfect Continuous: They have been waiting for over an hour. 
• Past Perfect: The meeting had already started by the time I arrived. 
• Past Perfect Continuous: They had been talking for over an hour before Kevin arrived. 
• Future Perfect: She will have finished before nine o’clock. 
• Future Perfect Continuous: Next year I will have been working here for two years. 

As an auxiliary, Have places itself in front of the subject in an interrogative form.

• Have you ever used a smartphone? 

In the negative form, it is followed by not. There is a contracted form.

• Has not → hasn’t
• have not → haven’t

Example: Have you seen him? → No, I haven’t seen him. 

The different uses of HAVE:

Have can mean different things:

• have breakfast / lunch / a pizza / a drink / a cup of coffee
• have dinner
• have a bath / a shower
• have a walk
• have a good time
• have a dream
• have a holiday
• have a rest
• have a break
• have a party
• have a look
• have a nice day
• have a try
• have a chat, a conversation, a discussion
• have a fight, an argument

Some examples:

• Samantha is having a bath at the moment.
• We’re going to have a party next saturday.
• She usually has breakfast at eight o’clock.

The modal verb ‘have to’:

Have to express the obligation, or that something is necessary:

• I have to get up early tomorrow.
• Do we have to leave now?
• You have to go and see her.
• I have to wash my car today.
• He has to write a report.
• I had to go to the bank yesterday.

When used in negative form, have to means that something is not necessary or mandatory:

• We don’t have to work tomorrow.
• He doesn’t have to work in the evening.
• I didn’t have to make my bed when I was living with my parents.

Combining have and had:

Have had is the perfect present tense of the verb “to have”.

• I have had a lot of homework this week.
• Have you had your breakfast?
• I haven’t had any rest since morning.

©Englishfornoobs.com

How to use the verb to be in English

 

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Be in the present simple tense

Affirmative form

Construction: subject + be

• I am
• you are
• he / she / it is
• we are
• you are
• they are

The contracted form is very common (especially orally):

• I am → I’m
• you are → you’re
• he is → he’s
• she is → she’s
• it is → it’s
• we are → we’re
• you are → you’re
• they are → they’re

Negative form

Simply add NOT after the verb:

• I am not
• you are not
• he / she / it is not
• we are not
• you are not
• they are not

The negative form can be contracted:

• I am not → I’m not
• he is not → he isn’t OR he’s not
• you are not → you aren’t OR you’re not

Interrogative form

To ask a question, it’s simple: you have to reverse the subject and be. The verb Be is then placed at the beggining of the sentence:

• am I making myself clear?
• are you happy?
• is he ok?
• are we arrived yet?

Be in preterite (= past simple)

Affirmative form

• I was
• you were
• he / she / it was
• we were
• you were

Be careful, there is no contracted form.

Negative form

• I was not
• you were not
• he / she / it was not
• we were not
• you were not
• they were not

The negative form can be contracted:

• was not → wasn’t
• were not → weren’t

Interrogative form

Just like the present, be is placed at the beginning of the sentence, but at the preterit tense (was or were):

• was I?
• were you?
• was he / she / it?
• were we?
• were vou?
• were they?

How to use the verb to be

In English, the verb BE can be either verb or auxiliary.

As a main verb:

With a name, to talk about a characteristic:

• Sam is very tall.
• My mother was a teacher.
• This cake is very tasty.
• The children were good.
• Paul and his wife are from New York.
• The flowers are on the table.

As an auxiliary:

To make the continuous form with -ing:

• They are eating 
• It had been raining for hours.

To do the passive voice:

• It’s broken
• This car was made in Japan.

REMEMBER!

Be has a lot of different meanings:

To talk about a state:

• I’m hungry / thirsty  
• I’m lucky 

To say the age of someone:

• I’m 24. 
• He is 17. 
• She is my age. 

To talk about the weather

• It’s hot / it’s cold today. 

To talk about size:

• She is the same height as her husband. 
• He is 6 feet tall. 
• How tall are you?  (NOT How high are you?)
• That tree is about 20 metres high. 

⚠️ to talk about weight, do not use to be but the verb weigh: He weighs 70 kilos. (He is 70 kilos. = ❌)

To indicate a distance:

• It’s 5 km to the next town. 

⚠️ There are often mistakes with Born

• I was born (NOT: I am born)
• He was born (NOT: He is born)
• They were born (NOT: They are born)

Question tags with TO BE

The following formula must be used: be (contracted if negative) + personal pronoun.

Positive sentences are followed by a negative question tag, and negative sentences by a positive question tag:

• You are Paul, aren’t you?
• Miguel is from Spain, isn’t he?
• He isn’t coming, is he?
• Linda was tired, wasn’t she?
• This isn’t working, is it?
• We weren’t late, were we?

Phrasal verbs with BE

There are many of them! Here are some of the most common ones:

be about to (= be ready to do something)

• The bus is about to leave
• He was about to say something.

be off (= to leave / to stop working)

• Bye guys, I’m off!
• Make sure the lights are off.

be out (= be absent from home or work)

• You can’t talk to my boss. He’s out.

be out of (= to run out of something)

• I am out of flour, I can’t make pancakes.
• He’s been out of work for a long time. 

be up (= be awake / increase / expire)

• It’s ten o’clock and Tina isn’t up yet.
• The price of bread is up again this week.
• The warranty on the camera is up. If it breaks now we’ll have to pay for it.

be up to (= planning a bad move, something bad)

• What are those children up to now?

BE + GOING TO

Be + going to express an intention in the future, or a certainty:

• We’re going to have a party.
• He’s going to wash the car.
• I think it’s going to rain.

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How to use ‘From’ in English

 

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From is a preposition that can be used in several ways:

TO INDICATE THE ORIGIN

From is used to indicate an origin, a starting point in space:

• Where do you come from? 
• Yoshi comes from Japan. 
• I borrowed this computer from my father. 
• I got an e-mail from her today. 
• He tried to steal it from me. 
• This passage is from a novel written by Stephen King. 
• Can you get me a spoon from that drawer? 

From can also indicate a starting point in time (usually to talk about the future):

• Tickets for the concert are on sale from Monday.

⚠️ Be from and come from are always in the present when we talk about a person’s origin. If we use come from in the past, it indicates the starting point of a trip, not the country or city where the person was born.

• Mr. Smith comes from New York. (He was born or he lives in New York)
• Mr. Smith came from New York. (Mr. Smith has travelled from New York)

FROM WITH TO/UNTIL

We use from with the prepositions to or until to mark the beginning and the end of an action in time. In general, we use instead from…to in the past times and from… until to talk about an event in the future.

• I work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.
• We are meeting in Paris from Monday until Thursday. 
• The river flows from east to west. 
• François Hollande was the president of France from 2012 to 2017. 

From can also be used with numerical indications (prices, numbers…):

• The price went up from €100 to €150. 
• Prices range from £800 to £1000 for a good laptop. 
• Prices start from €200 per week for car rental. 

We use from … to to talk about changing the state of something:

• The colour of the liquid changed from yellow to red. 

TO EXPRESS DISTANCE

With from, we also express the idea of a distance:

• He’s moved from London to Tokyo. 
• We are only five minutes from the beach. 

TO EXPRESS YOUR POINT OF VIEW

From also allows you to express a point of view:

• From what I’ve heard this movie is not worth seeing. 
• From my point of view, that makes sense. 

THE CAUSE

We can use from to indicate the cause of something:

• He died from diarrhea and dehydration. 
• Paul is suffering from cancer. 

TO EXPRESS SEPARATION, EXCLUSION, DIFFERENTIATION

• An umbrella protects from the sun. 
• He knows right from wrong. 
• He’s quite different from the others. 

THE MATERIAL OF INGREDIENT

With from we can indicate where the material or ingredients from which certain things are made come from:

• Cheese is made from milk. 
• It’s made from wood. 

USEFUL EXPRESSIONS WITH FROM

⚠️ From is often used with the following verbs:

• borrow from…
• disappear from…
• discourage from…
• suffer from…
• prevent from…
• protect from…
• steal from…
• recover from…

⚠️ From now on means: from this moment

• From now on, I will be more careful. 
• From now on, I’ll try to help you more at home..
• From now on I never want to clean the toilet again. 

⚠️ Other useful expressions with FROM:

• apart from : Apart from sport, I like music. 
• aside from : There is nothing here aside from the library. 

 

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Conditional sentences rules

 

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What’s the conditional in English?

We use the conditional in English to talk about something that might happen if something else were to happen. It can be a possibility real or imaginary:

•  If I have enough money, I will go to Japan. 

To make a conditional sentence in English you must use’if’.

How to form the conditional in English

There are four types of conditionals in English:

The ‘zero’ conditional

Both parts of the sentence are at the present simple:

If + simple present + simple present

It is often used to tell general truths:

• If you heat ice, it melts.
• If you mix red and yellow, you get orange.

It is also used to give instructions, with the imperative in the second part of the sentence:

• If Paul phones, tell him to meet me at the bar.
• If you‘re not sure what to do, ask Kevin.

The type 1 conditional

The first part of the sentence with ‘if’ is in the present simple, and the second part is in the future simple:

If + simple present + Simple future

• If it rains, you will get wet.
• If you don’t hurry, we will miss the train.

Here, we are talking about the present or the future and the situation is real. We’re talking about things that have a probable outcome.

The type 2 conditional

The first part of the sentence with ‘if’ is in the simple past, and the second part is in the present conditional:

If + simple past + Present conditional

• If it rained, you would get wet.
• If you went to bed earlier, you wouldn’t be so tired.
• If I knew her name, I would tell you.

With the type 2 conditional, we are talking about things that could have happened and their probable consequences.

The type 3 conditional

The first part of the sentence in ‘if’ is past perfect, and the second part is perfect conditional:

If + past perfect + Perfect conditional

• If it had rained, you would have got wet
• If you had worked harder, you would have passed the exam.

We are talking about something that could have happened in the past, and its probable outcome in the past.

⚠️ REMEMBER!

There is a last type of conditional in “if” where types two and three are mixed: the first part of the sentence in “if” is in past perfect, and the second part is in present conditional:

If + past perfect + present conditional

• If I had worked harder at school, I would have a better job now.
• If we had looked at the map, we wouldn’t be lost.

In the latter case, we are talking about something that could have happened in the past and would have had a probable consequence now.

⚠️ ‘If I was’ or ‘If I were’?

Take a look at the following examples:

• If I was rich, I would buy a house.

OR

• If I were rich, I would buy a house.

“If I were” is the correct way to say it. However, ‘If I was’ is commonly used in spoken English.

So, if in doubt (for example, when speaking during an oral exam for example), use ‘If I were...’ !

 

 

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What is the comparative?

 

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We use the English comparative to compare and describe things or people:

To do this, we need to use comparative adjectives:

• We need a bigger boat.
• I’m feeling better now.

Comparative adjectives

Let’s look at the formation of English comparative adjectives, there are several types:

Comparative adjectives with one syllable:  fast, great, quick, short, small, tall…

It is necessary to add -er

• cheap → cheaper 
• high → higher 

Comparative adjectives with one syllable ending in ‘e’:  close, huge, large, strange…

It is necessary to add -r

• nice → nicer
• wise → wiser

Adjectives that end in consonants /vowel/consonants:  fat, red, sad, thin…

it is necessary to add an additional consonant followed by -er

• big → bigger
• hot → the hotter 

Adjectives in two syllables ending with -y:   heavy, tiny…

you have to replace the -y by -ier

• happy → happier
• crazy → crazier 
• early → earlier 
• easy → easier 
• pretty → prettier

Adjectives in two or more syllables: important, delicious, generous…

It is necessary to add the word ‘more’

• beautiful → more beautiful 
• expensive → more expensive

Irregular comparative adjectives:

• good → better 
• bad → worse
• far → further 
• little → the smaller 

How to compare two things

To compare one thing with another you have to use THAN:

• He is three years older than me.
• New York is much bigger than Chicago.
• Zidane is a better football player than Ronaldo.
• Australia is a bigger country than Portugal.

When you want to describe how something or someone has changed you can use the same comparison twice with ‘and’ between them:

• The lake got bigger and bigger.
• Everything is getting more and more expensive. 
• My house is looking older and older. 

THE is often used with comparative adjectives to show that one thing depends on another:

• The faster you drive, the more dangerous it is.
• The higher he climbed, the colder it got. 
• The longer you wait, the harder it gets. 

How to say that two things are equal: As… as…

We use as + adjective + as to say that two things are similar or equal:

• He’s as tall as me.
• Tom’s bike is as fast as mine.

We use not as + adjective + as to say that two things are not equal:

• Danny’s car is not as fast as mine.

⚠️ We can modify the comparisons with by, far, easily and nearly:

• Burger King is by far better than Mac Donald.
• She’s nearly taller than him.

⚠️ Be careful not to confuse superlatives and comparative!

To see the lesson on superlatives click here.

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What is a superlative?

 

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Superlative is used to say that a thing, a person or an idea has more (or less) particularity than other similar things.

To do this, we use superlative adjectives:

Look at the following examples:

• The Everest is the highest mountain in the world. 
• Nathan is the best football player in the team.

Now let’s look at the formation of English superlative adjectives. There are several types:

Adjectives with one syllable:

Examples: fast, great, quick, short, tall…

it is necessary to add -est

• cheap → the cheapest 
• high → the highest

Adjectives with one syllable ending in “e”:

Ex: close, huge, large, strange…

it is necessary to add -st

• nice → the nicest 
• wise → the wisest

Adjectives that end in consonant/vowel/consonant:

Ex: fat, red, sad, thin…

it is necessary to add a consumption + -est

• big → the biggest
• hot → the hottest

Adjectives in two syllables ending with -y:

Ex: heavy, tiny…

it is necessary to replace the -y by -iest

• happy → the happiest
• crazy → the craziest 
• early → the earliest 
• easy → the easiest 
• pretty → the prettiest 

Adjectives in two or more syllables:

Ex: important, delicious, generous…

It’s necessary to add the most/the least 

• beautiful → the most beautiful 
• expensive → the most expensive 

Superlative irregular adjectives:

• good → the best
• bad → the worst
• far → the furthest 
• little → the smallest

To say that two things are equal: As… as…

We use as + adjective + as to say that two things are similar or equal:

• He’s as tall as me.
• Tom’s bike is as fast as mine.

We use not as + adjective + as to say that two things are not equal:

• Danny’s car is not as fast as mine.

⚠️ Superlatives can be modified with by, far, easily and nearly:

• Ti Amo is by far the best restaurant in town.
• She’s nearly the oldest in the class.

⚠️ If there is a possessive in the sentence, we do not use ‘the’ with the adjective superlative:

• Her strongest point is her ambition.

⚠️ Be careful not to confuse superlatives and comparisons!

 

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How to use the Passive Voice in English

 

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Feel free to leave a comment if you find any errors or if you have any suggestions to make to improve this lesson.

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⚠️ In this lesson the passive, the passive form and the passive voice mean the same thing.

How to form the passive voice in English:

Subject + to be + past participle

• A letter was written.

Why use the passive form in English?

The active voice is used to say what the subject is doing. On the contrary, we use the passive voice (or form) to put more importance on the action performed:

• Active: He drove the car yesterday.
• Passive: The car was driven by him yesterday.

• Active: I clean my house once a week.
• Passive: My house is cleaned once a week.

Sometimes, we use the passive in English when we don’t know who did the action:

• My car was made in Japan.
• My phone has been stolen.

This is sometimes specified in the sentence with ‘by’, but it is not as important as the action that has been carried out:

• It was sent by Paul yesterday.
• I was told by Tina.

We often use the passive form to talk about the subject at the beginning of the sentence:

• The fruits are all grown by local farmers.
• This window should be replaced when you have time.

⚠️ Note:it is necessary to say ”I was born” and not ”I am born”:

• I was born in 1983 ✅    I am born in 1983. ❌
• She was born in the same year as me.

⚠️ Note: the passive voice of  ‘verb+ing’ is ‘being + past participle’:

• I don’t like him staring at me. (active)
• I don’t like being stared at. (passive)

• I hate people talking to me at the library. (active)
• I hate being talked to at the library. (passive)

When things happen or change, especially in everyday English, we can use ‘get’ instead of ‘be’ on the passive:

• There was an accident but nobody was hurt.
• There was an accident but nobody got hurt.

• I was offered the job but I didn’t take it.
• I got offered the job but I didn’t take it.

The impersonal passive

Impersonal passive is rarely used in everyday English, but it is sometimes found in texts. It is only possible with perception verbs (think, know, believe, believe, claim, say…).

The subject must be replaced by ‘it is + past participle + that’:

• Active: People say that he left the town two weeks ago.
• Passive: It is said that he left the town two weeks ago.

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Look, see or watch?

 

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Feel free to leave a comment if you find any errors or if you have any suggestions to make to improve this lesson.

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These three verbs can be difficult to differentiate, here are their nuances:

LOOK

Look implies that you look at something deliberately. It requires an effort on the part of the subject:

• Don’t look at me like that… 
• Look! It’s snowing! 
• Look at me while I am talking to you. 

⚠️ When look has a direct object, it is followed by the preposition “at”:

• Look at the board.  ✅
• Look the board. ❌

⚠️ When there is no direct object, there’s no need for a preposition:

• Look here. ✅
• Look at here. ❌

When the thing seen is the subject of the sentence, “look” refers to an appearance, an external perception. It then translates the idea of appearing (we can also use the verb ‘seem’ instead sometimes):

• You look pale. 
• Do I look OK? 
• She’s 60, but she doesn’t look it. 

Look is the basis of many constructions such as look like :

• It looks like it’s going to rain. 
• It looks like they are leaving.

⚠️ Look is also the basis of many phrasal verbs:

• look after 
• look away 
• look for 
• look into 
• look out 
• look through
• look up 
• look up to 

SEE

We use see when something passes through the subject’s field of vision unintentionally, as soon as we open our eyes and without necessarily paying attention:

• I saw him at the party yesterday. 
• Did you see that bird? 
• I can’t see without my glasses. 
• Bats can see very well in the dark. 

⚠️ Be careful, the progressive form of see is not usually used with a name:

• I can see an elephant. ✅
• I am seeing an elephant. ❌

See is sometimes used with ‘if’:

• Let’s see if there is any food left. 

We use see in the expression “See you tomorrow!”

⚠️ See is also used in several phrasal verbs:

• see about → Paul likes photography, I’ll see about buying him a camera for his birthday.
• see out → Thank you very much for coming here. Mrs. Smith will see you out.
• see through → When Pete was depressed, all his friends saw him through.
• see in → The receptionist sees in our visitors. 
• see off → We all came to see Donald off and wish him the best of luck. 
• see over → She said she’d like to see over the house.
• see to → Don’t worry, I will see to the leak in the piping. 

WATCH

Watch implies that you are much more active, you focus your attention on something that is moving on a screen or changing for a specific amount of time (a sunset, sports…). It has more or less the same meaning as look.

• We watched the sunrise. 
• Don’t spend too much time watching TV. 
• I like watching soccer on TV. 

⚠️ Instead, we use see and not watch when we talk about a match or a public performance, such as a play, a concert or a movie in the cinema:

• We saw an interesting movie at the cinema last night. 

On the other hand, if we watch a movie at home, we will use watch instead:

• I watched ‘Phantom of the Opera’ last night on TV. (it means we were at home.)
• I saw ‘Phantom of the Opera’ last night. (it means that we were at the movies or the theater).

⚠️ Watch can also be translated as ‘to be careful about something or someone’.

• Can you watch my bag for a moment? 
• Watch him. I am certain he is up to something. 
• Watch your step 

We sometimes use the particle ‘out’ :

• Watch out! 
• Watch out for cars when you cross the road. 

 

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