Difference Between See and Watch

See vs Watch
 

Difference between see and watch is easy to understand once you understand the meanings of the words separately. As a matter of fact, they should be considered as words that show difference in their meanings and connotations as well. The words see and watch are primarily verbs that are used with different senses for that matter. The verb see is used in the sense of ‘perceive’ or ‘behold’. On the other hand, the verb watch is used in the sense of ‘observe’. This is the main difference between the two verbs. In short, it can be said that the purpose of their actions is different. The purpose in the action of seeing is just to perceive. On the other hand, the purpose of watching is to observe. The two verbs have different past participle forms as well.

What does See mean?

The word see is used in the sense of perceive or behold. The purpose of the action of seeing is just to perceive. Observation does not prevail in seeing. Observe the two sentences given below.

Francis sees his children at the Church.

I see him coming towards my house.

In both the sentences, you can see that the verb see is used in the sense of ‘perceive’, and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘Francis perceives his children at the Church’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘I perceive him coming towards my house’. It is interesting to note that the verb see is also used sometimes in the sense of ‘distinguish’ as in the sentences given below.

I can see that from here.

I could see the difference.

In both the sentences, you can see that the verb see is used in the sense of ‘distinguish’. Hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘I can distinguish that from here’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘I could distinguish the difference’.

It is important to know that the verb see has its noun form in the word ‘sight’, and it has its abstract noun form in the word ‘seeing.’ The past participle form of the verb see is ‘seen’ as in the sentence ‘he was seen in the garden’. The verb see is an irregular verb.

What does Watch mean?

The word watch is used in the sense of perceive or behold. The purpose of watching is to observe. Observe the two sentences given below.

The teacher watches the mark sheet of Robert.

He watches him from a distance.

In both the sentences, you can see that the verb watch is used in the sense of ‘observe’, and hence the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘the teacher observes the mark sheet of Robert’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘he observes him from a distance’.

In the same way as the word see, the verb watch has its abstract noun form in the word ‘watching’ as in the expression ‘bird-watching’. As a matter of fact, the verb watch is also sometimes used as a noun too. In some cases, the verb is used in the formation of words such as ‘watchman’, ‘watchdog’ and the like. On the other hand, the part participle form of the verb watch is ‘watched’. Thus, it can be understood that the verb watch is a regular verb.

What is the difference between See and Watch?

• The verb see is used in the sense of ‘perceive’ or ‘behold’.

• On the other hand, the verb watch is used in the sense of ‘observe’.

• The purpose in the action of seeing is just to perceive.

• On the other hand, the purpose of watching is to observe.

• The verb see is also used sometimes in the sense of ‘distinguish.’

• Sight is the noun form of see.

• The abstract noun form of watch and see are watching and seeing respectively.

• Watch is a regular verb and see is an irregular verb.