Confusing verbs in English
Grammar

In this lesson we will practice with verbs that can be confusing in English.

Look/See/Watch

See refers to an involuntary act. You see involuntarily when your eyes are open.

I can see the ocean.

Look means to direct your eyes in a certain direction. For example, if I say, "Look at the computer screen." I want you to direct your gaze towards the computer screen.

Look at the book.

Watch is a prolonged activity. It's when you look at something for a longer period of time and focus your attention on what you are seeing.

I usually watch TV in the evening.

Say/Tell

You must use the verb tell with the person you are addressing (the grammatical indirect object). The indirect objects are "Bob" in the first example below and "me" in the second. Generally, tell is used with the infinitive of the verb (as in the examples below) and not with direct quotations in quotation marks.

Tell Bob to come in to work on Saturday.
He told me to finish the report.

There are also certain expressions in which tell is always used.

tell a secret - share private information with someone
tell the truth - say what is real and correct
tell a lie - say something that is not true
tell a story - talk about events or experiences, real or imaginary
tell a joke - say something funny to make people laugh

The verb say can be used with quoted speech, with or without mentioning the person you are addressing (the indirect object). If you include the person (the indirect object), you must precede it with the word "to".

I said, "Hi! My name's Janet."
I said to him, "Hi! My name's Janet."

Listen/Hear

Hear is an involuntary act. You hear even if you don't want to. Perhaps right now, while you are studying, you hear the sounds of cars or children playing outside.

I hear the children playing outside.

Listen is focusing your attention on what you are hearing.

I listened carefully to the teacher's explanation of the grammar.

NOTE: The word "to" is always used after the verb "listen" when you include who or what you are listening to (the object). In the example below, we use "to" after the verb "listen" because we specify who or what we are listening to ("the teacher" in this case).

He needs to listen to the teacher.

Exercise - Confusing verbs

Select the correct verb to complete each sentence.

Adjectives with -ing vs. adjectives with -ed

There are adjectives that describe how you feel when they end in -ed, and when they end in -ing, they describe the thing or person that makes you feel that way. For example, the word interested describes how you feel. However, the word interesting describes the person or thing that interests you.

I'm bored. Describes how you feel.
The movie is boring. Describes the thing that makes you feel that way.

Exercise - adjectives with -ing and -ed

Select the correct adjective.

Find the Mistake

Instructions
Identify the error in the following sentences and write the corrected version.

example
He are a teacher. → He is a teacher.

Writing

Write a sentence with each of the confusing verbs (look, see, watch, say, tell, listen, hear).

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