look
‘look at’
If someone directs their eyes towards something, you say that they look at it.
Lang looked at his watch.
She looked at the people around her.
When look has this meaning, it must be followed by at. Don't say, for example, ‘Lang looked his watch’.
Be careful
Don't confuse look with see or watch.
Don't confuse look with see or watch.
➜ See see - look at - watch
If you want to say that someone shows a particular feeling when they look at someone or something, use an adverb, not an adjective. For example, you say ‘She looked sadly at her husband’. Don't say ‘She looked sad at her husband’.
Jack looked uncertainly at Ralph.
He looked adoringly at Keiko.
‘look and see’
If you intend to use your eyes to find out if something is true, you say that you will see or look and see if it is true.
Have a look at your wife's face to see if she's blushing.
Now let's look and see whether that's true or not.
Be careful
Don't say that you will ‘look’ if something is true.
Don't say that you will ‘look’ if something is true.
You can use see to say that you will find out about something, even if you are not talking about using your eyes. For example, you can say ‘I’ll see if Li is in her office', and then find out whether Li is in her office by making a phone call there.
I'll just see if he's at home.
I'll see if I can borrow a car for the weekend.
used to mean ‘seem’
Look can also be used to mean ‘seem’ or ‘appear’. When you use look like this, you use an adjective after it, not an adverb. For example, you say ‘She looked sad’. Don't say ‘She looked sadly’.
You look very pale.
The place looked a bit dirty.
Be careful
You only use look to mean ‘seem’ when talking about the appearance of something.
You only use look to mean ‘seem’ when talking about the appearance of something.