Look (at) vs. See vs. Watch – English Grammar Exercises for A2
You are writing an online review about your favorite football team’s performance last night. Choose the correct verb (A, B, or C) to complete the sentences. Pay close attention to the differences between look (at), see, and watch.
1 Did you ______ the football match on TV last night? It was amazing!
(A) watch
(B) look at
(C) watched
2 Quick, ______ the TV! The striker is taking a penalty!
(A) see
(B) look at
(C) watch to
3 I was sitting too far back in the stadium, so I couldn’t ______ the numbers on the players’ shirts.
(A) watch
(B) see
(C) looking
4 Every weekend, my friends and I ______ our favorite team play online.
(A) watch
(B) look
(C) see at
5 Did you notice the goalkeeper’s new shoes? I ______ them when he took the free kick.
(A) looked
(B) watched
(C) saw
6 The manager ______ very angry on the sideline when our team lost the ball.
(A) looked
(B) saw
(C) was look
7 I spent the whole second half ______ the defenders. They made so many mistakes!
(A) seeing
(B) watching
(C) looking
8 When the referee blew the whistle, everyone ______ him to see what color the card was.
(A) looked at
(B) watched to
(C) saw at
9 We went to the stadium, but we didn’t ______ the star player because he was injured and stayed home.
(A) see
(B) saw
(C) watch
10 If you ______ closely at the replay, you can see that it was not a foul.
(A) watch
(B) look
(C) looking
11 I love ______ live sports because the atmosphere is always so exciting.
(A) look at
(B) seeing
(C) watching
12 The coach told the center-back to ______ the tall striker carefully during the corner kick.
(A) watch
(B) see
(C) watches
13 ______! The ball is flying right towards the camera!
(A) See out
(B) Look out at
(C) Watch out
14 I dropped my hot dog when they scored, so I completely failed to ______ the goal.
(A) see
(B) watch
(C) looked at
15 The fans were ______ for their favorite player outside the stadium after the match.
(A) looking
(B) watching
(C) seeing
16 Did you ______ how the captain reacted when they won the trophy?
(A) watch at
(B) look
(C) see
17 I was ______ my phone for a second, and I missed the best moment of the game!
(A) looking at
(B) seeing at
(C) watching to
18 To be a great goalkeeper, you must ______ the ball all the way into your hands.
(A) see
(B) watch
(C) look
19 I can ______ why the manager substituted him; he was running very slowly.
(A) watch
(B) looking
(C) see
20 Our team lost because they just stood there and ______ the other team score without trying to stop them.
(A) looked
(B) watched
(C) saw
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (A)
Explanation: “Watch” is used for paying attention to something that moves or changes over time, like a TV show or a sports match. (B) “Look at” is for static things. (C) “Watched” is a grammar error because the past tense is already shown by “Did”.
2 (B)
Explanation: “Look at” is used to direct someone’s attention to a specific place or thing (the TV screen). (A) “See” is about natural ability, not directing attention. (C) “Watch” does not take the preposition “to”.
3 (B)
Explanation: “See” is used for noticing something with your eyes without special effort. If you are too far away, you don’t have the physical ability to “see” the static numbers. (A) is wrong because numbers do not move. (C) is a grammar error after “couldn’t”.
4 (A)
Explanation: Watching a sports game involves continuous attention to moving action, so “watch” is the correct verb. (B) “Look” is missing the preposition “at” and is not used for 90-minute events. (C) “See” does not take “at”.
5 (C)
Explanation: You “see” (past: saw) static objects like shoes because they just come into your field of vision. (A) “Looked” requires “at”. (B) “Watched” implies you stared at the shoes for a long time while they were doing an activity, which is incorrect here.
6 (A)
Explanation: “Look” can act as a linking verb meaning “to appear or seem” (He looked angry). (B) “Saw” means he used his eyes to notice something angry. (C) is a structural error.
7 (B)
Explanation: You “watch” players during a game because they are moving and performing actions over a period of time. (A) “Seeing” implies accidental noticing. (C) “Looking” requires the preposition “at”.
8 (A)
Explanation: “Looked at” means turning your eyes in a specific direction to focus on a static target (the referee). (B) and (C) use completely wrong prepositions for these verbs.
9 (A)
Explanation: When someone is absent, you simply do not “see” them (they don’t enter your vision). (C) “Watch” is incorrect because you cannot monitor the actions of someone who isn’t there. (B) is a grammar error after “didn’t”.
10 (B)
Explanation: The preposition “at” is a massive clue. We “look at” something carefully. (A) “Watch” never takes “at” (you just “watch the replay”). (C) is the wrong tense after “If you…”.
11 (C)
Explanation: “Watching” is the standard gerund for observing live sports or TV. (B) “Seeing” is generally incorrect for focusing on a broadcasted event. (A) is structurally wrong after “love” (needs looking).
12 (A)
Explanation: In sports, “to watch” someone means to monitor or guard them carefully because they are moving. (B) “See” just means noticing them, not guarding them. (C) is grammatically incorrect after “to”.
13 (C)
Explanation: “Watch out!” is a common phrasal verb/idiom used to warn someone of sudden danger (like a flying ball). (A) and (B) are incorrect phrases for warnings.
14 (A)
Explanation: A goal happens in a split second. You “see” a goal (it enters your field of vision). You cannot “watch” a split-second event because watching requires time. (B) is the common mistake here. (C) is the wrong tense after “failed to”.
15 (A)
Explanation: “Looking for” is a phrasal verb that means “searching for”. (B) “Watching for” means waiting for an event to happen, not trying to locate a person in a crowd. (C) is structurally incorrect.
16 (C)
Explanation: You “see” a fact or a quick reaction. (A) “Watch” does not take “at”. (B) “Look” requires “at” if there is an object, and is generally not used for noticing how someone reacted.
17 (A)
Explanation: You direct your attention to the static screen of your phone, so you are “looking at” it. (B) “See” does not take “at”. (C) “Watch” does not take “to”.
18 (B)
Explanation: A goalkeeper must actively track the movement of the ball over a period of time, which perfectly defines “watch”. (A) “See” means just noticing it without effort. (C) “Look” requires “at”.
19 (C)
Explanation: “See” has a secondary meaning: “to understand” (e.g., “I see what you mean”). (A) You cannot physically “watch” a reason or an idea. (B) is a structural error after the modal verb “can”.
20 (B)
Explanation: “Watched” implies they actively kept their eyes on the event over a period of time (as the other team scored) without intervening. (A) “Looked” requires “at”. (C) “Saw” is less impactful here because it implies they just noticed it, rather than standing and observing the whole process.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- See: Used for natural ability. It happens without effort. It is used for noticing things quickly or for split-second events (e.g., I saw the goal! / I saw his shoes.). It also means “to understand” (e.g., I see why we lost.).
- Look (at): Used to intentionally direct your eyes toward something. It usually requires effort and is focused on static (non-moving) objects. It always requires the preposition at if an object follows. (e.g., Look at the screen!). It can also mean “to appear” (e.g., He looked tired.).
- Watch: Used when you look at something continuously because it is moving, changing, or developing. This requires time and focus. It is the perfect word for sports, TV, movies, and monitoring players. (e.g., I watched the match for 90 minutes.)