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Alexanndra Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

Watch vs. see (in the case of movies)

OK, so I've explained to my students that "watching" is something you do intentionally and "seeing" just means that your eyes come in contact with something, but then I began to question myself when I thought of this example:

What are you doing? I'm WATCHING a movie.
VS.
Have you SEEN that movie already?

If watching a movie is something you do intentionally, why would it change from "watch" to "see", just because of a change in verb tense?

Also, how does "look" fit into this whole equation?

Thanks!
  

Top answer

because life's like that? not always as patterned as we would like for easy teaching!

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27 Answers
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because life's like that? not always as patterned as we would like for easy teaching!
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I believe we use it (see) idiomatically when we say "Let's see a movie this weekend." or
"Have you seen the play, Lez Miserables?". So verb tense doesn't have anything to do with it.

Your explanation on the difference between watch and see is correct. I've also had the same problem with my Korean and Japanese students. It even becomes more complicated to explain when they add loo
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'Watch' is used with movement; hence we 'watch a movie/TV/baseball game/ballet'. 'See' is the objective activity. 'Look at' is the conscious intent.
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When listing movies as a hobby, as in my hobbies are: collecting stamps, writing emails, cooking, dancing, etc. Do you say:

1. Watching movies
2. Seeing movies
3. Movies
4. Going to movies
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To go back to your original question. Alexanndra-- it has nothing to do with verb tense:

'What are you doing? I'm WATCHING a movie. '-- this is a Q & A about the activity and the speaker/listener's involvement in it. Both 'watch' and 'look at' are intentional, but the former tends to move while the latter is immobile. ( 'I have been watching movies/TV/professional baseball since I was
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well I think It's got something to do with the nature of the verb

some verbs like stative verbs [chiefly verbs of senses] function as a conclusion of something

For example "THINK"

The difference between "I am thinking" and "I think" is clear and the two "think"s are not substitutable.

A----- "Do you think 'B' did the right thing in that situation?
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Yes, I've been puzzled about this since I noticed the post. I'm inclined to agree that "see" can substitute for "watch" as a sort of idiom when the "watching" is presented in "perfective aspect", i.e., as a act regarded as a point in time rather than as an activity occurring over a period of time ("imperfective aspect"). There is also the flavor of "going out to attend an event" which is more c
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0Are they really equivalent to each other?01blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite10I saw the movie. = I watched the movie. 12br
10I have seen that movie. = I have watched that movie. 12br
12br
10I would say that in the present or future tense there is really not much difference between the two. However, in the past tenses, I
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1b00Just to add a few to the mix…..02br
00I00 am watching a DVD.02b02br
02br
01b00I am going to see a movie tonight with Jane.02b02br
02br
01b00Her very move is being watched.02b02br
02br
01b00We saw that play last week02b02br
01h1

01b01

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1i00"See a movie"02i00 is more common when you are talking about going to a movie theater - 01i00"Do you want to see a movie?02i00" has come to refer to the whole event -- popcorn, previews of coming attractions, etc. 01i00"Watch a movie"02i00 is more likely if it is on TV, DVD, etc. 02br
02br
001. I'll watch th
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