1
I need my glasses because I can’t look very well without them.
I need my glasses because I can’t see very well without them.
Use see, not look, to talk about your ability to notice things with your eyes: ‘I can’t see very well without my glasses.’ See describes an involuntary action and look a voluntary one.
2
Yesterday I looked at your brother in the pub and said ‘hi’.
Yesterday I saw your brother in the pub and said ‘hi’.
Use see when you mean that you notice or meet someone: ‘I saw your brother in the pub.’
Use look at when you choose to direct your eyes towards someone or something: ‘She looked at me and smiled.’
The purple sentence is grammatically correct, but it means that I deliberately directed my eyes towards your brother. To say that I met or noticed him in the pub, use see.
3
What are you looking?
What are you looking at?
I was looking our neighbours’ new house.
I was looking at our neighbours’ new house.
Use look at + person/thing when you direct your eyes towards someone or something: ‘Look at this photo.’
4
You look a ghost.
You look like a ghost.
Use look + adjective to describe someone’s appearance: ‘You look pale.’ ‘She looks tired.’
Use look like + noun/pronoun to say that someone or something has a similar appearance: ‘You look like your father.’ ‘That cloud looks like a bird.’
See LOOK LIKE
Check our grammar lesson on the difference between look, watch and see.