See vs. Watch
While you teach students, you’ll have many occassions where you have to correct a student that says something like:
“I see my favorite television show after school”
“That’s good“, you say, full of genkiness, “but in English, we say ‘I watch television’”
“Ah sousousousousousousou. But why ‘watch’ and not ’see’? What does it mean?”
“Errr, well…..”
It’s a very difficult thing to explain, especially to low level students, and you may be tempted to just yell “IT JUST IS!” but before you do that (and get fired), try this instead:
When you see things, you are aware of what is happening around you, using your eyes.
For example, I can see a cat there.
When you watch things, you are absorbing what you see. ‘See’ is more passive than ‘watch’. You also watch something for a longer period of time than you would see something, particularly if it is something that is constantly moving or changing, like a TV show or a movie.
For example, I watch my favorite TV show everyday.
Perhaps for very low-level students, it’s best to use time as a reason. If it’s something that goes for a long time, like a TV show, the use watch. If it’s something that’s quite short, like, ‘I can see a cat there’, then it’s see.
That tactic may fall over almost immediately but it’s a quick method to placate a low-level student for something that is far too difficult for them to understand.
You can use the past tense (saw, watched) in much the same way. Until the example of “I saw a movie on the weekend comes up”.
“Why don’t you say ‘I watched a movie on the weekend’?” asks your befuddled student.
“Ah well, you can indeed say ‘I watched a movie on the weekend’ and you would be correct!”
“Yes, but why do some English people say “I saw a movie on the weekend’?”
“IT JUST IS!”
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